Geology Resources – Alabama

• Alabama Geological Survey
  

  Geological Map of Alabama is available on this web site.

  Mineral Resources Program at the Geological Survey of Alabama (The following quotation is used with permission.)

  “Crushed stone, including limestone, dolomite, marble, granite, sandstone, and quartzite, contributes to a thriving mineral industry in the state. Stone, along with sand, gravel, and clay, makes up a multi-million dollar nonfuel minerals industry in Alabama. In 1997, the value of these produced minerals exceeded $735 million.

  “Approximately 9.1 metric tons of nonfuel minerals are required every year for every person in the United States to maintain the current standard of living. Materials mined in Alabama such as bauxite, chalk, recovered sulfur, salt, and shale are used extensively in both construction and industry. Alabama exports a significant part of its industrial mineral production. Alabama ranks 17th nationally as a nonfuel minerals producer. The Geological Survey maps the distribution of these valuable resources and reports annual production and utilization figures.”

• Map of Alabama, presented by the Alabama Geological Survey.
• Alabama on mindat.org.
• Alabama geologic map data, U. S. Geological Survey.
• Alabama Geology, Discovering Alabama.
• Alabama Geology – Historical Maps of Alabama, presented by the University of Alabama.
• Alabama Museum of Natural History, Smith Hall, University of Alabama Main Campus, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
• Alabama Paleontology and geology, Paleo Portal.
• Alabama State Minerals Information (USGS)
• Alabama State Rock, presented by Netstate.com.
• Alabama Rock Shops & Geology Attractions, on the Virtual Museum of Geology.
• Auburn University Geology & Geography Department
• “General Geology of the Crystallines of Alabama,” by George I. Adams, The Journal of Geology, Vol. 41, No. 2, February-March 1933, pp. 159-173, on JSTOR.
• Geologic Mapping – GSA/OGB, Geological Survey of Alabama.
• “Geological History of Alabama Discovering Alabama,” by Discovering Alabama, November 13, 2018.
• Geology of Alabama, presented by the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
• Geology of Alabama Links, Wikimedia Commons.
• Geology of The Coastal Plain Unconformity Western Georgia-Eastern Alabama, Southeastern Geological Society Guidebook No. 65 November 6-7, 2015, Southeastern Geological Survey Guidebook No. 65, November 2015.
• A Location Guide For Rock Hounds in The United States, Collected by Robert C. Beste, PG, December 1996, second edition, Hobbit Press, St. Louis, Missouri. (This book lists and describes many Alabama quarries by county.)
• Mineralogy Collection, a part of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, Tuscaloosa Museum of Natural History, Smith Hall, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
• National Geologic Map Database, presented by the United States Geologic Survey.
• Rock Hunting in Alabama, on Sciencing.
• Tallahatta Sandstone Distribution, presented by the University of South Alabama.
• U. S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet on Alabama
• The following photographs are from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916)

  Plate XX. A. Cliff exposing interbedded, fine-grained, dolomitic marble and phyllite. Rocks of this type occur in a number of places in the west of the crystalline marble area, locally in contact with it and elsewhere separated by a considerable thickness of intervening dolomite. Although the deposits are of no commercial value, they have been in the past considerably prospected. (pp. 162-163)

  Plate XX. B. An exposure of a portion of the 25-foot layer of variegated marble w2hich outcrops about 4 miles southeast of Calera, Shelby County, and which belongs to the Montevallo shale and sandstone formation. The ride bearing this marble crosses Buxahatchee Creek in SE of SE of S. 5, T. 24-N., R. 14-E. (pp. 162-163)

  Plate XXIII. Entrance chamber in onyx-marble cave near Kymulga, Talladega County. The rock in which the cavern is formed in a dolomite. The onyx-marble deposits are calcite. (pp. 168-169)

  Plate XXIV. A. Interbedded phyllite and dolomitic marble from belt to the northwest of the crystalline marble area. The thin beds of marble have been crumpled while the thicker ones have been fractured and faulted. NE S. 33, T. 21-S., R. 3-E. (pp. 170-171)

  Plate XXV. A. One of the impurities of marble is silica. This mineral is frequently segregated into layers. Sometimes the deformation of the marble is evidenced by the bending of these layers of impurity which could not readily recrystallize. The photograph shows discarded marble block containing such evidence of folding. (pp. 172-173)

  Plate XXVI. A. Folding and reverse faulting in interbedded phyllite and marble from formation west of the crystalline marble belt. (pp. 174-175)

  Plate XXVI. B. The layers of impurities, which mark roughly the position of the bedding plane, are here seen irregularly distributed through the block of marble. This is attributed to drag-folding. (pp. 174-175)

  Plate XXVII. A. In the crystalline marble deposits the marble beds are in many places interstratified with dolomite or contain lenses of dolomite, similar to the chief marble deposits of Vermont. dolomite is less readily recrystallized than calcite and when movements have taken place in the marble beds the dolomite is frequently broken and left in angular fragments or breccia, usually cement with calcite. A portion of a core which was taken from such a broken dolomite layer is here shown. The dark portion is dolomite and the lighter is calcite. (from Preliminary Report on The Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18,” by William F. Prouty, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1916, pp. 176-177)

Printed, Online, & Video Sources

NOTE: You can obtain Alabama Geological Survey publications from the publications section of the web site.

