PALO PINTO COUNTY. 525 



On the line of the Texas and Pacific Railway at the crossing of the Brazos 

 River one or two quarries have been opened and the stone shipped to Dallas 

 and Fort Worth and used for buildings. The Grand Windsor Hotel in Dal- 

 las is built of stone from this quarry. 



On Grindstone Creek, near the southeastern line of this county, the stone 

 has been quarried and manufactured into grindstones of excellent quality. 

 The railway from Weatherford to Mineral Wells crosses some excellent beds 

 of this stone and will no doubt be the means of opening new quarries. 



A quarry of sandstone has been opened one mile southeast of the Texas 

 and Pacific mine that promises good results. The bed of sandstone is eight 

 feet thick, of even texture and color, and is in unlimited quantities. It will 

 take about one-fourth of a mile additional railroad to be built to reacn the 

 quarry. The only question as to the practicability of this stone is the ques- 

 tion of transportation at such rates as will warrant proper investment. 



The old switch that was formerly used by the Gordon mine is now being 

 used for the transportation of sandstone quarried in the hills between the old 

 mine and the main line of the Texas and Pacific Railway. 



The limestones make good building material, but are not so easily dressed 

 as the sandstone. Some of them are very compact, and would retain their 

 color for a long while. 



The nard blue limestone in the southern part of the county, in the vi- 

 cinity of Santo, has been quite extensively used in Dallas for paving. This 

 stone wears out very slowly, and makes an excellent hard pavement. 



Good clay for making brick can be had at many places. Recently a large 

 establishment has been put up near the mouth of Rock Creek, a few miles 

 west of the town of Millsap, for the purpose of making pressed brick from 

 the beds of clay found so abundantly in that locality. 



Lime can be made from many of the limestones, and sand is everywhere 

 abundant for making mortar. 



NATURAL GAS. 



In several places in this county natural gas has been found in sinking deep 

 wells for water or prospecting for coal, but no effort has been made to test 

 the quantity of gas at any given locality nor the extent of territory in which 

 it can be found. In sinking a deep well at the town of Gordon, at the depth 

 of three hundred and seventy-one feet a flow of salt water was found, and 

 with it a small but continuous flow of gas. A beer keg turned over the well 

 with a gas pipe and burner inserted in it collects enough gas to keep a con- 

 stant light burning. Beyond that there has been no attempt to utilize the 

 gas in any way. 



