The Granite Industry of Southwestern New Brunswick: A Historical ...

38 The Granite Industry of Southwestern New Brunswick: A Historical Perspective
Quarry
O’Brien and Baldwin own 350 acres of
red granite property and operate a mill in St.
George. The company quarry (Map 2, 40) is
located about four and one half miles west of St.
George, immediately south of the Tayte, Meating
& Co. quarries at Lily Lake (41 and 42). Quarry
40 was bought by Alex Taylor and operated for
about thirty years before being sold to the present
owners.
The main opening in Quarry 40 (‘Taylor
Quarry’) is about 200 by 100 feet with a face
about 30 feet high on the west and north. The
quarry has yielded large dimension stone up to
5 feet square and weighing up to 16 tons. The
prominent sheeting strikes N82ºW and dips
30ºS; a sheet of this attitude forms the present
floor of the quarry. The 30-foot heading along the
north side is a vertical joint plane with a strike of
N87ºE. These two sets of joints, with the sheeting
parallel to the rift and the heading parallel to the
grain, are the most important structural lines in
the quarry. The stone is light red and has a good
texture. The colour is even, and black knot is
rarely found.
This quarry served as the chief source of stone
for O’Brien and Baldwin until about 1930. Since
that date, most of the stone used in their mill has
been purchased from local producers, but some
foreign stone is used as well.
Analysis
Parks (1914, p. 120–121) reports the following physical characteristics for the
red granite from Quarry 40.
Operations in 1934
Characteristic Value Unit
Specific gravity 2.626 n/a
Weight per cubic foot 163.086 lb
Pore space 0.515 per cent
Ratio of absorption 0.197 per cent
Coefficient of saturation: one hour 0.58 n/a
Coefficient of saturation: two hours 0.69 n/a
Crushing strength 30,702 lb / sq in
Crushing strength (wet) 28,068 lb / sq in
Crushing strength (wet after freezing) 22,582 lb / sq in
Loss on treatment with carbonic acid & oxygen 0.00123 gm / sq in
Transverse strength 1,910 lb / sq in
Drilling factor 3 mm
Factor of toughness 8 blows
Quarry equipment consists of a derrick operated by horsepower and a track and
trolley to carry the waste rock to the dump on the steep slope at the entrance to the
quarry. The stone is quarried by hand and hauled by horseteams and wagon to the
company dressing shed in St. George along about one mile of portage road and four
miles of highway.
The dressing shed is equipped with four polishing beds, one vertical polisher,
two polishing lathes, one cutting lathe, two surfacers and a 10 x 10 Sullivan air
compressor. Electric power is furnished under terms similar to those with the other
companies in St. George. Semi-dressed and finished monumental stock are the main