Google Book Search: You can use Google Book Search to search for specific subjects in thousands of books available through the Google Book Search – both books under copyright and in the public domain. Hundreds of books are added regularly, so check back if you do not find books on the subject for which you are seeking information.

• “5 things you never knew about Alabama Marble, the ‘finest marble in the world,’” by Beth Cunningham, November 16, 2020, Bham Now.
• “A big hole in the heart of Vincent – City officials and a quarry company plan a pit that will disrupt graves and homes,” by Cody Owens, August 28, 2013, Weld, Birmingham’s Newspaper.   (This link is no longer available, although you can read the article on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
• Active Mines and Quarries of Alabama (Map), compiled by Mirza A. Beg and I. David George, 1975 edition, publisher: Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1975.
• Alabama, A Bicentennial History, by Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton, Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1977.
• Alabama: A Documentary History to 1900, by Lucille Griffith, University: University of Alabama Press, 1950.
• Alabama Historical Quarterly. The Alabama Historical Quarterly was published from 1930 to 1982 by the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH).
• “Alabama Marble, History, Production, and Use,” in Mine and Quarry Magazine, Sullivan Machinery Co., Chicago, 1908, pp. 246-250. [photo captions:  “Gantt’s Quarry, Alabama (p. 246); “Quarry blocks of Alabama marble.” (p. 247); “Quarry of Alabama White Marble Co., Gantt’s Quarry, Alabama, showing Single- and Double-Head Sullivan ‘2’ Channelers.” (p. 248); “Sullivan Side-Hill Channeler, ‘Class 6 1/2,’ in West Rutland quarry of Vermont Marble Co.  Instead of winding the cable on a drum on the axle, as described in this article, the cable here passes over a sheave and is attached to a counterbalance car running on rails parallel to the machine track.” (p.  249); “Part of the mill and shipping yard, Alabama Marble Co.” (p. 250)]  (This article is available in Google Book Search – Full view books in a bound book of “Mine and Quarry” magazine, although many pages are unreadable.)
• “Alabama marble is superior, expert says,” by Matt Quillen, April 16, 2011, from “The Daily Home.”
• Alabama Piedmont Geology, Second Annual Field Trip, Guidebook, Alabama Geological Society, December 1964: University of Alabama, 64 pp.
• The Alabama Review: A Quarterly Journal of Alabama History.
• Alabama – The University of Alabama Press
• Alabama Heritage
• Alabama, Her History and Resources, War Record and Public Men, by Willis Brewer, Spartanburg: The Reprint Company Publishers, 1975 (1872).
• Alabama Historical Quarterly (published from 1930 to 1982 by the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH)
• “Alabama marble called whitest in world,” February 5, 2005, The Decatur Daily News
• Alabama Railroads, by Wayne Cline, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997.
• The Alabama Review – Scroll down for the “Indexes of The Alabama Review” (2004 to 2010) & “Table of Contents” of The Alabama Review (1930 to Present)
• “Alabama” section of the United States 1900 Census, pp. 166-169.
• “Alabama” (1930 – “Producing localities – Marble, ‘Onyx,’ and Serpentine), Mineral Resources of the United States, 1930, Part II.  Nonmetals, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1932, pp. 351-352.
• “Alabama Cream White Marble,” in Rock Products, Louisville, Kentucky, December 22, 1906, pp. 85.
• “Alabama is home to ‘finest white marble in the world.’  Come see it in April,” by Kelly Kazek, updated July 25, 2019
• The Alabama Story, by Robert J. Norrell, Tuscaloosa: The Yellowhammer Co., 1993.
• Alabama, The History of a Deep South State, by William Warren Rogers, Robert David Ward, Leah Rawls Atkins, and Wayne Flynt, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1994.
  
