JACK COUNTY. 511 



BUILDING MATERIAL. 



There are many places in this county where the sandstone will make good 

 building material when there shall be a good demand for it. At only a few 

 places has any attempt been made io use the sandstone, and that only for 

 building chimneys. This stone is similar to that found in other counties in 

 the Carboniferous formation. 



There are also fine beds of blue limestone in this county which makes ex- 

 cellent building material. There is a quarry of this stone near the town of 

 Jacksboro which is exceptionally fine. The court house in the town of Jacks- 

 boro is built of this material, and there is not a nicer building of its size in 

 the State. The beds are very even and are in layers that are very suitable 

 for building purposes, so that an entire house might be put up out of a uni- 

 form thickness of rock without having to cut them down. They are so even 

 bedded that no dressing is required on the top or bottom, and they break 

 very evenly, so that very little dressing is required on the sides. 



Clay for brick making is very easily obtained at many places, and no infe- 

 rior material for this purpose need be used for want of better at any place. 



The limestones make good quick lime, and are generally burned for that 

 purpose in open furnaces. Sand for making mortar can be found in almost 

 any locality. 



COAL. 



Coal Seam No. 7 extends across the northwestern corner of the county and 

 has many outcrops along the West Fork of the Trinity River. Prospecting 

 has been done at several places, and when there shall be facilities for trans- 

 portation there will be good coal mines opened in this county. 



The following is a description of some of the localities where I have seen 

 the seam outcropping in this county^ 



One mile north of the mouth of Lodge Creek there is an outcrop of coal 

 in the side of a hill on the east side of a creek on a survey in the name of 

 McDonald. At that place I made the following section. Beginning at the top: 



1. Conglomerate 20 feet. 



2. Sandstone 4 feet. 



3. White and reddish clay 50 feet. 



4. Coal 6 inches. 



5. Shale, with many calamites 2 feet. 



6. Coal 1 foot. 



7. Blue clay 2 feet. 



Total 79 feet 6 inches. 



