USA > Texas > Harris County > Houston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 22
USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 22
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The amount required will of course vary with the composition of the soil and the quality of the greensand. From three to ten wagon loads per acre wonld, perhaps, be the usual amount required, although some soil- might need even more.
Culcureous Marls. - Lime is already usel to a large extent in agriculture, and will he used more largely still. Its uses are to lighten clay soils and to make sandy soils more firm, while sour soils or swamp lands are sweetened by its application. In addi- tion to this the chemical action brought abont by its presence in the decomposition und rendering soluble of other constituents of the soil is very great, so that its action is both chemical and physical. Its use is per- haps most beneficial when composted with organic mannres or the greensand inarls.
When the calcareons marls are soft enough to be easily powdered they may be applied as they are, and in this condition thre action of the lime is much more gradual and of longer continuance. When they exist as harder rocks they will have to be burned before ap- plying them.
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Among the rocks of the Cretaceons series are many deposits which are especially adapted for use in this way. Localities are numerous in the divisions known as the Austin chalk and the Washita limestone which will afford a soft material well suited for the purpose.
It often happens that in the greensand beds themselves there are large deposits of fossil shells still in their original form a; carbonate of lime. Where these occur the marl is of great value, as it contains that which will render it most valuable on such sandy lands as need it.
Clays .-- Some of the clays of east Texas will prove of value as fertilizers on account of the large amount of potash they contain -as high as five and six per cent. in certain 'cases. While it is true that much of the potash is in chemical combination with silica, and therefore soluble only with difficulty, if composted with quicklime this substance will be rendered more soluble and prepared for plant food.
FICTILE MATERIALS.
Texas has not yet begun to take that place among the manufacturers of pottery and glassware which the character, quality and extent of the materials found within her bor- ders render possible. For pottery-making there exist clays adapted to every grade, from common jng ware and tiling through yellow, Rockingham, C. C., white granite or iron- stone china, to china or porcelain of the finest quality. Glass sands are also found of a high degree of purity, and many other materials of use or necessity in the mann- facture of these various grades of goods are found here.
While the subject of clays has not yet re- ceived the attention that it is proposed to
give it, numerous specimens have been seenred and analyzed, with the result of proving the facts as stated above.
Among the clays of the division known as coast clays are some that will answer for the coarser stoneware, such as jugs, flower pots, drain tile, etc., and others which from their refractory character are well adapted for the manufacture of charcoal furnaces, and possi- bly of sewer pipe.
The coast region contains beds of light colored clays, many of which are pure white. These beds of clay not only underlie and overlie the middle beds of Fayette sands, bnt are also found interbedded with that series. The excellent qualities of these clays were first stated by Dr. W. P. Riddell, of the first geological survey of Texas under Dr. Shumard. His specimens were obtained from the Yegua, in Washington county, and in the vicinity of Hempstead. Since that time many analyses have been made of clays of various portions of these beds, and while some of them are too high in alkalies or fusible constitu- ents, others are well suited to the maimfac- ture of all grades of earthen ware below that of porcelain, or French china as it is called. Clays of this character have been secured in various localities from Angelina to and below Fayette county. There are beds in the l'ay- ette sands that will be of value in glass- making. Some of the beds are composed of clear angular quartz grains without tinge of iron, having only an occasional grain of rounded red or black quartz.
In the timber-belt beds there are other clays and sands well suited to the mannfac- ture of carthenware and glass. Most of the beds of pottery clays of this division ex- amined so far in eastern Texas are, however, only suited for the coarrer grade's of earthen.
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ware,. bnt in Grimes and Robertson counties (and possibly in others as well) clays of higher grade are found.
Kaolin .- In Robertson county, not far from the town of Mexia, there is a deposit of sandy clay which is readily separated by washing into a kaolin of excellent quality and a perfectly pure quartz sand. This kaolin has been tested practically and pro- duces a good porcelain.