• “Alabama White marble’s comeback,” by Jason Kamery, October 1, 2015, Stone World.
• “Alabama’s fight against rock quarries,” The Jere Beasley Report, April 2003.
• “Alabama’s Hidden Water Quarries,” YouTube Video by This Is Alabama, May 22, 2019.  (Blue Water Park, (Blue Water Park, Pelham, Alabama, & Dive Land Park, Glencoe, Alabama)
• “Alabama’s marble:  One of the state’s most stunning natural resources is making a comeback,” June 8, 2015, by Laura McAlister, Birmingham Magazine.  (Article about the quarries in Talledega County – mainly Sylacauga – Alabama.
• Alabama’s Mineral Industry, by T. E. Cook, M. P. Turner, and T. A. Simpson, Alabama Geological Survey Information Ser. 32, 1963, 41 pp.
• Architecture of the Old South: Mississippi / Alabama, by Mills Lane, New York: Abbeville Press, 1989.
• Atlas of Alabama Counties, by W. Craig Remington, ed., 2nd ed. Tuscaloosa: Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Alabama, 1998.
• Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, John H. Long, ed., and Peggy Sinko, comp., Alabama. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
• Bibliography of the Mineral Resources of Alabama, Exclusive of Coal, Iron, and Petroleum, Circular 93, Alabama Geological Survey, 1974.
• A Brief History of Sylacauga Marble, by Ruth Beaumont Cook, written in preparation for the Sylacauga Marble Festival April 17-30, 2009, Alabama / Piestrasanta, Italy Cultural Exchange sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, A product of the B. B. Comer Memorial Public Library Foundation, Sylacauga, Alabama, 2009, 34 pp. (You can view both the The Sylacauga “Magic of Marble” Fetival brochure and program from the 2009 festival in PDF format. If you are interested in attending the next annual marble festival in Sylacauga in the spring of 2010: The festival activities will be held from March 24th through the 28th, and the marble carving will be done on March 16.)
• “A Brief History of the Marble Industry of Sylacauga,” by Edward Dodd, in Alabama Heritage, Vol. 20, Spring 1991, pp. 35-39.
• Building Sandstones of Northern Alabama, by William James Penhallegon, publisher: University, Alabama, 1940. Series: Alabama. State geologist Circular No. 13. At head of title: Geological Survey of Alabama “Published in cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority.”
• The Cement Industry in Alabama, Alabama Geological Survey Circular 14, by E. J. Burchard, 1940, 32 pp.
• Cement Resources and Lime, Gypsum (Mussel Shoals District) (abs.), by E. C. Eckel, Alabama Acad. Sci. Jour., v. 7, 1935, pp. 35.
• The Cement Resources of Alabama, by Eugene A. Smith, Brown Printing Company, Alabama Geological Survey No. 8, 1904, 93 pp. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books for reading or downloading to your computer in PDF format.)
• “Concrete in Alabama”  Good work being done at Birmingham and elsewhere in the State.  Cement Tile at Mobile,” in Rock Products, Chicago, Illinois, June 22, 1908, pp. 39.
• Contributions to Bibliography of Mineral Resources 1955-59, U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1019, in x, pp. 402-403.  (“Alabama” in the “Dolomite” section)
• Contributions to Economic Geology, Bulletin 470, 1910. Short Papers and Preliminary Reports, Part I, Metals and Nonmetals, Except Fuels, by C. W. Hayes, Waldemar Lindgren, United States Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911, 558 pp. (This book includes a section on the variegated marble southeast of Calera, Shelby County, Alabama.)
• The Coosa Valley Region: Report on Valley Regions of Alabama, by Henry McCalley, Part 2, Alabama Geol. Survey, 1897.
• “The Crystalline Marbles of Alabama,” Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., vol. 27, pp. 437-450, 1916.
• Description of the Bessemer and Vandiver Quadrangles (Alabama), by Charles Butts, U.S. Geological Survey Geological Atlas, Folio 221, 1927, 22 pp.
• Description of the Montevallo-Columbiana Quadrangles (Alabama), by Charles Butts, U.S. Geological Survey Geological Atlas, Folio 226, 1940b, 20 pp.
• Directory of Commercial Minerals in Georgia and Alabama Along the Central Georgia Railroad, T. P. Maynard, J. M. Mallory, and R. T. Stull, Savannah, Georgia: Central of Georgia Railway Indus. Dept., 1923, 134 pp.
• “Draft environmental impact statement, Ideal Basic Industries, Cement Plant, Theodore Industrial Park, Alabama, Limestone Quarry Monroe County, Alabama.” (1978)  (Also see below: “Final environmental impact statement for proposed issuance of a new source national pollutant discharge elimination system permit to Ideal Basic Industries, Inc., Cement Plant, Theodore Industrial Park, Alabama and Limestone Quarry, Monroe County, Alabama”  (1978)
