St. Genevieve marble, also known as Ste. Genevieve marble, is an
oolitic limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
(or "
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
") found in
Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri
Sainte Genevieve County, often abbreviated Ste. Genevieve County (French: Ste-Geneviève), is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,479. The largest city and county ...
. It is part of the
Archimedes Limestone formation.
[Swallow, p. 96.]
It generally comes in two different types. "St. Genevieve Rose" is the name for the marble which comes in deep red, greenish-gray, pink, and rose.
[Unklesbay and Vineyard, p. 165.] "St. Genevieve Gold Vein" is light or medium gray in color, with veins (running from
buff
Buff or BUFF may refer to:
People
* Buff (surname), a list of people
* Buff (nickname), a list of people
* Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955)
* Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...
to
tan in color) running through it.
Cross-sections of
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
s and
crinoids can be seen in the Gold Vein type.
In the 1910s, it was widely considered the best marble found in the U.S. and known for its strength.
It has been widely used in banks, churches, courthouses, government buildings, and other structures.
[''Missouri: The WPA Guide to the 'Show Me' State,'' p. 314; ''Official Manual of the State of Missouri,'' p. 1482; ''Washington, D.C.: A Guide to the Nation's Capital,'' p. 390; Jaynes, p. 155.]
Footnotes
Bibliography
*Goodrich, Charles Rush. ''Science and Mechanism: Illustrated by Examples in the New York Exhibition 1853-54.'' New York: G. P. Putnam and Co., 1854.
*Jaynes, Gregory. ''Sketches From a Dirt Road.'' Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977.
*''Missouri: The WPA Guide to the 'Show Me' State.'' St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press, 1998.
*''Official Manual of the State of Missouri.'' St. Louis: Office of the Secretary of State, 1963.
*Swallow, G.C. ''First Report of Progress of the Geological Survey of Missouri.'' Jefferson City, Mo.: James Lusk, Printers, 1855.
*''Sweet's Catalogue of Building Construction.'' New York: Sweet's Catalogue Service, 1915.
*Unklesbay, A.G., and Vineyard, Jerry D. ''Missouri Geology: Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion.'' Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 1992.
*''Washington, D.C.: A Guide to the Nation's Capital.'' Washington, D.C.: Federal Writers' Project, 1942.
See also
*
List of types of marble
Marble
Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
{{metamorphic-rock-stub