"Bluestone and the Endless Mountain Stone Co."
What is Pa. Bluestone?

Pennsylvania Bluestone is a unique sand stone found only in Northeastern Pennsylvania and South Central New York region, but mostly in Susquehanna County. Pennsylvania Bluestone derives its name from its typically blue color.  It is marketed in two types:  dimensional (architectural grade) used for treads, sill, cladding, coping, counter  tops, and  flagstone, which is used for walkways and patios.   As sediments fossilized into rock, minerals carried by groundwater through rock deposits created other colors, including: blue, green, earth tone,  and lilac or a combination of these shades. Pennsylvania Bluestone is a strong, stable stone that resists cracking and won’t discolor.  Pennsylvania Bluestone is highly prized as a building material and for adding architectural details because it can be easily separated into slabs of desired size.

  The Starrucca Viaduct  is an outstanding example of the strength and durability of Pennsylvania Bluestone as a building material, completed in 1848 by the Erie Railroad, the Starrucca Viaduct is now a National Civil Engineering Landmark and is still used by the Norfolk-Southern Railroad. The viaduct is one thousand feet long, with seventeen arches rising between 90 and 100 feet high supporting the span. Pennsylvania Bluestone is an appealing to  landscapers and architects seeking a beautiful natural product for its distinction and generations of durability.  Pennsylvania Bluestone is versatile, fitting into contemporary and traditional designs. Landscapers use Pennsylvania Bluestone to create walls, steps, sidewalks, patios and as a complimentary material in building facades. Pennsylvania Bluestone is also used in interior decorating for fireplaces, countertops, flooring, medallions, murals, and other architectural details. Artists and crafters also use Pennsylvania Bluestone to create interesting gifts such as clocks, lamps, tables, desk plaques and signs, along with imaginative and captivating works of art.

The Geology of Pennsylvania Bluestone
   Looking across the Endless Mountains of Susquehanna County today, it is difficult to imagine that that here, 400 million years ago, several different river systems drained into an ancient sea, creating a vast area of tidal flats. Geologists categorize Susquehanna County as the Wyoming Lobe, a delta system that is one of the most famous sequences in the Appalachian-Catskill Delta.
Over a period of millions of years, the landscape changed: The oceans receded; the rivers changed their course.  Left in their wake were simple life forms – clams, shells and ferns—caught in deposits of sediment. Eventually the organisms fossilized and the sediment turned to rock, known today as Pennsylvania Bluestone.
The sediment deposits that eventually formed into Pennsylvania Bluestone were formed in the transition zone between land and ocean where fast moving, shallow waters dropped sediments in long stretches. 

More Recent History
   A stone quarry, of some prospective value, has been recently opened near Drinker’s Creek (Oakland Township),” wrote Miss Emily Blackman in her History of Susquehanna County, published in 1873. She added, “Stone has also been drawn from a quarry in Auburn Township for building purposes, both to Wilkes-Barre and Montrose.”
One outstanding monument to the strength and durability of Pennsylvania Bluestone is the Starrucca Viaduct, located in Lanesboro, Susquehanna County. Completed in 1848 by the Erie Railroad, the Starrucca Viaduct is now a National Civil Engineering Landmark and is still used by the Norfolk-Southern Railroad. The viaduct is one thousand feet long, with seventeen arches rising between 90 and 100 feet high supporting the span.
William S. Young, author of The Bridge of Stone, writes that the viaduct’s builders were delighted to discover an abundant quantity of such a suitable stone. He adds that quarrying became a local industry some time after the viaduct was built. In the mid-1800’s at least six quarries in the neighborhood of the viaduct were cutting Bluestone to be shipped away for sidewalk materials. 
The convenience of Pennsylvania Bluestone as a building material made it possible for the Starrucca Viaduct to be constructed. In turn, the more convenient method of transportation by rail allowed quarrymen to sell their product to a larger market. 
Before the advent of bulldozers, teams of horses cleared off the overburden of rock and soil. Blasting was also used to open up old quarries. To separate the blocks of stone into manageable sizes, quarrymen drilled holes along a line on top of the stone slab then pounded sets of wedges into the holes then drove a second set of flat wedges in-between the first set. They used stone axes with two and a half inch square blades and rows of teeth set about a quarter inch apart to smooth the edges of the stones.

Pennsylvania Bluestone Today
   Today’s quarrymen use saws with diamond tipped blades to cut through the blocks of stone. Production of cut and sized Bluestone continues on-site in quarries. Massive blocks of Pennsylvania Bluestone are also trucked into “saw shops”, manufacturing operations in the county that produce dimension stone for the market year round.
The production of Pennsylvania Bluestone is regulated by several different state and federal agencies and is under Pennsylvania’s Non-coal Surfacing Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act. The law is designed to protect water quality and the environment and at the same time allow minerals to be extracted. Under this law, quarry operators must obtain both a license and a permit to operate.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection reviews applications and issues a permit to open a quarry. This permit is accompanied by a Erosion and Sediment Plan, which details how the operator will control soil and water run-off in his operation and a reclamation plan, which is put into effect when the quarry ceases operation. The quarry operator posts a bond based on estimated cost of reclamation. If blasting is necessary to open the quarry, another permit is required. Quarry operators must also obtain liability insurance and meet Mine Safety and Health regulations for their employees.

Pennsylvania Bluestone Association
   The Pennsylvania Bluestone Association is dedicated to the improvement of the Bluestone Industry and can provide further information on the industry and the qualities of Pennsylvania Bluestone.  

Source http://www.susqco.com/subsites/ecodev/pages/bluestone.htm

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