History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 8

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 8

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If limestone be broken into small pieces and ex- amined under the microscope the fragments will be found to be of irregular shape, and are not crystal- line; but when marble is examined it will be found to consist of a mass of crystals or grains, very often like loaf-sugar. Marble and limestone are both car- bonate of lime, but marble generally has less of for- eign impurities, such as silica, iron, and alumina. Nearly all the marble-quarries hitherto opened in Montgomery County are included within or near the southern edge of the limestone belt. The largest marble-quarries in Montgomery County are at Marble Hall. Marble was first quarried at this place one hundred years ago, and immense quantities have been shipped all over the country. It has furnished Philadelphia with a considerable quantity for build- ing and architectural purposes. The quarry is about four hundred feet long and nearly three hundred feet in depth. The beautiful white marble used to build the great monument at Washington was obtained from this quarry. It came from a vein about five feet in thickness near the bottom of the quarry. The present owner of these quarries is Mr. Daniel O. Hitner. This quarry is especially interesting, as it contains the only layer of statnary marble found in the county. It was found at a depth of one hundred and twenty feet, and is only six inches wide. It is of a yellowish-white color. Nearly all marble dealers import the fine white statuary marble used for head- stones, etc., from Italy. This marble is very fine- grained and white, and can be readily cut and carved into ornamental figures. Our Montgomery County

marble is too coarse-grained for this fine work. In the vicinity of Spring Mill there is a marble-quarry, next in position to the westward. This is owned by Mr. Channing Potts, and has been worked for many years, and has furnished an immense amount of marble. White, blue, and mottled marble have been mined from this quarry. The next quarry to the westward where marble is obtained is west of the Schuylkill, near Henderson Station, in Upper Merion township. This quarry is now worked by Daniel O. Hitner, and was opened about 1869. It is now in active operation, and is being extended. Both the gray and the blue varieties of marble are mined here.

About two hundred yards from this quarry, on the opposite side of the road, there is Henderson's quarry. This is the next marble-quarry in order to the west- ward. It was opened about the year 1808. There are three kinds of marble mined bere,-the blue and the gray varieties and a very interesting bed of black mar- ble. This black marble occupies the south side of the quarry, and is susceptible of a very fine polish. It is very coarse-grained and crystalline. On analysis I found the black color is dne to graphite. When the marble is dissolved in muriatic acid these small specks of graphite can be readily seen. The amonnt of silica present in this marble is very small. It is quite pure, and when burned in a kiln turns white, the graphite being burned out. The black marble of the limestone belt seems to be confined to this quarry and vicinity, where graphite is found. At the beginning of the belt in Abington township the limestone is very slaty and highly silicious, and where the surface has de- composed it looks like a white sand. As you proceed westward this is no longer noticed. Between the Schuylkill River and the eastern end of the lime- stone belt a great many limestone-qnarries have been opened and are in active operation, supplying an ex- cellent quality of lime for building purposes. These quarries are located principally in Plymouth, White Marsh, and Springfield townships, and are owned by L. K. Graver & Co., George Corson & Brother, George Hagy & Brother, Daniel Williams, Joseph Smith, Thomas Phipps, C. A. Cox, Frank Ramsey, David Marple, Charles Marple, and D. M. Leedom.

About one mile north from Conshohocken there is O'Brien's limestone and marble quarry. It was opened about fifty years ago, and is within a short distance of the stone-quarry. This limestone does not con- tain as much magnesia as many others. Mr. Fulton says the stone seldom contains under seventy per cent. of carbonate of lime. The silica varies from three to nine per cent., and the phosphorus generally runs below .01. On analysis the stone yields :

Carbonate of lime ...

75.00 = Lime, 42.00.

Carbonate of magnesia ..

17.00= Maguesia, 8.09.

Ferric oxide and alumina.

3.00

Phosphorus. .01

Silicic acid 5.00

Sulphur

Trace.

100.01

ORES, MINERALS, AND GEOLOGY.

This stone has been much used as a flux in the blast-furnaces of Conshohocken and vicinity.

At Norristown is Mogee's quarry, situated between a small belt of Potsdam sandstone and the new red sandstone. This is the end of the limestone belt east of the Schuylkill.