Potteries have been erected in various parts of the State within the limits of the Fayette and timber-belt beds for the maul- facture of common earthenware, flower pots, etc., and several are now in successful opera- tion. Among localities of potteries may be mentioned Lavernia, Wilson county; Athens, Ilenderson county; Kosse, Limestone county; Burton, Washington county, and others.
In addition to the kaolin already men- tioned in Robertson county, kaolins of excel- lent quality are found in Edwards and Uvalde counties. These are pure white in color, somewhat greasy to the touch, and are infusible in the hottest blow-pipe flame. Being practically free from iron, they are adapted to the making of the best grades of china. They are free from grit and every other objectionable impurity. A com- parison of the analyses of these kaolins with those of established reputation more fully show their valne.
Of the other materials needed in the manu- facture of pottery, we have deposits of feld- spar well suited for glazing; gypsum for the manufacture of plaster of paris for molds; clays suitable for the saggers, and cheap fnel in abundance.
BUILDING MATERIALS.
The variety and widespread occurrence of the rocks of Texas suitable for construction
is so great that it will be impracticable to allnde to them in any other than general terms. They will therefore be grouped under general headings.
Granites ocenr in widely separated por- tions of the State. The first locality is what has been termed in the reports the central mineral region, the second is in the extreme west, or trans-Pecos Texas. The granites of the first or central region are of different colors. The best known is the red granite, such as was used in the construction of the capitol building. The color is red to dark reddish-gray, varying from fine to rather coarse grain in structure, and susceptible of high polish. The outerop of the granite, which can be quarried to any desired dimen- sions, covers an area of over 100 square iniles.
There is a quarry now in operation on the portion from which the granite was taken for the building of the capitol, on account of which it was originally opened, the material used having been donated by the owners, Colonel Norton, Dr. Westfall and George W. Lacy.
Besides this particular granite there are many others in this region which will prove as useful. In the northern part of Gillespie county there is a brownish granite of very grain which takes a beautiful polish; and in addition there are found in various portions of the region granites varying in color from light to dark gray, which are well adapted for building purposes, and in some instances will prove of decided value for ornamental and monumental purposes.
The granites of trans-Pecos Texas, like those of the central mineral region, are well suited both for building and ornamental pur- po: es. The western granites, however, lack the variety of color which is found in those
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of the central region, being for the most part a lighter or darker gray, the feldspar being very light-colored in all of them. They are adjacent to railway transportation, however, as the Southern Pacific Railway passes very near their outerop in the Quitman mountains and directly by them in the Franklin mount- ains, near El Paso, and will sooner or later come into market.
Porphyries .- Among the most beautiful and indestructible of our building stones we must place the porphyries. Their hardness, however, and the difficulty of quarrying and dressing them, often prevent their taking the place in actual use that their good qualities would otherwise seenre for them; but where the elements of durability and beauty are sought their worth must be properly recog- nized.
Porphyries of almost every shade and color abound in trans-Pecos Texas. There are in the State museum specimens taken from the onterops in the Quitman Mountains alone, which are readily divisible into twenty or more shades. These vary through light grays, yellows, reds, purples and greens to black, and their polished surfaces are espe- cially rich. The quantity and accessibility to railroad transportation must prove sutli- cient indneement for their development.
Marbles .--- The deposits of the marbles, like those of the granites, are found both in the central mineral region and in trans- Pecos Texas. In addition to these deposits there ocenr in numerons places limestones inore or less altered from various causes which are locally called marbles, and are sometimes both beautiful and useful when properly dre-sed. Among such 'deposits may be noticed what is known as the Austin marble, a stratum of the Crotaceous which has been ultered until its fossils have been changed to 1
calcite. The body of the stone is, when pol- ished, of a light yellow color, and the trac- ings of the contained shells in pure caleite, which gives a very pretty effect, although their fragile character detracts greatly from the usefulness of the stone. Other deposits of similar semi-marbles of various colors are found among the Carboniferous limestones of the northern portion of the State The marbles and semi-marbles of the central mineral region are the altered limestones of the Silurian and older beds, some of which are of tine texture and capable of receiving an excellent polish. The marbles of the Silurian beds found in San Saba, Burnet, Gillespie and other counties, which are known as " Burnet marbles," are both of solid color and variegated. They are found in beautiful pink, white, buff, bine and gray shades, and although not true marbles, are well adapted for many uses.