• Exploring Alabama Caves, Bulletin 102, by Thomas W. Daniel, Jr., and William D. Coe, 1973. (PDF) 45.2 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• “Final environmental impact statement for proposed issuance of a new source national pollutant discharge elimination system permit to Ideal Basic Industries, Inc., Cement Plant, Theodore Industrial Park, Alabama and Limestone Quarry, Monroe County, Alabama”  (1978)
• “Gannts Quarry Formation of the Sylacauga Marble Group,”  Geological Survey Bulletin, Issue 1565, U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey; Washington, D.C., 1991, pp. 116.
• General Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Limestone County, Alabama, by W. M. McMaster and W. F. Harris Jr., Alabama Geological Survey County Report 11, 1963, 43 pp.
• Geologic Map of Alabama, by Charles Butts, Montgomery Alabama: Alabama Geological Survey, 1926.
• Geologic Map of Limestone County, Alabama, 33×36 inches. Colored, SM 13, Alabama Geological Survey, 1960.
• Geologic Map of Tuscaloosa and Cottondale Quadrangles, Alabama, Showing Areal Geology and Structures of Upper Cretaceous Formations, by L. C. Conant, D. H. Eargle, W. H. Monroe, and J. H. Morris. U.S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas Preliminary Inv. Map 37, scale 1 inch=1 mile, 1945. (map)
• Geological Map of Alabama: Chart to Accompany Geological Map of Alabama, E. A. Smith, and assistants, Geological Survey, Alabama, 1894.
• Geological Survey of Alabama Report of Progress For 1874, by Eugene A. Smith, 1875, 129 pp.
• Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Cherokee County, Alabama, Bulletin 79 (A Reconnaissance), by Lawson V. Causey, 1965. (PDF) 2.74 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Greene County, Alabama, Bulletin 86, by Kenneth D. Wahl, 1966. (PDF) 20.0 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Montgomery County, Alabama, Bulletin 68, Part A, by D. B. Knowles, H. L. Reade, and J. C. Scott, 1963. (with special reference to the Montgomery area). (PDF) 28.9 MB. (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• Geology and Ground-Water Resources of St. Clair County, Alabama, Bulletin 73, (A Reconnaissance) by Lawson V. Causey, 1963. (PDF) 4.78 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Tuscaloosa County Alabama, An Interim Report, Information Series 14, by J. D. Miller, Jr., and L. V. Causey, University, Alabama, 1958 (PDF) 10.9 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• Geology and Marble Resources of the Sylacauga Marble District, Bulletin 131, Alabama Geological Survey, 1989.  (Includes a section entitled, “Subdivisions of the Sylacauga marble district,” starting on pp. 62.)
• The Geology and Mineral Resources of Cherokee County, Alabama, by Edgar Bowles, Alabama Geological Survey Circular 15, 1941, 38 pp.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of Clay County, with Special Reference to the Graphite Industry, Circular 1, Alabama Geological Survey, 1923. (Also issued as Special Report 12.) (out of print)
• The Geology and Mineral Resources of Limestone County, Alabama, A Reconnaissance Survey, Circular 46, Alabama Geological Survey, 1968. (out of print)
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Fisk quadrangle (Madison Co.), Alabama, QS 5, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Leighton Quadrangle (Colbert Co.), Alabama, QS 7, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Moontown Quadrangle (Madison Co.) Alabama, QS 1, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the New Hope Quadrangle (Madison Co.), Alabama, S 3, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the New Market Quadrangle (Madison County), Alabama, QS 8, Alabama Geological Survey, 1982.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Pride Quadrangle (Colbert Co.), Alabama, QS 4, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Toney Quadrangle (Madison Co.), Alabama, QS 2, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Town Creek Quadrangle, (Colbert and Lawrence Cos.) Alabama, QS 12, Alabama Geological Survey, 1993.
• Geology and Mineral Resources of the Tuscumbia Quadrangle [Colbert Co.], Alabama, QS 6, Alabama Geological Survey, 1975.
• Geology of Alabama, by G. I. Adams, Charles, L. W. Stepheneson, and Wythe Cooke, Alabama Geological Survey Speccial Report 14, 1926, 312 pp.
• Geology of Alabama, presented by the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
• Geology of Gantt’s Quarry and the Sylacauga Marble, by A. S. Glover, Georgia Marble Company, Alabama Calcium Products Division, 1983.
• Geology of the Elkmont Quadrangle, Alabama-Tennessee, by W. M. McMaster, U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Geological Inv. Map I-419, 1965a, 7 pp. (map)
• Geology of the Salem Quadrangle, Alabama-Tennessee, by W. M. McMaster, U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Inv. Map I-420, 1965b, 10 pp. (map)
