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Georgia Marble.
The Largest Quarry in the World.
“This is certainly the largest marble
quarry in the world,” said Mr. Paul
Ro mare, of the Atlanta National, last
Saturday, as be was standing with
Governor McDaniel, Colonel B. F.
Abbott and a party of Atlanta gentle
men on the banks of Long Swamp
Creek, inspecting the quarries of the
Georgia Marble company, in Pickens
county, in Georgia. And it really is.
Four years ago Messrs. Clement
and Bain, two of Chicago’s most en
terprising merchants, backed by a
company with ample capital, com
menced to open up this quarry. No
one at the time, except these gentle
men and those associated with them,
had any idea of the magnitude of the
work they were then undertaking,
and if they had told our people what
they were going to do but few would
have been found who would believe it,
and then if any one had believed they
would build up this magnificent pro
perty as they have, the natural inqui
ry would have followed what will
they do with the marble after they
are prepared to quarry it in such
quantities ?
Both these questions have been an
swered by what has been done by this
company in the past four years.
The bulk of the good marble land in
this part of the county of Pickens was
owned by the Tate brothers, sons of
Mr. Samuel Tate, one of the original
settlers of old Cherokee —now Pickens.
Mr. Samuel Tate settled on this land in
1835, and was well acquainted with
not only the quantity of marble, but
the quality on this land, and he al
ways told his sons that the time would
come when it would be very valuable.
For a number of years it looked as if
the prediction of Mr. Tate would not
come true in the life time of his child
ren. But soon after the narrow
gauge railroad was built from Mariet
ta to Jasper, it became apparent
that the marble beds under the rich
soil in the Long Swamp valley were
more valuable than even old Mr. Tate
had thought it was.
Parties were soon in negotiation to
purchase the property. The two
brothers who had charge of the nego
tiation —Major William Tate and Mr.
Stephen Tate —the father had died
some years before —refused to sell the
land, and proposed to lease for a long
term for a royalty. They were good
business men and the result has shown
their wisdom; their good judgment
has also greatly aided them. They
discarded many who wanted to work
the marble quarry, refused all offers
to purchase, and finally determined to
maKe a contract leasing their entire
marble interest to Messrs. Clement
and Bain and their associates for
ninety-nine years on a royalty of
seven cents per cubic foot for the mar
ble quarried, preferring to deal with
one company than to cut it up into
many small companies.
The valley where the marble Ijes is
pearly two miles long and s,bout a
half mile wide.. It has been tested
withadiamond drill 150 feet, and dis*
plays four kinds of marble. The
creole, that is dark with white streaks;
the Cherokee, that is lighter colored,
and the Etowah, that is flesh-colored,
and the white marble. Soon after the
details of the lease had been arranged,
the Georgia Marble company com
menced to prepare to develop these
quarries. They have been four years
getting ready, and while this has been
going on they have had agents show
ing samples and buildipg up a demand
for the marble in the different markets
of America.
They have constructed three large
mills for sawing the marble blocks,
and now have running thirty-four
gangs of saws that run from 12 o’clock
Monday morning until 12 o’clock Sat
urday night. They run night and
day between these hours without stop
ping. They have eleven channeling
machines that cut the marble in the
quarries, two diamond drills and five
steel drills, all run by steam. They
have constructed four immense steam
derricks that are capable of moving a
block of marble weighing twenty-five
tons, as easy as a man can move a
brick the same distance. They have
constructed an immense traveler that
carries these blocks from the quarries to
the saws wherever they want it placed.
They have built six miles of railroad.
They employ about two hundred
hands, and yet the bulk of the work is
done by machinery that works auto
matic. It requires twenty stationary
steam engines to do the various work
required of them, and one of them is
as large as any in the state.
