REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND STATE GEOLOGIST 1902 Till 



The largest producers of the Lower Helderberg limestone in 

 Onondaga county during the year were E. B. Alvord, Janiesville, 

 I. E. Britton, Syracuse, John Costello, Manlius (formerly the 

 James Beahan quarry), and the Solvay Process Co. 



Clay and clay products 

 There are no high grade clays in Onondaga county, but brick 

 and tile clays are used in large quantities and pottery clay in 

 one locality. The Syracuse Pottery Co. obtains pottery clay at 

 Bejle Isle, a few miles west of Syracuse on the New York Central 

 Railroad. The works of the Onondaga Pottery Co., which 

 were destroyed by fire a few months ago, have been rebuilt and 

 are expected to be in operation by Jan. 1, 1903. They do not use 

 any local clay. 



The brick companies in active operation during the year 1902 

 were the New York Paving Brick Co., C. & L. Merrick, George W. 

 Pack, and the Onondaga Vitrified Brick Co. 



The New York Paving Brick Co. obtains its clay from its pits on 

 the east bank of the Seneca river, east of Baldwinsville, and H 

 mile north of Belgium. The clay is partly glacial deposit and partly 

 alluvial deposit. The bottom of the deposit consists of a smooth, 

 plastic, blue, glacial till, overlain by an irregular deposit of sand 

 and gravel, which is overlain in turn by a finely laminated, buff 

 colored clay. Several acres of the clay have been worked over 

 to a depth of 15 to 25 feet. The clay is loaded on barges at the 

 pit and transferred by the river and the canal to the factory at 

 Geddes on the west side of the city of Syracuse. The company 

 manufactures vitrified brick for street paving, some for building 

 and some for the alkali and paper works. The bricks are widely 

 known among the paper manufacturers for their power to resist 

 the action of strong alkalis and are shipped for this purpose to 

 distant parts of this and other countries. The bulk of the out- 

 put, however, is used for street paving. The company has not 

 been able to fill all its orders, so great has been the demand for 

 the bricks this year, though it has been turning them out at the 

 rate of 60,000 a day, or about 15,000,000 for the season. 



George W. Pack's brickyard lies on the northwest side of the 

 city of Syracuse. The clay is a lacustrine deposit and is worked 