• Geology of the Southern Inner Piedmont, Alabama and Southwest Georgia, Guidebook 3-7, by Mark G. Steltenpohl, Stephen A. Kish, and Michael J. Neilson, Guidebook for Field Trip 7, for 39th Annual Meeting, Southeastern Section, Geological Society of America, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 7-8, 1990 (PDF) 21.2 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• “Giuseppe Moretti,” in the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
• “Giuseppe Moretti in Newport,” by Louise Tharaud Brasher, April 2015, “The Alabama Review,” Vol. 68, Issue 3, The University of Alabama Press.
• Giuseppe Moretti:  Master Sculptor and Father of Vulcan, Birmingham Museum of Art, from the 2002 exhibition, ISBN 10: 0931394511, 32 pp.,  0-931394-51-1, ISBN 13: 9780931394515.
• “Gooch Branch Chert of the Sylacauga Marble Group,” Geological Survey Bulletin, Issue 1565, U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey; Washington, D.C., 1991, pp. 120.
• “Granites of Alabama,” in Granites of The Southeastern Atlantic States, Bulletin 426, by Thomas Leonard Watson, U. S. Geological Survey, pp. 268-269.
• A Guidebook To The Mississippian Rocks and Fossils of North Alabama, ES 13, Alabama Geological Survey, 2000.
• The Gulf South Historical Review – Table of Contents (formerly titled The Gulf Coast Historical Review – description of book available on Google Books)
• Herd Family Records located in the B. B. Comer Library Collection.
• High Calcium Deposits in the Newala Limestone, Circular 149, Alabama Geological Survey, 1990.
• A High-Resolution Palynological Analysis Of The St. Stephens Quarry, Alabama: Locating The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary And Characterizing The Environmental Changes Across The Margin, A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Geology and Geophysics, By Kevin Jensen B.S., Central Michigan University, 2009 May, 2012.
• Historic Alabama Hotels and Resorts, by James Frederick Sulzby, University: Univ. of Alabama Press, 1960.
• History of Alabama, by Albert James Pickett, Tuscaloosa: Willo Publishing Company, 1962 (1851).
• History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, by Thomas M. Owen, Spartanburg: The Reprint Company Publishers 1978 (1921). (The 1921 version of this book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
• “History of Talladega County Prior to the Civil War,” in Moore’s History of Alabama, Stanley Brooks Russell, Vol. 2, 1927, pp. 781.
• “How to Lay Out the Tracks in a Quarry,” by Oliver Bowles, Pit and Quarry, Vol. 3, No. 5, Chicago, Illinois, February 1919, pp. 134-138.
• Index to the Mineral Resources of Alabama, with map and illustrations, E. A. Smith and Henry McCalley, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1904, 79 pp. (Some of the contents include: The Stone: Limestones & Dolomite, Marbles, & Lithographic Stone; Clays & Cement; Building Stones: Limestones, Sandstones, Granites & Other Igneous Rocks, Paving & Curbstones; Slates; Road & Ballast Materials; & Millstones, Grindstones, and Whetstones.) (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books for reading or downloading to your computer in PDF format.)
• Index to the Mineral Resources of Alabama, by W. B. Jones, Alabama Geological Survey Bulletin 28, 1926, 250 pp.
• Index to the Minerals and Rocks of Alabama, by H. D. Pallister, Alabama Geological Survey Bulletin 65, 1955, 55 pp.
• Industrial Minerals of the Southeastern United States-Economic Mineral Resources in Central Alabama, Guidebook 3-3, by Karen F. Rheams, Guerry H. McClellan, Guidebook for Field Trip 3, for 39th Annual meeting, Southeastern Section, Geological Society of America, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 4, 1990 (out of print) (PDF) 6.10 MB (This online publication is available on the Alabama Geological Survey web site.)
• Know Alabama! The Geology and Mineral Resources of Alabama, Bulletin 51, (with) a bibliography for schools, Alabama Geological Survey, 1942. (out of print)
• “Lime, Magnesite, Etc.  Limestone and Dolomite in the Birmingham District, Alabama,” by Charles Butts, Contributions to Economic Geology, Part I.  Metals and Nonmetals, Except Fuels, United States Geological Survey, 1906, pp. 247-255.
• “Limestone and Dolomite in the Birmingham District, Alabama,” by Charles Butts, in Bulletin 315, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1907, pp. 247-255. (Available on Google Books.)
• Limestone Resources of Alabama, SM 172, Alabama Geological Survey, 1984.
• A Location Guide for Rockhounds, Collected by Robert C. Beste, PG, St. Louis, Missouri: Hobbitt Press, 2nd ed., December 1996, 148 pp. (Includes chapters on “Mineral Locations by State,” “Appendix and Glossary,” and “Bibliography.”)
• “Magic in Stone:  The Sylacauga Marble Story” (Alabama), by  Ruth Beaumont Cook, New South Books, 2019.  Available at:  New South Books,  Amazon.com  & Google Books  (excerpt from description)  “Sylacauga – Alabama’s “Marble City” – is blessed with an abundant natural resource that nurtures both its economy and its cultural heritage. Thirty-five miles long, at least four hundred feet deep, and more than a mile wide, the Sylacauga Marble Belt yields crystalline white marble frequently compared to the Parian marble treasured by Greek sculptors and the Italian Carrara marble often chosen by Michelangelo….)