The marble is cut out in great
blocks weighing from ten to twenty
tons, and placed on cars to be ship
ped to Chicago, Nelson, Marietta,
Indianapolis, St. Louis, Cincinnati,
or the many places where this marble
is now used; or it is carried to the
saws where it is made into tiling, stock
for monuments or furniture or for the
various uses for which it is required.
When it is known that one hundred
feet square of this marble bed, one
hundred feet deep, will make one mil
lion feet of marble, it will be under
stood how immense the value of
this valley is. So it will be
seen that there is marble enough
in this valley to build every city
in America in marble and then
have enough to pave the streets. The
largest mill was finished in June last,
and is now working away night and
day preparing the marble for the mar
kets of the world. They are shipping
daily two carloads of marble to Chi
cago, and the quarries yield about
fifteen carloads a day. At Nelson,
three miles away, Mr. Dewar has con
structed a splendid mill for finishing
up marble. He makes a specialty of
monumental work and fine mantles,
and marble for furniture. He obtains
his supply of marble from the Georgia
Marble company.
They have some of the most skilled
marble cutters in America in these
works, and are now doing some very
fine work—one mantlepiece that will
cost twenty-five hundred dollars. The
American Marble company, at Mari
etta, is a more extensive mill on the
same line. Here they do elegant
turning and scroll work—prepare
wainscoting —and, in fact, are using
marble very much like some of our
planing mills do plank. The work
turned out by these mills are the
finest ever done anywhere. They
have machinery covered with patents
that cannot be duplicated by other
mills, and hence do work that cannot
be done any where else. All the mar
ble they use comes from the quarries
of (he Georgia Marble company. In
one week with this equipment, all
running, the Georgia Marble company
pan lift out of their quarries over one
hundred thousand cubic feet of mar
ble.
Naturally the inquiry will be made
—won’t they glut the market ?
We asked the question of Messrs.
Clement & Bain and they answered :
“We have withdrawn our agents
until the broad gauge road is finished
from Marietta to Jasper, in October
next, simply because we cannot keep
THE KENNESAW GAZETTE.
up with our orders. We are behind
now five hundred car loads.”
“We have never been able to keep
up with the demand from Boston to
California.”
“Yes, it was hard to get started.
We spent forty thousand dollars in
troducing this marble, but now it car
ries itself. We cannot supply the de
mand, and will, as soon as possible,
duplicate that large mill.”
These gentlemen have built thirty
six houses around their quarry —some
very large and handsome, and they
run their business apparently witn
more ease than half of the small farm
ers in Pickens do their farms.
“How have you been treated by the
people here,” was asked ?
‘•Just as well as if we had lived
among them all our lives,” was an
swered. “If we have an enemy here
we do not know it. We could not
wish for better treatment from the
people —they are kind and clever to
us, and we have as many friends, in
proportion to population, around us
here as we have in Chicago.”
“It took considerable nerve to plant
a half million dollars in these hills,”
remarked a gentleman. “I think it
would have been a difficult job to get
a company of Georgians to do it.”
“Not if they had known the value
of this marble as we did,” remarked
Mr. Clement. There is none of the
stock of the Georgia Marble company
for sale. The owners know the value
of it. It will make every man who
owns a block of it rich in time, and
the Tates will -be the richest men in
north Georgia if they take care of
what they get. I have known two of
them, William and Stephen, a long
time, and they will take care of what
they get, is my judgment. lam not
so well acquainted with the younger
ones comiug on, except Carter, but
they tell me they are all chips from
the old block, and there was no better
stock to chip from than old man Sam
uel Tate. If he could rise up to-day
from the peaceful grave in sight of
the immense works where this marble
is being quarried, and see what is be
ing done, he would remark: “Let
thy servant depart in peace. My
judgment has been vindicated, and
my sons have acted wisely.”
Most of our party remained over
and spent Sunday at the hospitable
mansion of Messrs. Clement and Bain,
and left on the early train for Atlanta.
