606 GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 
The total thickness of the sandstone ledge quarried by Mr. Rob- 
inson, near Bellaire, is about 40 feet. The rock, for a depth of 17 feet 
from the top, is very uniform in texture and general appearance. The 
portion of the ledge below this is in irregular masses, unfit for building 
purposes, and is locally called “‘nigger-head.” The layers of stone in 
the upper 17 feet are quarried for building purposes, and vary in thick- 
ness from 4 to 7 feet. This is esteemed as the best material for building 
purposes found in Belmont county. The arches and abutments of the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge across the Ohio river at Bellaire, 
and of a number of other bridges on the same railroad, are constructed 
of this stone. The material finds its principal markets at Bellaire, 
Ohio, and at Wheeling and Benwood, West Virginia. Traces of coal 
vegetation are found occasionally between the layers of stone in this 
quarry. A short distance above this sandstone a vein of coal occurs, 
and above this a limestone stratum 20 feet in thickness, quarried for 
furnace flux. | 
The ledge of rock in Mr. Hutchinson’s quarry is about 30 feet in 
thickness, and is considerably broken into irregular masses. The 
stone is fine-grained, rather hard, and difficult to cleave in any direc- 
tion. Near the middle of the Jedge are two layers, each about 20 
inches in thickness, which are more regular; the rock, however, is 
found less broken as the excavation advances into the hill. Since this 
quarry is constantly worked for ballast, it has the advantage of select- 
ing its best material for purposes of construction. However, stone 
more regular in structure and better adapted to building purposes is 
quite abundant in this locality. There is also a good flagging stone 
found here in a different stratum ; but this is quarried only occasionally 
for temporary demands. The product of the quarry of the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad Company, near Barnsville, is used largely for 
ballast. It has been used to some extent for purposes of construction 
on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. ‘The stratum in which the quarry 
is located is about 30 feet in thickness, but has only been worked to a 
depth of 14 feet. ‘The stratum contains few joints and has no divisional 
planes of stratification. Stone of such fair quality for all ordinary 
building purposes is so generally distributed throughout this part of 
the county that it is picked up wherever needed to supply the occa- 
sional local demands, and no extensive quarries are developed at any 
place for the production of building stone. | 
