Crushed Stone in Indiana

During the field seasons of 1947 and 1948, two field parties of the Division of Geology, Indiana Department of Conservation, examined, sampled and mapped the quarries that are producing crushed stone in Indiana. Although the purpose of the survey was to study only active quarries, some inactive ones which seemed likely to resume operations were studied

Crushed Stone in Indiana

Indiana Geological Survey Report of Progress 3During the field seasons of 1947 and 1948, two field parties of the Division of Geology, Indiana Department of Conservation, examined, sampled, and mapped the quarries that are producing crushed stone in Indiana. In 1947 the parties were led by George E. Ericksen and the writer and in 1948 by Carroll N. Roberts and the writer. Field assistants for the first year were Robert Stewart and Dallas Fiandt. For 1948 field assistants were W. E. Taylor and Richard Erd. Although the purpose of the survey was to study only active quarries, some inactive ones which seemed likely to resume operations were studied. Of the 92 quarries shown on the map, 89 were in operation during the time of the field examination, and 3 have since become active. These 3 quarries have not been sampled or mapped, but they have been located, and the geological formations from which they produce have been ascertained. The samples are being analyzed by the chemical and spectrographic laboratories of the Division of Geology. A report containing comprehensive information on the limestone and dolomite resources of Indiana will be published when sufficient analyses are available to show regional chemical characteristics and variations of the formations. The report will include analyses of several other formations which have commercial potentialities but are not being exploited at this time. Active quarries are not properly distributed for a determination of the regional characteristics of some of the formations. In such cases, field parties will sample and examine the limestones in areas selected to fill out a well-spaced grid of control. These supplementary samples will be taken from natural outcrops, cuts, and .abandoned quarries during the field season of 1950. In the driftless area of south central Indiana and in most of the portions of southeastern and southwestern Indiana which are covered by Illinoian glacial drift, bedrock is close enough to the surface to permit economical stripping and quarrying. Between the outer border of the Wisconsin drift sheet and the lower portion of the area covered by the Champaign morainic system, major streams and some tributaries out through the glacial drift to bedrock and permit quarrying without excessive stripping. The quarries in Wayne, Rush, Shelby, Bartholomew, Putnam, Montgomery, and northwestern Decatur Counties (Plate 1) are within and near the margin of Wisconsin drift. In northern Indiana overburden is thin only in the valleys of major streams and at a few places in the till plains. The operator therefore quarries limestone and dolomite where they are available and has little opportunity to select his quarry site from a wide range of possible locations. In the limestone areas of southern Indiana, however, potential quarry sites are numerous, and the quarry operator may select a location upon the basis of convenience, geographic advantage, stripping conditions, and character of the limestone. The Silurian and Devonian formations in northern Indiana have not been precisely correlated with those in southern Indiana. The two areas have been treated separately in most geologic reports and are so treated here.Indiana Department of Conservatio

The Salem Limestone in the Indiana Building-Stone District

Indiana Geological Survey Occasional Paper 38The limestone building material that has dominated the national market for more than a century is produced in the Bloomington-Bedford district of southern Indiana. Through the years the economy of this two-county area has grown and diversified, so that the stone industry no longer holds the prominent position it once held, but its influence on the economy of earlier years and on the established traditions is inescapable. More than 100 buildings on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University are of limestone from the district, as are nearly all government buildings and countless homes and commercial structures in both Bloomington and Bedford. Oolitic, a small town near the center of the building-stone district, traces its name back to the settlement of the area by immigrant stone workers from England who noticed the similarity of the Salem Limestone to the Portland Oolite, a popular building stone in England. The names of buildings, fraternal organizations, and school mascots testify to the influence of the stone industry on the people. The area has had a rich history because of uncommon properties of a common rock, limestone. The building-stone district has attracted geologists, architects, and laymen from all states and many foreign countries, and through the years we have guided hundreds of people through the quarries and mills. Always we have been warmly received by the owners and the workers. Partly on the basis of these tours and on questions that were asked during the tours, we prepared a guidebook that was first used at the meeting of the North-Central Section of the Geological Society of America in Bloomington on April 12, 1980. This paper has been modified from that coverage (Patton and Carr, 1980).Indiana Department of Natural Resource