Governor McDaniel says he was not
prepared to see such a sight as he did
at the quarries, although he kuew
there was a great; industry being de
veloped there. Governor McDaniel
has always been a great friend to that
part of the state and aided the people
materially when he was governor in
getting communication with the bal
ance ol Georgia by railroad.
E. P. H.
—Atlanta Constitution, July 31.
As you ride over the W. & A. R. R.
through Mill Creek Gap, which has
been termed the “Thermopylae of
Georgia,” which cuts the famous
Rocky Face Ridge in two, don’t spend
all of your time admiring the natural
grandeur of this wild mountain gorge,
but ask the conductor to point out to
you the remains of the Federal block
house, right by the track, which the
Confederates, after a tough fight, cap
tured, in their movement against
Nashville, after the fall of Atlanta.
Also observe the 103 mile post, which
was broken in two by a cannon ball,
and Ins never been repaired.
For special low rates to Niagara
Falls and return, write to the General
Passenger Agent of the Western &
Atlantic Railroad, Atlanta, Qa.
Cartersville Again.
Two Large Furnaces'to be Erected at Once.
Other Improvements in Prospect.
Real Estate Advancing.
Mr. George A. Patillo, of Carters
ville, Ga., was in Atlanta yesterday„
and we asked him what Cartersville
was doing with the various enterprises
they were agitating there a short time
ago. He gave us some good news
and we repeat what he said to let the
world know that the people of Bartow
are wide awake. He said :
“We are moving along quietly. A
syndicate of Alabama and Georgia
capitalists met in Cartersville a few
days since and consummated an ar
rangement with the citizens of Carters
ville by which they agree to erect at
once two furnaces of 50 tons daily
capacity; one ferro manganese furnace
of 20 tons daily capacity, together
with attendant plant for dephosphoris
ing both iron and manganese ores.
The consideration on the part of Carters
ville is a donation of twenty-five acres
of land and twenty-five thousand dol
lars in cash, which amount has already
been subscribed by the citizens of Car
tersville. The twenty-five acres of
land has been selected and an engineer
corps will go on it this week to survey
and arrange for side tracks, etc.
“The location of the above mention
ed two furnaces is but the beginning of
numerous other industries, as well as
other and larger furnaces. A rolling
mill, and then nail works will follow
the furnaces.
“Real estate, though advancing
rapidly from the great stimulus given
by the assurance of finances, is still
within reach of all who may take ad
vantage of present prices, but can’t be
kept at the low figurss long. North
Georgia will now wake up and divide
with Alabama the great industry of
the age, viz: the manufactures of iron
and steel direct from the ores, which
have so long lay hidden in its moun
tains. Atlanta will also begin very
soon to manufacture all kinds of hard
ware, tools, etc. In fact, the whole
state will feel the good effects of the
iron industry, once it is fairly inaugu
rated.”
This is certainly very good news for
our state. Our people let Alabama
get ahead of them by quietly submit
ting to it on the iron interest. There
can be no question about the fact that
we have the best iron and manganese
ore in Georgia that can be found in
America,and it is not surprising that
capitalists are coming here to work it.
The healthy climate around Carters
ville is a great advantage also.
Let the good work proceed. If you
want to get in on the ground floor on
real estate in Bartow, now is the time
to invest. After awhile you will have
to crawl in on the third story, If you
get in at all. Land is beginning to
stiffen in prices, and there is not as
much of it for sale as there was once.
You will be in the center of the best
part of the south if you locate in Car
tersville. — Atlanta Constitution, July 31.
The Railroad Commissioners of Geor
gia say in their circular dated April
10, 1888:
“The reduction of passenger rates,
recently made by the Western & At
lantic Railroad, is an experiment that
perhaps the managers of no other road
in the State could afford.”
This is one of the highest compli
ments yet paid the sagacity of the offi
cers who manage the Western & At
lantic Railroad.- Without adding furth
er words “we leave the case with you.”
The Kennesaw Route is the quickest-