DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OF QUARRY DISTRICTS AND QUARRIES 25 I 



resembling the gray granites of Maine, and contrasting well 

 with the rock-face stone which is so much darker-colored. 

 It is a strong and durable stone, as is proven in the old 

 buildings in Syracuse and elsewhere. Specimens of fine-cut 

 gray limestone, which have been exposed to the weather 

 forty-eight years in the old city hall, exhibit no indications 

 of decay, and no alteration other than a fading in color. 

 One defect in the stone is the very thin, black, shaly seams 

 which sometimes give it the appearance of checking ; but 

 there are no clay seams as in some of our limestones. 



In quarrying it is not possible to get as thick beds as in 

 the granites and some of the sandstones, two feet being 

 the average thickness. 



A representative specimen from Hughes Bros., of Syra- 

 cuse, was found to contain 53.76 per cent of lime and 0.60 

 per cent of magnesia, or 96 per cent of carbonate of lime 

 and 1.26 per cent of carbonate of magnesia. Matters in- 

 soluble in dilute acid were 1.52 per cent. The water ab- 

 sorbed was 0.14 per cent. The freezing and thawing tests 

 did not produce any apparent change. Subjected to a tem- 

 perature of 1 200^-1400° F. the stone was fully calcined. 



Split Rock Quarries.— This group is in the town of Onon- 

 daga, hvQ to seven miles west of Syracuse, and in the north- 

 facing escarpment of the Upper Helderberg rocks. The 

 beds are thinly covered by earth, and one or two beds, at 

 most are worked. In this way a large area has been quar- 

 ried over. A ereat deal of stone for the Erie canal con- 

 struction was obtained from these quarries.* 



The Onondaga gray limestone has been the principal 

 building stone in Syracuse. Among the many fine struc- 

 tures, in which it has been used for walls and trimmings, 

 may be noted the following: United States Government 

 building; new city hall; hall of languages, Syracuse uni- 

 versity ; Onondaga County Savings bank ; St. Paul's Prot- 



■^One of the first railroads in Central New York was constructed from the Split 

 Rock quarries to the canal, one mile west of Syracuse. — H. W. Clarke. 



