SECOND REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 1905 



23 



St Lawrence, Franklin and Clinton counties. Other important out- 

 crops, though of much less area than the above, are found along 

 the eastern and southeastern borders of the Adirondacks. These 

 latter areas are included in a region that has been greatly dis- 

 turbed, so that the outcrops are not continuous, but are often ter- 

 minated abruptly by fault lines. Several inlying and isolated 

 areas of Potsdam sandstone are also found well in the crystalline 

 rock area of the Adirondacks. 



Quarries in this sandstone have been opened at Clayton Chippewa 

 .Bay, Hammond, Redwood, Potsdam, Malone, Keeseville Port 

 Henry, Whitehall, Fort Ann and at several other localities. 



At present the principal quarries are those of the Potsdam Red 

 Sandstone Co., which are located at the type section for the Pots- 

 dam formation, 3 miles south from Potsdam village along the 

 Raquette river. The high water of the present season has seriously 

 interfered with the operations of quarrying, but about 35 men have 

 been employed and the production of the various kinds of building 

 stone for the present season is estimated at 30,000 cubic feet. The 

 condition of this company is prosperous and the output has not been 

 equal to the demand. 



Twelve miles east of Potsdam, Downev Brothers operate a quarry 

 the production from which is mostly flagging of very good quality' 

 On account of inferior transportation facilities the production 'is 

 limited mainly to local use. Twelve thousand feet of flagging have 

 been produced during the season. 



William Gibson operates the W. E. Forrester quarry H miles 

 south of Hammond. Twenty men are employed. During the 

 season 2000 yards of paving blocks were produced arid curbing to 

 the amount of 13,000-14,000 feet. 



Other quarries of the Potsdam formation which were operated 

 during the season were for local use orily. 



The Medina sandstone occupies a belt averaging nearly 10 miles 

 wide, extending along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and pro- 

 jecting into the Mohawk valley, where the formation is represented 

 by the coarse beds of sediment belonging to the upper portion of the 

 division and known in this section of the State as the Oneida con- 

 glomerate. This conglomerate is coarsest at its base, but upward 

 becomes more like the typical Medina sandstone with diagonal 

 laminations The passage of this formation into the Clinton 

 appears to be gradual and the division line between the two has not 

 been as yet clearly drawn. 



In western New York the Medina formation is more than 1200 

 teet thick. All the quarries which are operated between the 

 Niagara and Genesee rivers are in the upper 150 feet of the 

 formation and usually but a short distance north of the Niazaran 

 escarpment. 



These quarries are mostly in Orleans county. Those outside of 

 his county are at Lewiston, Lockport, Brockport and Rochester. 

 In Orleans county most of the quarries are along the banks of the 

 Erie canal This fact, together with the nearness of the railroad 

 offers excellent shipping facilities. The quarries in the Medina 

 district employ about 1000 men during the season 



