76 Report on Building Stone of New York. 



what is known, as flag-stone. The heavier beds make the large plat- 

 forms or heavy flagging for cities. But some of it is cut into dimen- 

 sion stone for water-tables, sills, lintels, posts and window caps, or 

 for house trimmings in general. 



The stone obtained in these several districts varies in color, hard- 

 ness and texture and consequently in value, from quarry to quarry, 

 and even in the same quarry opening. In nearly all of the localities 

 the beds vary a little from top downwards ; rarely is there much 

 variation horizontally, or in the same bed. Hence any given bed 

 may be said to have a certain character, that is, produces a given 

 grade of stone. The color is predominently dark-gray or bluish- 

 gray, and hence (more by contrast with the red sandstones) a "blue- 

 stone." Reddish-brown and some greenish-gray stones occur in the 

 quarries higher in the mountain sides, as in the valley of the Esopus 

 creek above Shokan and in the Palenville quarries. There is a 

 decided preference for the typical "blue-stone" over the reddish or 

 brownish-colored grades. In texture the range is from the fine, shaly 

 or argillaceous to the highly siliceous and even conglomeratic rock. 

 Interstratified with the workable beds in all quarries there are shaly 

 layers which crumble and fall to earth in time, when exposed to the 

 atmosphere. The cap- rock is often thus, in part, shaly, and thin lay- 

 ers of shale between the heavy sandstone lifts are common. The best 

 blue-stone is rather fine-grained and not very plainly laminated, and 

 its mass is nearly all silica or quartz, which is cemented together by 

 a siliceous paste and contains very little argillaceous matter. Hence 

 the stone is hard and durable and has great strength or capacity of 

 resistance to crushing or compression. Coarse-grained sandstones 

 and even fine conglomerates occur and are quarried in some localities. 

 It should be stated here that little of the sandstone is loosely 

 cemented together and friable ; and it is rarely open and porous. 



The " blue-stone" territory south-west of Ulster county is confined 

 to a narrow belt crossing the towns of Mamakating, Thompson, For- 

 estburgh and Lumberland in Sullivan county, and Deerpark in 

 Orange county. And there are quarries near Westbrookville, near 

 Wurtsborough, along the Monticello railroad and on the Delaware 

 river at Pond-Eddy and Barryville. The last mentioned place is 

 famous for the large size of the flag-stone sent to New York city for 

 the Vandeibilt property.* 



*They came from Barryville ; as follows : 1 — 2G feet x 15 feet 4 inch x 7 inch. 



1— 10 feet x 15 feet 1 



Afterwards (married sizes as follows : ) 1 — 15 feet x 17 feet 



20 ft.xSOxlO ft. — "Hiokock quarry," J .... 1— 18.6 ft. x 15 feet 