At Swedesburg are the most extensive quarries and limekilns in Montgomery County. They are owned by William Rambo. They have been operated for many years, and the stone is highly magnesian. Thomas Rambo and Nathan Rambo own valuable quarries near by. McInnes' limestone-quarry, near Bridgeport, is highly magnesian, and yields three varieties of stone. Derr's marble-quarries, near the Chester County line, furnished the marble of the Nor- ristown court-house. They are extensively worked. The following analyses of Montgomery County lime- stones were kindly furnished by the Pottstown Iron Company and the Phoenix Iron Company :

Linie-

Lime-

Port

Kennedy

Lime-

stone, Phoenix Iron

Co.'s Quarries.

Port Kennedy.

Potts' Landing Line-

stone.

Norristown

stone.

Carbonate of lime ..

(1) 49 64 42 00

(2) 53 21 38.40

66.50 30.00

41.72

(2) 51.73 49.84

Alumina ...

.38

4.30

0.18

0.92

0.23

Ferric oxide.

1.02

Silica.

6.57

4.22

2.40

4,22

1.50

The county limestones contain so much magnesia that at Ambler Station chemical-works manufacture Epsom salts and all other magnesia compounds from our county limestone.

dock; this term is applied to it at several localities throughont the county. In appearance it is a dark- colored rock, quite heavy, and exceedingly tough and difficult to break, and when broken splits into pieces of an irregular shape, very often rounded and curved. It may be broken by a hammer or by another piece of trap ; ordinary rock will not break it. It is com- posed of two minerals, feldspar and augite. The feldspar is the variety known as Labradorite, which is the lime and soda feldspar. Augite is a mineral resembling hornblende, and in composition is a sili- cate of lime, magnesia, iron, and alumina ; it is of a black color. A great many lavas from volcanoes, and many other igneous rocks, although not of the same structure as trap, are similar in composition. Trap is a rock that weathers very slowly; the ele- ments seem to have but little action on it, yet many of the trap bowlders of the county are coated with a brown covering about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, which it has taken many years' exposure to form. The brown color of this coating is probably due to oxide of iron. When this coating is broken off and a fresh fracture surface exposed, it is found to be granular and rather brilliant in appearance.

Montgomery County has a trap dike running through the limestone belt for several miles. This exten- sive trap dike commences in Springfield township at Flourtown, in the limestone belt, and extends west- ward in a straight line through White Marsh town- ship; it follows the southern end of the limestone belt through to Conshohocken, where it crosses the river, and can be seen in its bed. It ontcrops again in West Conshohocken below the stone-quarries, and extends through Upper Merion towuship, where it cau be traced without interruption to the Chester County line, being a short distance above the Gulf Creek. From the Chester County line to the Schuyl- kill at West Conshohocken there is no difficulty what- ever in finding excellent exposures of trap, especially along the river at West Conshohocken, where there is an abutment of trap and numerous weathered bowlders along the railroad. Between Conshohocken and Marble Hall the dike can be traced easily. It passes directly through Conshohocken, and crosses five of the county roads before it reaches Marble Hall; between these two points there are many loose bowlders of this rock. From Marble Hall to the Wissahickon Creek the dike cannot be seen, as it is covered with a deposit of clay ; but there is a fine exposure on the Wissahickon Creek, where it cuts through the dike, and the creek is turned from its course at one point by contact with the dike.

Trap Rock and Trap Dikes of Montgomery County .- Trap is an igneous rock that came to the surface iu a melted state through a fissure or opening from a place where the rock was liquid. When the opening becomes filled with the rock it is called a dike; these dikes vary in width from a few inches to many feet, or they may form immense masses of rock, like the Palisades along the Hudson River. Some- times the trap, when cooling from a molten state, has assumed a columnar structure instead of being in sharp, irregular masses. The Giant's Causeway, Ire- land, and Fingal's Cave, island of Staffa, are exam- ples of trap rock crystallizing in columns. Very often, when the fissure became full of liquid rock, it would overflow, and the rock would run out over the surface of the adjoining country ; this accounts From Flourtown to Marble Hall the trap runs through limestone and clay ; from Marble Hall to Conshohocken it is found between the southern por- tion of the limestone belt and the mnica-slates ; from Conshohocken through Mechanicsville to the Chester County line it extends through the mica-slates of the for the many bowlders of trap rock that are found some distance from the trap dike of Montgomery County. Trap dikes are of various lengths; some- times they extend across the country for several miles in a straight line, and very often the dikes are curved. Trap is commonly known under the name of mun- , South Valley Hill. The dike crosses the Bethlehem

stone, William Mo-

gee's Quarries.

(1) 49 25

Carbonate of magnesia ...