The marbles belonging to what are called the Texan beds, a formation older than the Silurian, are, however, real marbles. They are found near Packsaddle mountain, En- chanted Peak, and in the Comanche creek region of Mason county. They are often snowy white in color, of even grain, and among the deposits are found strata of me- dium thickness. They are not, however, as extensive as the deposits of the semi-marbles .-
In trans-l'ecos Texas marbles belonging, as is supposed, to the same geologic age, exist in great abundance, and for beauty in color can not be surpassed.
From the Carrizos to the Quitman mount- ains outcrops occur in the vicinity of the railroad of marbles which are certain at no distant day to become the basis for great commercial industry. They are found banded or striped and clouded, as well as pure white. They nre fine grained, and can be quarried
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in stone of almost any dimensions. Some of them when polished will rival the Aragon- ite or Mexican of yx in delicacy of coloring.
The limestones of Texas which are suited for building purposes are abundant and widespread in their occurrence. The Cre- taceous formation which covers fully one- fourth of the entire area of the State abounds in limestone well adapted for structural pur- poses. In addition to this we have the lime- stones of the Carboniforone, Permian and Silurian systems, so that the total aren is largely inerenced.
The limestones of the Cretaceous occur both in its upper and lower divisions. In the Austin chalk there are beds which for- mish excellent stone which is quarried for use in many places, but a large portion of it is too elialky and not firm enongli for gen- erul use. The best limestone of this forma- tion is that contained in the Fredericksburg and Washita divisions of the Lower Cre- taceous. These limestones are of color vary- ing from white to yellow, very rarely darker, and are often somewhat soft when first qnar- ried, becoming harder on exposure.
Among the materials of the Clear Fork division of the Perinian formation are some even-bedded limestones of square fracture, fine, even grain and good color, that will prove valuable as building material. These were observed in the northwestern part of Shackelford county, and will also be found north and south of that locality along the outerop of these beds. Seymour and Bal- linger show buildings constructed of these limestones.
Sandstones and Quartzites .- The sand- stones are fully as widely distributed as the limestones, being found in nearly all dis- triets in greater or less quantity. In the Fayette sands are found beds of indurated
sands of light color which have been used in various localities along their line of outerop for building purposes. Rock has been quar. ried from these deposits for many localities, principally at Rockland, Tyler county; Quarry Station, on the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad; Rock Quarry, on the Ilouston & Texas Central Railway, in Washi- ington county, and in various parts of Fay- otte, Lavaca and other counties to the south- west.
In the timber-belt beds the altered (and even the unaltered) greensand marks are sometimes so indurated as to be used for building purposes. In addition to this many of the hill-cappings of sandstone, which at times replace the iron ore, are valu- able building stones.
In the Cretaceous area north of the Colo- rado river there are no sandstones of any particular valne so far as our examinations have extended.
The area of the central coal field abonds in excellent sandstone for building purposes, some of which has been extensively quarried and used in the construction of buildings from Dallas west to Cisco. It is of good color, quarries well, and presents a handsome appearance in the wall. It is so generally found in this district thint it is impossible to name the localities.
In the Permian there are some sandstones which will be of wide application in the buildings of the State. East of Pecos City, at Quito, on the Texas & Pacific Railway, a company has recently opened a quarry in a compact, well jointed red sandstone which is probably of Permian age. It is of a bean- tiful red color, uniform in texture and color, easily worked yet durable, and in every way adapted to the best uses in building. The company in boring a well at the place
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have passed through more than 100 feet of this red sandstone, thus proving its unlim- ited quantity. It will compare favorably in every way with the sandstones formerly im- portel into the State for the fronts and trimmings of buildings.
