26 NEW YORK STx\TE MUSEUM 



DETAILS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF GYPSUM IN NEW YORK: WITH 

 DESCRIPTION OF MINES, QUARRIES AND MANUFACTURING 

 PLANTS 



Herkimer county 



The most easterly occurrence of gypsum that was ever worked 

 commercially is a deposit in southeastern Herkimer county. It was 

 discovered previous to 1837 in an adit run into the hillside om the 

 James Crill farm in the western part of Starke township. The open- 

 ing was intended to explore a supposed silver vein. The gypsum 

 is said to have been found in a roundish mass and to have had a 

 white color. Some 20 or 30 tons were removed by Mr Crill. 

 Present interest is chiefly connected with its situation so far east 

 and with the fact that it is described by Vanuxem as occurring in 

 a wihite sandstone of Clinton age which at this point immediately 

 underlies the Camillus shale and can be seen in outcrop a little 

 north of the opening. It seems probable that the deposit is of sec- 

 ondary character, derived from scattered inclusions of gypsum in 

 the shale above. 



Oneida county 



The Salina shales have a small areal distribution in Oneida 

 county and there are no records to show that gypsum has ever been 

 worked within its hmits, though the occurrence of small deposits 

 seems very likely, specially toward the western boundary of the 

 county in Vernon, Augusta and Kirkland townships. 



Madison county 



The gypsum beds of Madison county, so far as known, all lie near 

 the upper or southern part of the Salina outcrop in a belt nmning 

 east and west across the northern portion of the county. The town- 

 ships included are Lenox, Oneida, Lincoln, Sullivan, with a pos- 

 sible occurrence in the valley regions of northern Cazenovia, Fen- 

 ner, Smithfield and Stockbridge townships. 



The gypsum occurs in the form of lenses, pockets, or irregular 

 masses in the Upper Salina shales, frequently immediately underly- 

 ing beds of waterlime. The pockets are rarely very extensive, sel- 

 do-m exceeding 25 feet in length and a depth of 10 or 20 feet. 



The gypsum conisists of a mixture of clear selenite plates and a 

 loose, earthy, dark colored mass consisting of clay and organic 

 material. The selenite plates are rarely larger than 2 or 3 inches 

 across and are so intermingled with the earth as to make the mass 

 friable and easy of extraction. The clear, pure, nature of the 