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

turnpike near the meeting-house. It also crosses the Perkiomen turnpike and the Norristown or Ridge turnpike. This dike does not end in Chester County, but extends on into Delaware County, ending near a road leading from the Lancaster turnpike to the King of Prussia village: This is the largest trap dike in the county. Where it crosses the Perkiomen turnpike, between Marble Hall and Barren Hill, this dike is thirty feet in width. Numerous bowlders and exposures of trap are found between Camp Hill and Jarrettown, and these probably mark the continua- tion of the dike. According to the most recent sur- vey, "there are exposures of trap in several locali- ties northeast of Flourtown, but it has not been traced continuously." During the summer of 1883 I found almost a continuous line of trap bowlders and expo- sures between Jarrettown and Camp Hill, which is about one and a quarter miles from Flourtown. The school-honse at Jarrettown, Upper Dublin township, is situated on what is known as Mundock Ridge. Trap rocks are scattered around in great abundance on this ridge. They are of various sizes, from quite small blocks up to large bowlders which are three and four feet in thickness. On the road through the ridge which leads to Camp Hill, especially in the woods near the school-house, there are many bowlders of immense size. In many places between Jarret- town and Camp Hill the fields are enclosed by walls which are made of trap bowlders of irregular size. Some of these blocks are weathered, but most of them have fresh black surfaces exposed, and are not browned by the weather.

Between these two points trap bowlders are found along the road. Sometimes for a short distance no blocks are found; for instance, at the north base of Camp Hill, and for a short distance beyond, we find no bowlders; but on the south side of the hill, where this road joins the road leading to Edge Hill, I found several large trap rocks. These exposures do not end at Jarrettown, but are found farther on along the road leading to Horshamville. I have since been in- formed that trap exposures are found at Horsham- ville, which is about two and a half miles northeast of Jarrettown. All of these exposures between Flourtown and Horshamville indicate that the dike, after leaving the limestone, enters the new red sand- stone, and probably extends in a northeasterly direc- tion as far as Horshamville, and it may be that the dike does not end here. Future investigation will prove whether the course indicated after the dike leaves Flourtown is the true one, but I believe that it is. The length of the trap dike from Flourtown to Mechanicsville is about eight miles, and if it be true that the dike continues as far as Horsham- ville, the entire length would be about fifteen miles. There are several smaller dikes in the county, but none of these compare in size to the dike of the lime- stone belt. In Marlborough township near Sumney- town there is a small trap dike.

In Pottsgrove township a short distance from Potts- town is the natural curiosity known as the " Ringing Rocks." These rocks are widely known throughout the county, and are visited frequently by curiosity- seekers. Some of the rocks are small, while many are the size of a hogshead or larger. These bowlders are scattered around the surface for a considerable area; some are weathered, and many have fresh surfaces exposed. When these rocks are struck with a ham- mer or a piece of metal they give forth a musical sound. Different tones are produced by striking dif- ferent rocks ; the sound seems to vary with the size of the rock. Hence the name Ringing Rocks. These rocks are sonorous, and when they are struck with a piece of metal the rock is set in vibration, and these vibrations are communicated to the air, and sound waves are formed. These rocks are trap rocks of the same kind as those which form the large dike. The popular idea is that this locality is the only one where these Ringing Rocks will produce sound. But any of the trap bowlders, no matter where found, when they rest on a good foundation (for example, another piece of trap), will produce musical tones. Those near Jarrettown give good tones when struck witlı a hammer.

There are two or three small trap dikes near Potts- town, which extend through the new red sandstone, and the bowlders belonging to one of these dikes comprise the Ringing Rocks. There are several va- rieties of trap rock; those of the county are known under the name of dolerite. This rock is defined as a granular mixture of a bluish-black or gray color, having a density of about 3, and con- taining Labradorite and augite, and sometimes a small amount of magnetic iron ore. This rock is studied sometimes under the microscope. In order to do this the rock is ground on an emery-wheel until a thin slice is obtained, and when this thin section of rock is examined under the microscope the minerals composing the rock can be seen and identi- fied. The augite occurs often in crystals of a bright black color, and the magnetic iron occurs in the form of irregular grains or crystals, arranged sometimes in regular rows or disposed in files. The Labradorite is also found in crystals.

A sample of trap rock found near the " Bird-in- Hand" tavern, on the road from Gulf Mills to Bryn Mawr, which is near the end of the dike, was analyzed by F. A. Genth, Jr., of the University of Pennsylvania, who found

Per cent.

Loss by ignition ..

2.15

Silicic acid.

