THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY 



SLATE 



Quarries of roofing slate are worked in Washington county near 

 the Vermont state line. The productive district includes a narrow 

 belt running nearly due north from Salem through the towns of 

 Hebron, Granville, Hampton and Whitehall. Efforts have been 

 made to work slate in other parts of the State, particularly in the 

 Hudson river metamorphic region, but for reasons no longer appa- 

 rent they have not led to the establishment of a permanent industry. 

 Hoosick, Rensselaer co.. New Lebanon, Columbia co., and New 

 Hamburg, Dutchess co., are among the places that have furnished 

 slate in the past. At the locality last named, beds were found which 

 yielded large blocks resembling the Welsh slate in color and quality 

 and adapted for structural material, billiard tables, blackboards and 

 other purposes. They were operated as late as 1898. 



The slate from Washington county exhibits a variety of colors. 

 Red is the most valuable and is the characteristic product of the 

 region. Owing to its rarity elsewhere, it has a wide sale and is in 

 constant demand for export. This variety is found near Granville 

 and in the Hatch Hill and North Granville districts between North 

 Granville and Whitehall. Its occurrence is confined to areas of 

 Lower Siluric age. Purple, variegated and different shades of green 

 slate are produced from Cambric areas, principally around Middle 

 Granville, Salem and Shushan. The unfading green, which like- 

 wise commands a good price for roofing purposes, is quarried to 

 some extent in Washington county, but the greater quantity comes 

 from across the border in Vermont. 



Up to the present time the production of slate for other than 

 roofing purposes, such as mantels, billiard tables, floor tiling, black- 

 boards etc., has not been developed to any extent in this section. 

 It is an important branch of the slate trade of Pennsylvania and 

 Vermont, and there is no doubt that increased attention to this 

 branch would greatly assist the advancement of the industry. 



Production. The reports received for 1905" show that 10 firms 

 were engaged in quarrying slate during the year. The total output 

 was 16,460 squares of roofing slate, valued at $94,009; and $1000 

 of mill stock. In 1904 the roofing slate amounted to 18,090 squares, 

 valued at $86,159, ar >d the mill stock at $7441. The average value 

 of the roofing slate was $5.71 a square in 1905 and $4.76 a square 

 in the preceding year. The prices are above those received in other 

 slate-producing regions. 



A new quarry was opened at Salem by William Blanchfield, and 

 a small quantity of roofing slate was taken out as a test. The Wil- 



