44 



Indiana University Studies 



Peerless District. Peerless* is about 4 miles north of Bed- 

 ford on the main line of the Monon railroad. The quarries lie 

 on the hill about half a mile east of the station. The first quarry 

 opened in this district began operations in 1890 on the bluff 

 southeast of Salt Creek, and is still operated by the Reed Stone 

 Company. The quarry opening is located at the top of a north 

 and south ridge, and the stone is not protected by any overlying 

 formation. As a result, the upper bed of the Oolite is very much 

 weathered. Some of the seams are weathered to a great 

 depth. These weathered seams run both north and south and 

 east and west. Both sets of seams are open because the quarry 

 lies in such a position against the hill that the land has had a 

 drainage both to the north and to the west. Some of the larger of 

 these seams penetrate to the bottom of the workable bed. Much 

 waste stone results from these greatl}^ weathered seams, and the 

 cost of quarrying this waste stone is practically as great as the 

 cost of stripping a comparatively thick bed of Mitchell where 

 the latter is present. The rock at this point is overlaid by about 



4 or 5 feet of a residual claye}^ loam. The loam fills the fissures 

 in the rock and necessitates much labor in its removal from the 

 quarr}^ workings. The fact that both sets of seams are weathered 

 makes channeling difficult and the benefit of this stripping is more 

 than counterbalanced. 



The stone is fairly uniform in texture and grain, and practically 

 no blue stone was seen in the opening. There is a slight tendency 

 toward cross-graining in the stone, but not enough to interfere 

 with the work or in any way to hurt the value of the stone. Three 

 floors were being worked (July, 1914), but a large amount of the 

 top floor was rejected. The thickness of the opened bed did not 

 exceed 28 feet. The surface of the rock was very uneven, and 

 much leveling was necessary before the channelers could be placed 

 in operation. Much waste stone is stacked about the quarry 

 and its disposal is becoming a difficult matter. 



About 100 yards directly east of the Reed quarry is the opening 

 of the W. McMillan and Sons' quarry. The opening is a large 

 one and much good stone is being taken out. The workable 

 bed in this quarry is thicker than in the quarrj^ farther west. 

 The bed of good stone is about 44 feet thick and is taken out in 



5 floors. The lower 3| floors contain much blue stone, and the 

 irregularity of the dividing line is responsible for quite a quantity 



*Often called Peerless Station. 