51.56

Titanic acıd

1.63

Phosphoric acid

0.13

Alumina

17.38

Ferric oxide ...

6.57

Ferrous oxide

3.85

Magnesia

3.42

Lime

10,19

Lithia,

Trace.

Soda

2.19

Potash

1,46

100.53

ORES, MINERALS, AND GEOLOGY.

This analysis gives a good idea of the general com- position of trap.

Serpentine and Soapstone Deposits .- Serpentine is a mineral which does not crystallize, but occurs massive in large rocks or beds. The rock is usually some shade of green, and is quite soft, being readily cut by a knife. It makes a very ornamental building stone, and many public buildings and handsome private residences are built of this rock. Serpentine is a magnesian rock; in composition it is a combina- tion of silicate and hydrate of magnesia, containing from forty to forty-four per cent. of silica, thirty-three to forty-three per cent. of magnesia, ten to fifteen per cent. of water, one to ten per cent. of ferrous and ferric oxides, and from one to six per cent. of alumina, and sometimes a little chromium or nickel oxide. This rock is susceptible of a high polish, and presents a most beautiful appearance when finely polished. One peculiarity of serpentine is it yields up nothing nourishing or sustaining to plant life or vegetation, and nothing except moss and lichens seem to flourish on its surface. Near West Chester are the Serpentine Barrens, so called on account of their unproductive- ness ; these barrens are in the main composed of ser- pentine. In our own county in Lower Merion and Springfield townships, where the serpentine beds are found, we notice loose blocks of serpentine of enor- mous dimensions, and these are covered only by lichens and cryptogamous plants, which are low forms of vegetation. Nothing else seems to flourish on these rocks.

In New Caledonia and among the Alps the natives apply the name Dead Mountains to hills of serpen- tine, because they can raise but little on them, and they are almost devoid of vegetation. Precious serpentine is of a rich oil-green color, and is much used for inlaid work. Verd antique is a clouded serpentine, used for ornamental purposes and tables.

Soapstone .- Soapstone is also a magnesian rock, which contains about sixty-two per cent. of silica, thirty-two to thirty-three per cent. of maguesia, and about five per cent. of water. It has a very soapy or greasy feel, hence the name soapstone. It is of various colors; white, green, and gray of various shades are the most common. It is very soft, and can be readily cut or carved. Soapstone is also known under the name of steatite. There is a mineral of a green color which separates into scales like mica and which occurs in soapstone; this mineral is called talc. It is of the same composition as soapstone, and is exceedingly soft ; its hardness is 1, being the first member of the scale of hardness. Soapstone occurs associated with serpentine; very often it is found in the same belt or bed. Many serpentine beds in this State contain soapstone, and most always we find tale associated with serpentine. The deposits of serpen- tine in Montgomery County have yielded an abund- ance of soapstone and many specimens of talc.

There are two extensive belts of serpentine in

Montgomery County. The longest belt commences on the northern brow of Chestnut Hill, between the two turnpikes, and extends westward across the Wissahickon Creek. It passes through Springfield township; there is an exposure just north of Mana- tawna. This belt crosses the Schuylkill River between Lafayette and Princeton Stations. It extends through Lower Merion township to Bryn Mawr, which is at the county line. This deposit is a straight line of outcrop of steatite or serpentine from Chestnut Hill to Bryn Mawr. Along the eastern and central parts of its course the southern side of the belt consists chiefly of a talcose steatite, the northern side con- taining much serpentine in lumps dispersed through the steatite, but towards the western side this separa- tion seems to disappear. The serpentine belt is plainly seen from Chestnut Hill to Wissahickon Creek, where enormous blocks cover the surface of the bed. Near the Schuylkill the large blocks of serpentine and soapstone are again seen, and they choke the bed of the ravine next north of the soap- stone-quarry. On the west side of the Schuylkill this serpentine and steatite rock is still visible in large blocks a little above the soapstone of that bank of the river. Near Merion Square the exposure is prominent, the surface being strewn with large masses. These rocks may be distinguished from others by the enormous size of the loose blocks, and by the coating of lichens and mosses which flourish on them. The rock is visible in the Pennsylvania Railroad cut south of Bryn Mawr. It is not certain whether this belt from Chestnut Hill to Bryn Mawr is continuous; if this be proved, then the entire length of this serpen- tine belt would be six miles. It is found entirely within the mica-schist belt of rocks. The next ser- pentine belt is found near the Schuylkill River, about one-third of a mile north of Lafayette; it extends east to the brook which flows into the Schuylkill at Lafayette. This belt begins in White Marsh township, and extends westward across the Schuylkill, through Lower Merion township, to the Gulf road about one- third of a mile north of Bryn Mawr. This deposit occurs along the northern edge of the mica-schists, and runs almost parallel to the first belt described; they are only about a mile apart. It is not known whether this belt is continuous, but ifit be continuous the length of it would be about four miles. Another outcrop of serpentine is found south of Gulf Mills, within half a mile from Morgan's Corner. This deposit is found between the slates of the South Valley Hill and the syenite. This exposure has only a length of a few hundred feet, but it is at least three hundred feet wide. It is thought to belong to the belt of serpentines which extend through Delaware County and part of Chester County.