  • “Alabama’s ‘white gold’ draws worldwide interest,” article by Dennis Washington, December 9, 2019.  (“Ruth Beaumont Cook’s latest book started 10 years ago as a brochure request from Sylacauga‘s B.B. Comer Memorial Library in advance of the city’s first marble festival.”)
• “Marble Formation of the Cahaba River, Alabama,” by P. Byrne, Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 72, 1901, p. 400; Trans. Eng. Assoc. South, Vol. 12, 1902, pp. 48-59.
• The Alabama “Marble Industry,” by Michael Kief Law, Auburn University, presented on the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
• “Marble Quarry comes under new ownership,” by Zac Al-Khateeb, November 2014, on The Anniston Star.
• “Marble Industry,” Michael Kief Law, Auburn University, Encyclopedia of Alabama.
• “The Marble Industry In Sylacauga:  A Story of Its Growth, People and Contributions,” posted by the Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce.
• The Materials and Manufacture of Portland Cement, by Edwin C. Eckel, Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin No. 8, Brown Printing Company, 1904, 93 pp. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books for reading or downloading to your computer in PDF format.)
• Mercer Collection, located in the Archives of the Birmingham Public Library.
• “The Mineral Industry of Alabama,” Mineral Yearbook Area Reports:  Domestic 1996, Vol. II, U. S. Geological Survey, 1997, pp. 25-29.
• Mineral Resources Map of Alabama, 17×22 inches. Colored, SM 124, Alabama Geological Survey, 1973.
• Mineral Resources of the Alabama Piedmont, Basic data, SM 200, Alabama Geological Survey, 1984.
• Mineral Resources of the Appalachian Region, Geological Survey Professional Paper 580, United States Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines, Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1968, 492 pp. (Covers these states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.)
• Mineral Resources of the Northern Alabama Piedmont, by David Whittington, Southeastern Geological Society, 1986.
• Mineral Resources Map of Alabama, 17×22 inches. Colored, SM 124, Alabama Geological Survey, 1973.
• Mineral Resources of the Valley and Ridge Province, Alabama, Bulletin 147, Alabama Geological Survey, 1992.
• “Mining Alabama’s Carrara:  The Forgotten History of Sylacauga’s Marble Industry,” by Ruth Beaumont Cook, Alabama Heritage, Winter 2012, Issue 103.
• “Mining and Beneficiation” (includes section on Alabama), in Bibliography of the Geology of the Western Phosphate Field, by Robert A. Harris, David F. Davidson, and Bertha P. Arnold, U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1018, 1954, pp. 400-403.
• Modern Memorial Designs: America’s Most Beautiful White Marble, written and published by Moretti-Harrah Marble Corp., Sylacauga, Alabama, 1936.
• Moretti Collection located in the Archives of the Birmingham Public Library.
• Natural Resources of the Tennessee Valley Region in Alabama, by R. M. Harper, Alabama Geological Survey Spec. Report 17, 1942, 93 pp.
• Northern Alabama:  Historical and Biographical, Smith & DeLand, Birmingham, Alabama, Donohue & Henneberry, Printers and Binders, Chicago, 1888, 776 pp.  (Part I.  Topography, Geology and Natural Resources of Northern and Central Alabama, & Part II.  Summary of the State’s History from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time.)  (Available on Google Books & the Internet Archives – Texts)
• “Old Marble Tombstones in Alabama,” by Carolyn L. Luttrell, a paper read at the annual meeting of the Alabama Historical Association, University of Alabama, on April 16, 1949 . Subsequently published in the July 1950 issue of The Alabama Review.
• Place Names in Alabama, by Virginia O. Foscue, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989.
• Preliminary Report on the Crystalline and Other Marbles of Alabama, Bulletin 18, with a Preliminary Map of The Crystalline Marble Deposits of Alabama, by William F. Prouty, Alabama Geological Survey, 1916, 212 pp. (Available on Google Books and the Internet Archive.)
• “The Quarry Story:  The Story of How a Quarry Works,” Vulcan Materials Company.
• “Quarry wars becoming more common in state,” Dec. 30, 2002, The Gadsden Times.
• Railroads in Alabama Politics: 1875-1914, by James F. Doster, University: University of Alabama Press, 1957.
• Re-Mapping St. Stephens Quarry, Alabama: An Undergraduate Student Research Project With Geological And Archaeological Applications, Justin A. Hayles, Amanda D. Lemler, and Douglas W. Haywick, W., Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, March 2010. (abstract) Presented on the Geological Society of America (GSA) web site.
