BUILDING STONE. 605 
sandstone. The size of blocks determined by these joints is about 30 by 
15 by 10 feet. The material is employed for all general building pur- 
poses, principally at Cambridge. It is used in the superstructure of the 
court-house in process of construction at this place. The foundation 
stone for this building was obtained near Cambridge, from a quarry 
‘worked only to supply temporary demands. 
Stone for the ordinary purposes of construction may be obtained in 
various localities in Jefferson county from the different sandstone strata 
of the Coal Measures, which occupy the whole area of the county ; but 
the only quarries that have been developed are those near Steubenville, 
in the Upper Coal Measures. 
One quarry furnishes stone for general building and paving pur- 
poses, used principally in the town of Steubenville. The material hasa 
bluish color where it has not been exposed to atmospheric action, and at 
the natural joints discoloration has penetrated into the rock from 10 to 
18 inches. This liability to discoloration makes this stone unfit for the 
finer purposes of construction. 
A better material for purposes of ornamentation is obtained from 
the quarry where two separate and distinct strata of sandstone in the 
Upper Coal Measures occur. There are, in reality, two separate quar- 
ries, located at different heights, at the side of a hill west of Steubenville, 
near the Ohio river. The material from these quarries is used largely 
for cemetery works, bases of monuments and tombstones, vaults, etc. 
That from the upper quarry is better adapted to fine work, but it is not 
so extensively used, because the material is not as accessible as that in 
the lowerquarry. The Episcopal church at Steubenville was constructed 
of stone from these quarries. 
Belmont county is well supplied with material for the ordinary 
purposes of construction from the sandstones of the Upper Coal Meas- 
ures and the Lower Barren Measures; and some of the quarries furnish 
material quite well adapted for ornamental purposes. The most im- 
portant quarries are those in the eastern part of the county, near Mar- 
tin’s Ferry and near Bellaire. These quarries are located in the 
hills several hundred feet above the Ohio river. The quarry of 
Mr. Charles Siebrecht is located about 100 feet above the river in one of 
these hills. The stratum isa solid mass about 30 feet in thickness. The 
material is used for general building purposes, principally at Mar- 
tin’s Ferry. The stone-work of the suspension bridge across the Ohio 
river at Wheeling, West Virginia, is constructed from this material. 