The serpentine belt of Bryn Mawr, after leaving Lower Merion township, extends through Delaware County in a curve towards the city of Chester, on the Delaware River. About a mile east of Roxborough,

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

near the mouth of Cresheim Creek, there is a small bed of serpentine, which seems to be confined to this locality only, as it has not been observed anywhere else in the neighborhood. There is a quarry near the Schuylkill River, and an abandoned quarry near Merion Square. The soapstone-quarry at Lafayette is owned by Mr. Prince. A great variety of minerals is found here. The soapstone is very soft, and is | readily quarried in blocks, which are used for fire- stones in furnaces, and for jambs for fireplaces ; it will stand a high temperature. There is a mineral found in soapstone called pyrophyllite, which when heated will curl like a worm, and sometimes crack the stone. Before marble came into use in the county for door-steps soapstone was used, but was too soft.

Mesozoic, or New Red Sandstone .- The familiar red sandstone rocks cover the northern and central portions of the county. They extend from Trenton to Norristown and Valley Forge, and the sandstone and red shale can be traced along the Schuylkill River from Norristown to Pottstown. All that portion of the county north of the limestone belt and north of the Potsdam sandstone and syenite is covered with new red sandstone and shale. The mesozoic forma- tion is composed of reddish-brown shale, sandstone, and in some localities of conglomerate. The shales and sandstones are generally of red color, which is due to the red oxide of irou which they con- tain. There are quite a variety of sandstones in the county belonging to this formation. In some locali- ties we find sandstone mixed with much elay. Else- where is found rock composed mostly of grains of sand, scarcely any clay or oxide of iron with it. At Norristown, Bridgeport, and other localities is found white sandstone, containing feldspar and mica, with not enough oxide of iron to color it red ; it makes an excellent building stone. The red sandstone is more abundant than those which contain feldspar.

At Morgan's Mills and Fort Washington conglom- erate is found: A ride over the Stony Creek Railroad from Norristown to Lansdale will show an unusually shaly district, mentioned under soils. The rocks of the red sandstone formation are supposed to have been deposited in an inland sea which once covered this region, in the same way that gravel, sand, and mud are now forming rocks. This was the age of reptiles, and their footprints are preserved to this day. Immense frog-like creatures and bird-like reptiles, whose remains were found in this rock at the Pho- nixville tunnel (see Fossils, etc.), are supposed to have flourished during this age. Trap dikes traverse this formation, and occasionally small veins of coal and lignite are found. Red soils result from the rocks of this formation. The copper deposits at Shannonville and Upper Salford are found in the new red sand- stone.

Potsdam Sandstone .- Professor Rogers called this rock the primal sandstone; it is often called the Edge Hill rock. It received the name Potsdam from its

great development at Potsdam, N. Y. The principal exposures of this rock in the county are found flank- ing the limestone valley on the north, between Valley Forge and the eastern extremity of the limestone basin east of Fitzwatertown. It encircles the eastern end of the limestone belt, and extends westward as a narrow belt south of the limestone to Spring Mill. At Henderson's Station, Bridgeport, Hickorytown, Cold Point, and Oreland folds of this sandstone are found penetrating the limestone. The historic hills of Valley Forge are Potsdam sandstone. The forma- tion is well developed at Edge Hill, Rubicam Station, and Willow Grove; near the latter place there is a pic- turesque spot known as "The Rocks." They are cliffs of hard conglomerate with pebbles of blue quartz. This is supposed to represent the beach of an ancient sea, and the pebbles are among the first ever made. This Cambrian sea contained no fishes, but only the lowest forms of animal life. Any organic re- mains or fossils which may have belonged to this formation are either obliterated or so flattened that they cannot be recognized. One fossil found in abundance near Willow Grove is the Scolithus line- aris (see Fossils).

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 8

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534