• Report on the Valley Regions of Alabama (Paleozoic strata). Pt. 2, On the Coosa Valley Region, by Henry McCalley, Montgomery, Alabama, Alabama Geological Survey, 1897, 862 pp. (Available on Google Books and the Internet Archive.)
• Rivers of History: Life on the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Cahaba, and Alabama, by Harvey H. Jackson, Tuscaloosa: Univ. of Alabama Press, 1995.
• Roads and Road Materials of Alabama, State Highway Department Bulletin No. 2, by William F. Prouty, Ph.D., Chief Assistant Geological Survey of Alabama.  Also published as Bulletin No. 11 of the Geological Survey of Alabama, 1911.
• Rock Quarrying For Cement Manufacture, by Oliver Bowles, U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines Bulletin 160, Mineral Technology 22, 1918.
• “Rural Southern Gravestones: Sacred Artifacts in the Upland South Folk Cemetery,” by Donald Gregory Jeane, Markers IV, pp. 55-84, Association for Gravestone Studies. (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, USA)
• The Salt Mountain Limestone of Alabama, B 46, Alabama Geological Survey, 1940.
• Second Biennial Report on the Geology of Alabama, Tuomey, 1858, (information on Alabama marble pp. 116-121).
• Selected Industrial Mineral Resource Sites and Processing Facilities in West Alabama, Field Trip Guidebook For Short Course on Valuation of Industrial Mineral Resources, November 18-21, 1991, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, GB 4, Alabama Geological Survey, 1991.
• “Shelvin Rock Church Formation of the Sylacauga Marble Group” Geological Survey Bulletin, Issue 1565, U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey; Washington, D.C., 1991, pp. 287.
• St. Stephens Historical Commission, Functional Analysis & Records Disposition Authority, presented to the State Records Commission, April 26, 2001.
• “Statistics of Mineral Production for 1914,”Bulletin 16, Geological Survey of Alabama, 1915, pp. 60-62.
• Statistics of the Mineral Production of Alabama for 1913, Bulletin No. 15, Compiled from mineral resources of the United States  by Charles Arthur Abele, University, Alabama, 1914.
• Statistics of the Mineral Production of Alabama for 1914, Bulletin No. 16, Compiled from mineral resources of the United States  by Eugene A. Smith, University, Alabama, 1916.
• Statistics of The Mineral Production of Alabama For 1915, Bulletin No. 19, Geological Survey of Alabama, Compiled from the mineral resources of the United States by Eugene A. Smith, 1917.
• Statistics of the Mineral Production of Alabama for 1925, by W. B. Jones, Alabama Geological Survey Bulletin 34, 1928a, 185 pp.
• Structural Analysis of Sheath Folds in the Sylacauga Marble Group, Talladega Slate Belt, Talladega County, Alabama, Circular 164, Alabama Geological Survey, 1992.
• Structural Development of the Southernmost Appalachians, Third Annual Field Trip, 1965, Guidebook, Alabama Geological Society, University of Alabama, 69 pp.
• Structure and Petrography of the Hillabee Sill and Associated Metamorphics of Alabama, by R. H. Griffin, Alabama Geological Survey Bulletin 63, 1951, 74 pp.
• Summary Report on the Building Limestones of the Russellville District (Alabama), C 8, Alabama Geological Survey, 1928.
• Summary Report on the Mineral Resources of Southwest Alabama, IS 65, Alabama Geological Survey, 1986.
• Sylacauga, Images of America, by Peggy Easterling Rozelle, Earl R. Lewis, and David Herman Arnold, Arcadia Publishing, 2014.
• “Sylacauga marble,” presented on Wikipedia.
• “Sylacauga Marble, analyses of ground water from,” Data of Geochemistry, Sixth Edition, U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 440-F, by Donald E. White, John D. Hem, and G. A. Waring, 1963, pp. 25.
• “Sylacauga Marble Belt,” Geological Survey Professional Paper Volume 580, The Ohio State University, 1968, pp. 195.
• “Sylacauga Marble Group.” Guidebook for Field Trips, Geological Society of America, 1997.  (Includes information on the “Sylacauga Mable Group” and Sylacauga marble pp. 33 also mentioned on pp. 14.)
• “Sylacauga Marble Quarry venture plans rebirth for Alabama white marble,” by Jerry Underwood, November 24, 2014, Made in Alabama.
• “Sylacauga prepares to celebrate its famous marble:  From the quarries where the marble White as the Paros gleams waiting till thy sculptor’s chisel, wake to like thy poet’s dream. – Julia Tutwiler, “Alabama” state song,” by Jim Plott, February 24, 2020, Alabama Living Magazine.
  • “It may be Sylacauga’s second most famous rock, but considering the city’s most famous rock came from outer space, being number two isn’t too shabby.”“And, Sylacauga marble also has a festival in its honor.”
• Synergy – Alabama Limestone Company Cathedral Stoneworks – The Alabama Columns, presented on Cathedral Stone Works(The link to the following information is no longer available, although you can view the document on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
  

