HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY
CHAPTER 1

THE FIRESTONES

All the strata of this concretionary stone contain Producti, Spirifer striatus, and fragments of Archaeocidaris Wortheni in the upper crystalline member and Lithostrotion Canadense in the chert. Farther west the stone becomes darker and less fossiliferous. The top member is often evenly bedded, the laminae ranging in thickness from one inch to two feet. This stone is locally known as “firestone” and is used for hearths, jambs, etc. It can be split, into almost any shape with the hammer, and resists heat well. On B. P. Chatham’s farm south of Orleans the following is the section:

The firestones also outcrop on the Orleans and Orangeville road just west of the Lost River crossing below the Bruner farm, also on that farm, also near Orangeville and north of the sand hill near Orleans.

THE ST. LOUIS CHERTS

These rocks, by reason of greater hardness, have resisted the eroding effects of time and the action of water, ice, etc., during the drift period, better than the strata surrounding them, and are, hence, found strewn over the surface of the ground and buried in the red clays. Besides the regular beds there are large quantities of smaller specimens from the concretionary limestone. Lithologically the varieties differ very much. Those on the western and southern borders of the St. Louis limestones are red from infiltration of hydrous peroxide of iron, while those in the northeast part and along Stampers Creek are made brown by the brown oxide of iron. Those that are highly bryozoic are soft, easily broken or split, breaking into irregular fragments, while the very hard varieties break into square or wedge-shaped pieces. The latter may be seen on the Paoli and Orleans road. They contain valves of Spirifer. Where the stone has been protected it is usually very hard and siliceous, is gray in color and has many fossils. Here it is a true “buhrstone” and was used as such in the old Orangeville mill. The bryozoans are very perfect and beautiful, and are usually Polypora, though Pinna are found over five inches long. Crinoids are missing, though a small star-fish was found near Orleans. The cherts when decomposed by the admixture of iron form the red clays (paint). The clays are numerous. At Wesley Chapel Gulf the section is as follows:

THE CHESTER GROUP

This group embraces the remaining stones of the county, except those capping the hills on the west and south parts of the county, and belonging to the conglomerate or millstone grit epoch. The western and southern boundary of these formations is about as follows: From about five miles of the northwestern corner of the county, thence south to French Lick Springs, thence in a curvilinear course to the south part of the county west of Valeene. At the base of these formations is Chester limestone (No. 8 above).

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