History of West Virginia Mineral Industries - Sandstone
Glass Sand
In order to be used for high-grade glass manufacturing, sandstone must have at
least 98 percent silica. West Virginia is fortunate to have a sandstone of
this high quality, the Oriskany sandstone. This sandstone forms the summit of
Warm Springs Ridge in Morgan County. The Hancock White Sand Company first
quarried this ridge during the Civil War, and by approximately 1906 there were
7 quarries located along the ridge, all extracting Oriskany sandstone. Also
quarried in Morgan County is the Tuscarora sandstone, another excellent glass
sand. In 1904, the Great Cacapon Silica Sand Company opened a quarry in this
sandstone, on the west slope of Cacapon Mountain, just west of Berkeley
Springs.
In 1929, the Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corporation took over Oriskany sandstone
quarry operations along Warm Springs Ridge, and is today the only major glass
sand company in operation in West Virginia. Presently, this company is the
largest melting sand producer in the world, with the Berkeley Springs operation
alone producing about 1.5 million tons per year. Greer Industries, Inc. produces
limestone sand for the glass industry at their Greer Lime Company facility
in Riverton, West Virginia.
Access to suitable sand and inexpensive fuel (natural gas) have made West
Virginia one of the leading glass manufacturing states. In 1813, Isaac Duval
built the first West Virginia glass plant at Wellsburg, where he manufactured
flint glass and colored glassware. Wheeling soon took the lead in glass
production, making window glass, glass bottles, pitchers, wine glasses, and
tumblers. By 1830 Wheeling had five glass factories and two glass-cutting
establishments, employing 193 people. Morgantown, as well as other West
Virginia towns, has also become known for its fine glassware. West Virginia's
Oriskany sandstone has been used not only in West Virginia but all over the
eastern U. S. for the manufacture of the highest grade of glassware.
Dimension Stone
Dimension stone is stone sold in blocks or slabs, and is used in building. It
must be workable, uniform in texture and grain size, and attractive in
appearance. The early West Virginia settlers had plenty of lumber, and did not
feel the need for stone. However, after the Civil War the centers of
population grew rapidly and the use of native stone also grew. The sandstone
was used for buildings, bridges, paving and curbing, and stone walls. By the
early 1900s there were as many as 60 dimension stone quarries in West
Virginia, primarily in the western part of the State. Although the use of
building stone decreased with the development of new building materials, in
recent years it has once again gained popularity.
Abrasive Stone
Abrasive sandstone was used in making grindstones and pulpstones. The
grindstone was then used for sharpening tools and instruments, and the
pulpstone for crushing wood into fiber at pulp mills. The Marietta sandstone,
outcropping along the Ohio River, is especially good as abrasive stone and has
been the second most important grindstone horizon in the U.S. Around 1900
there were quite a few grindstone quarries, primarily in the Parkersburg
area. But demand decreased, and by 1957 only one grindstone quarry
(Constitution Stone Company, Jackson County) and one pulpstone quarry
(Smallwood and Low Sandstone Company, Monongalia County) were still in
operation. Today there are no active abrasive stone quarries in the State,
as native stone has been replaced by new materials.
(adapted from an article by Jane R. Eggleston, updated September 1996)
Page last revised: January 13, 2012
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