  Following is an excerpt from Synergy – Alabama Limestone Company / Cathedral Stoneworks – The Alabama Columns:

  “Alabama Limestone Company:  founded in 1827, set in the Appalachian piedmont of northwestern Alabama, with a 32-ft. tall seam of pure ‘Shadow Vein’ oolitic limestone….”

  “Cathedral Stoneworks:  founded in 1989 in Harlem, a high-tech, all-stone fabrication resource for the 21st century that’s building a cathedral, teaching 13th-century stonecraft to local apprentices, and is ‘…among the most up-to-date stoneworking factories in the world,’ according to Stone World magazine.

  “The Alabama Column:  an emblem of synergy, 23-ft. tall, carved in Shadow Vein limestone in situ into the side of the quarry and embellished with reliefs depicting Alabama state emblems (the red-bellied turtle, the pecan, et al).  Fifteen tons of stone were blasted from the site; 5000 bore holes were drilled.  A team of New York master carvers and Alabama masons completed the project in three months.  ‘Abu ‘Bama,’ they named it, after its inspiration, the Egyptian temple of abu simbel.

  “Synergy:  ‘working together.’  Alabama Limestone Company and Cathedral Stoneworks combine stone-age materials and space-age technologies to create an innovative American resource that’s the talk of the industry….”

• “Talladega Group,” U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, The Ohio State University, 1984, pp. 82-84.
• The Technology of Marble Quarrying, U. S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin 106, by Oliver Bowles, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1916.
• Tectonic Studies in the Talladega and Carolina Slate Belts, Southern Appalachian Orogen, edited by Denny N. Bearce, Geological Society of America, 1982.
• “Teen discovers rare fossil in Alabama quarry,” by Amanda Bayhi, July 19, 2013, on the AggMan web site. (in a Greene County quarry)  (This link is no longer available, although you can read the article on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
• The Valley Regions of Alabama, by Henry McCalley, Pt. II, Alabama Geological Survey, 1897.
• Thin Bedded Sandstones of the Guntersville Area, (Alabama), by Charles E. Hunter, with the cooperation of George L. Richardson, Series: Alabama. State Geologist Circular No. 12, publisher: University, Alabama, 1940, 31 pp.
• University of Alabama Press
• “Variegated Marble Southeast of Calera, Shelby County, Alabama,” by Charles Butts, Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 470, 1911, pp. 237-239.
• “Why Sylacauga marble is known around the world,” by Tara Massouleh McCay June 13, 2021, Yellow Hammer.
• “The word is out on Alabama white marble,” by Bryan Davis for This is Alabama, March 20, 2017.

Stone Carvers, Stone Cutters, etc., in Alabama

• Early Grave Stone Carvers in or Near Greene County, Alabama, presented on by the ALGenWeb web site.
  

  The following stone carvers’/company names are listed on this web site in addition to photographs of cemetery stones that they signed: Alexander HERD, Eutaw, Alabama; HERD & Bros., G. Herd; Thomas H. HOLT, Birmingham, Alabama; and B. J. HUGHES, Vienna, Alabama.

• Giuseppe Moretti, Sculptor
  
  • Moretti Collection located in the Archives of the Birmingham Public Library.
  • Sylacauga, Talladega County, Alabama – Giuseppe Moretti, Italian Sculptor & Quarry Operator, from A brief history of Sylacauga Marble, by Ruth Beaumont Cook, B. B. Comer Memorial Public Library Foundation, 2009, pp. 6, 11-17.
    

    According to this book, Giuseppe Moretti quarried and promoted the use of Sylacauga marble for statuary and construction. Photographs of Giuseppe Moretti’s works and studio and home are included.

  • Giuseppe Moretti – the following excerpts of the history of Giuseppe Morette are from the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
    

    “Giuseppe Moretti (1857-1935), an Italian-born classical sculptor, made an extraordinary impact on the state of Alabama through his design and execution of Birmingham’s 56-foot iron statue of Vulcan and his promotion of Alabama marble as a medium for fine sculpture…..”

    “…Moretti decided to find a way to buy land and establish his own quarry in Alabama. He hauled a sample block of the gleaming white stone back to his studio in Birmingham and carved The Head of Christ, a work that he carried with him to every place that he lived for the rest of his life…..”

  • “Giuseppe Moretti in Newport,” by Louise Tharaud Brasher, April 2015, “The Alabama Review,” Vol. 68, Issue 3, The University of Alabama Press.
  • Giuseppi Moretti – Marble Quarry, 1935 (Photograph in the Encyclopedia of Alabama)
    

    Marble Quarry, 1935

    “During the early twentieth century, Italian sculptor Giuseppe Moretti, whose first contribution to Alabama was the Vulcan statue in Birmingham, used Sylacauga marble for a number of his works. During the 1930s the marble industry fought the Great Depression and saw larger operations such as the Alabama Marble Company absorb smaller ones.”

  • Giuseppe Moretti’s House and Studio, 4029 Bigelow Blvd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
    

    According to this web site, Moretti “spent many years in Pittsburgh ( Pennsylvania) which characterized the years spanning from 1916 to 1930 with the house and studio at 4029 Bigelow Avenue.  Construction of the ‘facility’ cost roughly $30,000 and was finished in cream-colored brick with trimmings of Alabama Marble….”