46 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



the east and west joints are called headers. " Blocks " is the 

 name for the strips of stone between the side seams. The stone 

 is quite free from reeds and does not slake after exposure. All 

 splitting is done along the seams. The dip of the bed is very 

 slight on the eastern side of the mountain to the west and 

 south; while on the southern side west and north the beds are 

 nearly horizontal. 



The texture, or grain, varies from coarse to fine. It is a 

 usual thing to find that the top lifts of a bed are fine grained, 

 while the bottom lift is quite coarse. The coarse grained stone 

 is stronger and less likely to slake; and is also heavier. 



The stone from the different quarries on the mountain does 

 not vary much. The same condition and variations of texture, 

 color, and top are met with at all levels. The quarry openings 

 show a thickness of these alternating beds of shale, rock, and 

 bluestone of 2000 feet. The joints are tight and loose, varying 

 with the different openings. The side seams are in many places 

 stained with iron. 



A number of ledges with good beds of stone are exposed, but 

 not opened, as the owners do not care to have the mountain dis- 

 figured with the rubbish piles. The top is disposed of mostly 

 by dumping down the mountain side. 



The stone is all hauled to Maiden and sold to the Ulster blue- 

 stone co. 



West of Dutch Settlement and West Hurley the bluestone 

 belt widens, stretching over the 500 foot plateau which borders 

 the mountains on the southeast. The stone from this territory 

 is hauled to Brodhead's Bridge and other stations on the Ulster 

 and Delaware railroad. 



Beyond Brodhead's Bridge, along the Ulster and Delaware 

 railroad, stone is quarried in the -mountains as far as Grand 

 gorge. This stone is of various colors, but is sold in the market 

 as bluestone. The stone is shipped by way of the Ulster and 

 Delaware railroad to Rondout, where it is loaded on barges for 

 shipment to the eastern markets by tide water. 