Beyond the Carrizo and Diabolo mountains there is a fine-grained red sandstone which is destined to be one of the finest building stones of the State. It is a little darker in color than the Quito stone, finer-grained, firmer, of even texture, and will lend itself to alnost any character of decoration.
In this trans-Pecos region there are many other sandstones and quartzites which will in time come into use for structural purposes.
Slate .- The two areas in which the older rocks are found both give promise of fur- nishing slate suitable for roofing. In the central mineral district several locallties have been examined which on the surface give in- dication of furnishing good roofing slate, and in the vieinity of the Carrizo mountains, El Paso county, similar indications are found.
It will of course require some aetnal work in opening the quarry sufficiently to ascer- tain the condition of the material below the surface to fully decide the value of the de- posits, but the indications are very favorable and warrant such an attempt nt development.
Thus it is readily apparent that in hnild- ing stone there is no lack of variety, as well as an ample supply of all that can be made useful.
Clays suitable for hriekmaking, terra cotta and drain tile are found in all the different formations occurring in the State. All are not of equal value, and indeed the brick made from some few are quite inferior, but the majority produce good, serviecable brick. The colors of the brick vary from yellow or eream color, such as are made at Austin,
through various shades of browns and reds, according to the character of the elay. In eastern Texas, as well as in the carboniferous arca, the brick are usually mottled from the amount of iron in the clays. Selected clays, however, in these localities produee brick of excellent eolor. The importance of this in- dustry will be seen by the following state- ment of the aggregate of brick production for the year 1889, which was received from the operators of the briek kilus in answer to inquiries, namely, 95,000,000.
Many of the elays of the Tertiary ex- amined during the past year are well suited to the manufacture of terra cotta and drain tile. These are found in the region covered by the timber-belt beds, as well as among the Fayette clays. Those of the other areas have not yet been examined fully enough to determine their availability for these pur- poses, but it is probable that many carbon- iferons elays will prove well adapted for them.
Lithographic stone is found in several places in Texas, but it is too much fractured for use.
Lime .-- As is well known, the lime made from the rocks of that horizon of the Cretaco- ous formation known as the Caprina lime- stones (which is the most persistent bed of . all the formation) is unsurpassed for quality. The fame of the Anstin lime is well estab- lished. Other beds of the cretaccous will answer well in lime-making, although some of them contain too much clayey matter, or are otherwise unfitted for this use. Lime ie also made from the limestone of the other deposits, but none of these have been so snc- cessfully operated as those above mentioned. The reports received for 1889 gave a total production of 190,000 barrels.
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Cement Materials .- Cements are of two kinds,-natural, or hydraulie, and artificial, or Portland.
. Natural, or hydraulic, eement is made from certain clayey limestones, which, when burned and ground, have the property of setting or becoming hard under water. Portland eem- · ents are of similar character, but are made by artificially mixing the limestone and clays in the proper proportion.
Materials for both characters of eement exist in abundance within the State. The limestones of certain beds of the Cretaceous are clayey enought to make eement when properly calcined and ground, and the same properties are claimed for some of those found in the Tertiary, but onr tests have so far failed to bear ont the claim. Some of the limestones belonging to the Clear Fork beds of the Permian might answer if the percent- age of magnesia was not too great.
The materials for Portland cement are, however, more abundant, and the product of so much better quality as to render the natural eement a matter of comparatively small importance. The Austin chalk is rather widespread in its distribution and adjacent to clays of ahnost any required grade.
The entire practicability of the manufae- ture of Portland cement has been shown by the two factories which have undertaken it, one at San Antonio, the other at Austin. The former supplied much of the eement used in the ereetion of the present capitol building, and it was of very excellent quality.
Pluster of Paris is produced from gyp- snm by driving out the percentage of water which is chemically combined with it. Its manufacture on any desired scale is entirely practicable in the Permian region of Texas, where many beds of gypsmn of great purity oceur.
Sand for mortar, plaster, ete., is found in many places. The Cretaeeons is perhaps the area in which it is scareest, and it can be brought in from either side. The locations will be more fully discussed in the deserip- tions of counties.
METALS AND ORES.
