Luther — Economic Geology of Onondaga County. 



249 



Apparently the upper put ts of the limestone beds have been removed, and 

 the layers remaining are those of the base of the strata, as dark bluish shales 

 appeal- in the bottom of the quarry. The excavations extend over a consider- 

 able area, but are very shallow. They are now partially Idled with water, 

 and are overgrown with weeds and bushes, thus precluding satisfactory 

 examination. The line of outcrop crosses the Seneca river, one mile north 

 of Newbridge. No outcrop is now visible, but loose slabs are very abundant, 

 and were used in the construction of the Oswego canal, w hich occupies a pari 

 of the old river bed. 



On Peter Young's farm, one-half mile northeast from Cigarville (Clay 

 corners), in the town of Clay, the limestone' has been uncovered by the 

 removal of one to two feet of soil, and about 500 cubic yards of material for 

 culverts and bridge abutments were quarried from the stratum, two feet thick, 

 of good stone found here, and used in the construction of the Syracuse 

 Northern railroad. A smaller amount was hauled to Brewerton for cellar 

 stone. One layer, eight inches "thick, is compact and quite even; the rest is 

 not so good. I ne quarry has not been worked recently. The ground here 

 is nearly level, and the old pit is now partly filled with w ater, and no outcrop 

 is visible. 



I'ii the town of Cicero, two and one-half miles east of the village of 

 Cicero, the limestone lies very near the surface of an area more than one hun- 

 dred acres in extent, and blocks of it, formerly scattered over the fields, now 

 make a large part of the fencing for a number of farms. A quarry has been 

 in operation for many years, on land owned by Mr. < >. W hitney, and has 

 •supplied the principal part of the building stone used in this vicinity. About 

 three feet of hard, compact limestone in fairly even layers, three to twelve 

 inches thick, are here exposed. The color of the rock is very dark, dull 

 grey, and where it has been long exposed in the farm fences, it is 

 black. Some parts are very finely granular in character. Cavities of irregular 

 shapes, lined with crystals of calcite are quite abundant. Quicklime was 

 formerly made in a kiln situated about one-fourth of a mile east of \\ hitney's 

 quarry. 



At Bridgeport, the limestone is exposed in the bed of Chittenango creek, 

 where it appears as a bar and creates a water powei of considerable value. 

 Although the Niagara limestone is but a few feet thick, the ease with which 

 it can be quarried, and the position of its line of outcrop across the northern 

 tier of towns, makes it of considerable economic value to that part of the 

 county. No other building stone except, in some localities, a few erratic 



