14647 State Route 511, Oberlin/Kipton, OH 44075 56 ACRES Vermilion Rd Gifford Rd Haigh Rd
44
Summary The Kipton sandstone quarry is included in 56 acre tract owned by Terry A. Johnson, of Huron, Ohio. This quarry is just to the northeast of the village of Kipton, in north central Ohio, about 40 miles west of Cleveland. The Berea Sandstone bas been widely used as a building stone for over 100 years. It is used as a standard for what a sandstone building stone should be. Examination of the Johnson property reveals that the tract has reserves of Berea Sandstone to depths of at least 200 feet. Reserves down to 165 feet of depth are 600 million tons. The total reserves down to a depth of 200 feet are 730 million tons. The Kipton Quarry, and associated land, is a valuable property. Introduction Terry A. Johnson, of Huron, Ohio, owns a 67-acre tract known as the Kipton Quarry, a sandstone reserve, held in Fee Simple, located in Lorain County, Ohio. Mining commenced on this property back in 1893 by the Nichols brothers, owners of a large farm that included the 67-acre tract. Mining at the deep quarry continued until 1963. Nicholas brothers produced sandstone blocks which were then sold to others for the cutting into building stone. Undoubtedly, the material other than the large blocks was sold for what ever the use With the stoppage of mining in 1963, the quarry was allowed to fill with water, and it was largely forgotten. The production of the large sandstone slabs led to the secondary of production of a variety of smaller products. This secondary production, included landscaping stone and construction aggregate. Everything that comes out of the mine does, indeed, have a value. Mr. Johnson initially contacted the author on August 1, 2003. He made the second contact nearly a year later, on July 22, 2004. At that time, arrangements were made for the property to be examined. The Kipton Quarry was examined by the author 011 July 26, 27, and 28, 2004. This report will describe the findings and the results of that examination. Location The Kipton Quarry is located in Camden Township in west central Lorain County, in north central Ohio. The Kipton or southwestern portion Lorain County is largely agricultural whereas the northeastern portion of the County is urban Cleveland is about 40 miles easterly. Akron Wooster Terry Johnson acquired the 67-acre tract in 1995, with the intention of putting the old sandstone property back into production. He was looking for a source of sandstone slabs to be used in his business activities that included the placement of slabs of sandstone along the shoreline of Lake Erie residential properties to prevent shoreline erosion. The Army Corps of Engineers has a high regard for this material as a shore--line protection material.
Access The subject lands are reached from the north-south State Highway 511, a somewhat improved, two-lane, asphalt-surfaced, all-weather secondary state highway. A crushed stone surfaced, private road connects the quarry tract to Highway 511 State Highway 511 connects to U. S. Highway 20 immediately south of Kipton, about a mile to the south of the Kipton Quarry. Highway 20 is a 4-lane, all-weather, divided highway that provides nationwide access. What once provided rail service to and from the quarry area, in east-west directions, is now a hiking and bicycling trail. Topography The quarry property is found at the southwest end and at the summit of a gently sloping ridge, trending in a southwest-northeasterly direction for a mile or more. This ridge reaches elevations of slightly more than 890 feet. The elevation :fulls off in all directions from the Kipton Quarry property. Climate The Kipton area and Lorain County have a humid, temperate continental climate. This is characterized by large annual and day-to-day ranges of temperature. Precipitation in Lorain County varies widely from year to year, but it is well distributed throughout the year. The average annual rainfall is 34-inches. Of this total, there is an average of about 40 inches of snowfall reported annually. Geology Sandstone is compose of grains of quartz bound together by some cementing substance. Silica cement is the most durable... The Berea Sandstone contains moderates amounts of silica cement... These are textbook words are used to describe the Berea Sandstone of northern Ohio. The Berea has been and continues to be the most important and widely used of the sandstone building materials. It is also widely sought after for carved trim stone. The Berea Sandstone is a massive, fine- to medium-grained, dense, poor- to well cemented, massive, and somewhat porous sandstone. The Kipton Quarry property contains Berea Sandstone that probably exceeds 200 feet in thickness. Locally it is thought to be a flat-lying sandstone sequence. Much of which is a light- to medium-gray, massive stone, overlaid with 15 to 30 feet of a pale yellowish gray sandstone. The yellowish gray color is caused by very slight amounts of limonite iron in its composition. Outside of the slight differences of color, the rock has a very uniform texture and composition. It has long been a standard of what a sandstone building stone should be. Technically, the Berea Sandstone belongs to the Kinderhook Group, Iowan Series, of the Lower Mississippian Age. These rocks were laid down in shallow seas, approaching 345 million years ago. The near-surface bedrock in the immediate vicinity of the Kipton Quarry was sculpted during the time of the Late Wisconsin Glacier, the last glaciation in Ohio, approximately 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. The work of the glaciers is reflected by the smooth contours of the southwest-northeast treading ridge that contains the Kipton Quarry. The recoverable, commercial stone is overlain by 10 to 12 feet of a semi- waste rock material, a product of weathering. Much of this weathered thickness has value as an aggregate resource. Sandstone Evaluation The Berea Sandstone is present in the Kipton Quarry and on the adjacent property owned by Terry A Johnson.
This is evidenced by an examination of the quarry as seen today. There is about 165 feet of sandstone exposure in that face, above the water level in the bottom of the quarry. There is thought to be an additional 45 feet or more of sandstone below the water table, totaling 200+ feet. For what ever the reasons at the time, Cleveland Stone Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, conducted a brief core drilling program in the general Kipton Quarry area in April June, 1915. A copy of this report is still in existence. Without the slightest doubt, the entire Johnson property contains Berea Sandstone. Resources The Kipton Quarry does, indeed, have a good quality sandstone building stone present. The reserves of this stone are significant. There is a reserve of mineable, recoverable Berea Sandstone present on the Johnson property. This proven reserve has been calculated to a depth of 165 feet and to a depth of 200 feet: Surface to 165 feet in depth Surface to 200 feet in depth Discussion Proven Reserves 600,000,000 tons 730,000,000 tons The Berea Sandstone has long been used and accepted as a premium building stone. The Johnson property contains significant quantities of this valuable building stone. The present quarry on the Johnson property has an in-flow of water from the surrounding sandstone. The quantity of this ground water coming into the quarry is easily handled by intermittent pumping. The quarry and the associated property are situated near the crest of a low ridge, thus the entry of ground water into the bottom of the quarry will not be a serious problem. Surface water will never be a serious problem because much of the runoff will flow downhill away from the quarry. All of the necessary operating permits are in place. It is and has been a known quarry for more than 100 years. The local residents appear to have little or no problem with a quarry in the vicinity. After all, the quarry was there long before any of the local residents were even born. Nonetheless, every opportunity should be used to be a good neighbor in the Kipton area Conclusions The 67-acre Johnson property, containing the Kipton Quarry, is located to the immediate northeast of the village of Kipton, in west central Lorain County, of north central Ohio. This property contains a significant reserve of mineable and recoverable Berea Sandstone. This stone is a hard, massive, dense sandstone, building stone. It has long been used in the United States. It is the standard that all other sources of sandstone building stone are measured against. The reserve on this property has been calculated to be: 600 million tons from the surface down to 165 feet in depth. 730 million tons from the surface down to 200 feet in depth. All the necessary permits are in place. This is a viable operation.