Iron .- Probably the most important of our ore deposits are those of iron, which in various forms are found in many parts of the State.
Beginning at the Louisiana line with a breadth of nearly 150 miles, stretelling soutlı- west in a gradually narrowing belt and proba- bly fading out in Caldwell county or just be- youd, there is found a series of hills of greater or less elevation which are eapped with ferruginated material, varying from a sandstone with a small amount of oxide of iron in the matrix, to limonite ores of high grade. Of this division only a few of the counties of east Texas have been fully ex- amined, but enongh has been done to show the probability that the greater amount of workable ores of this belt lie east of the 96th meridian, although there may be localities west of that line at which ores of value occur. These ores are associated entirely with roeks of the Tertiary and later periods.
In the Cretaceous no iron ores of any con- sequence are known except in the extreme west, where deposits of ochre seem to oceur in connection with strata belonging to the Fredericksburg division of the Lower Cretace- ous series.
There are only a few ores of any value found in the carboniferons area, and those of the Permian are not of mneh importance. The central mineral region, however, con- tains, in connection with its deposits of older
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rocks, large deposits of very valuable ores, including magnetite, red hematite, and vari- ons hydrated ores. Finally, in trans-Pecos Texas iron ores of the hematite and magnetic types are found in veins of considerable thickness.
Thus it will be seen that the distribution of the ore; is general, extending entirely across the State from east to west.
The ores of east Texas all belong to the class of limonites, or brown hematites. They have been divided according to their physical structure, due to the manner of their forma- tion, into four general classes, -- laminated ores, geode or nodular ores, conglomerate ores, and carbonate ores.
The laminated ores are brown to black in color and vary in structure from a massive to a highly laminated variety in which the lamina vary from one-sixteenth to one-quarter of an ineh in thickness, frequently separated by hollow spaces, and sometimes containing thin seams of gray clay. The average thick- ness of the ore bed is from one to three feet, although it may exceed this in places. This class of ores is most extensively developed south of the Sabine river. The ore bed is generally underlaid by a stratmin of green- sand marl from ten to thirty feet in thick- ness, and overlaid by from one to sixty feet of sands and sandstones.
The nodular, or geode ores, which are best developed north of the Sabine river, usually oceur as nodules or geodes, or as sandy- clay strata. This ore generally occurs in nodules or geodes, or as honey-combed, botryoidal, stalactitic and mammillary masses. It is rusty brown, yellow, dull red, or even black color, and has a glossy, dall, or earthy lustre. The most characteristic feature of the ore is the nodular or geode form in which it occurs. Some of the beds are made up of
these masses, either loose in a sandy-clay matrix or solidified in a bed by a ferruginous cement. The ore lies. horizontally at or near the tops of the hills, in the same manner as the brown laminated ores to the south of the Sabine river. The beds vary in thickness from less than one foot to over ten feet, the thicker ones being often interbedded with thin seams of sand. The ore-bearing beds are immediately overlaid by sandy or sandy- elayey strata.
Conglomerate ores consist of a conglomer -. ate of brown ferruginous pebbles one-quarter to two inelies in diameter and cemented in a sandy matrix. Sometimes a few siliceons pebbles are also found. The beds vary from one to twenty feet thick, and are generally local deposits along the banks and bluffs and sometimes in the beds of almost all the creeks and streams in the iron-ore region just de- scribed. Sometimes they cap the lower hills. They are generally of low grade, but could be concentrated by crushing and washing out the sandy matrix. They usually contain more or less ferruginous sandstone in lenticular deposits, and are much cross-bedded.
The investigations of the survey in east Texas show an aggregate iron-bearing area of a thousand square miles. This is not all. a solid bed of commercial ore, but the area within which commercial ores are known to exist. If even one-fourth be taken as pro- ductive iron land, and the bed be estimated at two feet in thickness, both very safe esti- mates, we have a total output of 1,500,000,000 tons of iron ore. The quality of the ores varies from that adapted to the manufacture of steel, or " Bessemer ores, " to that of low grade.
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