92 THE IRON ORE DISTRICT OF EAST TEXAS. 



BUILDING STONE. 



With the exception of the light gray or white sandstone and the red fer- 

 ruginous sandstones, there is no building stone in Cass County. The red 

 sandstones are mostly found in blocks or large flat, slabby bowlders, and are 

 used for laying foundations or piers upon which the houses in the country 

 stand. These sandstones are also often used for building fireplaces and 

 chimneys. 



A ledge of bright brown sandstone occurs on the south side of the John H. 

 Rives survey, in the southeastern part of the county, but is not of any extent. 



Scattered throughout the southwestern and central part of the county there 

 are deposits of a light gray or white sandstone suitable for building purposes. 

 These deposits occur on the south side of the J. B. Mix and Joshua Hudson 

 headrights. A large deposit also occurs at Linden, where it has been quar- 

 ried for furnace building. Another deposit, which has also been quarried, 

 occurs on the southeast of the B. Hawkins survey, and a deposit is also found 

 on the northeast of the Evan Watson head right. 



These white sandstones are said to have been used at Kellyville and Jeffer- 

 son for building furnaces, but with what success has not been ascertained. 

 The deposit on the B. Hawkins is soft and easily powdered. It is possible this 

 stone might be utilized for glass making purposes 



Some of the mottled sands weather into a fairly hard condition, but whether 

 they would be suitable for building purposes remains to be tested. 



MINERAL SPRINGS. 



There are numerous springs of a chalybeate nature within the county, but 

 with the exception of Hughes' Spring, on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas 

 Railway, none of them are utilized. Hughes' Spring rises on the side of a 

 hill about a quarter of a mile from the railway station, and at an elevation of 

 about twenty feet above the level of the railway. 



Another spring in the southeast of the county, known as Baugus Spring, 

 was at one time largely patronized, but it has now fallen into disuse. 



LIGNITE. 



Throughout the county various deposits of lignite have been reported as 

 being found in the digging of wells. These deposits, with the exception of 

 those in the neighborhood of Alamo and " Stone Coal" Bluff, on the bank of 

 the Sulphur Fork, near the James P. Francis headright, are of no practical 

 value. In general the lignites are found from thirty to forty feet under- 

 ground, and do not exceed two feet in thickness. 



The Stone Coal Bluff lignite lies in the bottom of the river, and can only 

 be approached at low water. It is reported as having a thickness of six feet, 



