Texas Almanac, 1952-1953 Page: 231
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TEXAS MINERALS. 231
PORTLAND CEMENT
Limestone in association with clays and
marls suitable for the production of Portland
cement are found in many places in North
Central, West and Southwest Texas, and in
the Trans-Pecos. (Portland cement is listed
in government figures under both mineral
products and manufactured products. See also
data on Portland cement in chapter on Manu-'
factures.) Along the coast lime from shell
dredged from the shallow bays is used. Large
cement plants are located at Houston, Dallas.
San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso, Waco and
Corpus Christi.
Production of cement in Texas has in-
creased gradually over a long period and was
at peak level in 1949, last Bureau of Mines
reer Texas cement materials are of excel-
lent grade and occur in great quantities in
close proximity to the state's largest con-
struction centers. Abundance of natural gas
is another advantage. The production of
Portland cement is one of Texas' larger in-
dustries.
Recent Texas production and value of Port-
land cement, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Mines
Production
Year- (Bbls.) Value.
1945 ................. 8,388,159 $14,790,545
1946 ................10,996,478 19,946,600
1947 .. ..............12,349,219 24,111,833
1948 ................13,786,846 30,352,972
1949 ........ ...14,741,805 33,409,347
CLAYS
Texas is well endowed by nature with
materials for the production of ceramics-
brick, tile, pottery, and other burning-clay
products, and also has a variety of bleaching
and refining clays.
Burning clays are utilized commercially in
Bexar, Bastrop, Brown, Cass, Cherokee, Core-
man, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso. Guada-
lupe, Harris, Henderson, Harrison, Hopkins,
Maverick, Medina, Nacogdoches, Navarro,
Palo Pinto, Parker, Smith, Starr, Taylor,
Titus, Wichita, Wilson, Wise, and some other
counties.
Among the large brick kilns are those near
San Antonio in Bexar County, Palmer and
Ferris in Ellis County, Mineral Wells in Palo
Pinto County, Elgin in Bastrop County and
Coleman in Coleman County. Tile plants that
rank among the largest in the country are
located at Saspamco in Wilson County and
Texarkana in Bowie County. Pottery is made
at Dallas, San Antonio, Athens in Henderson
County, Cisco -and Eastland in Eastland
County, McDade and Elgin in Bastrop County
and several other points.
Bleaching clays are produced in Angelina,
Brazos, Briscoe, Fayette, Gonzales, Jasper,
Scurry, Trinity, Walker and other counties.
These clays, including fuller's earth, benton.-
ite, and various forms of bleaching and re-
fining products, are in especial demand in
Texas because of its large petroleum-refining
industry. A form of bentonite is used also as
a drilling mud in oil-well drilling. It is found
in Angelina, Briscoe, Howard, El Paso, An-
drews, Upton, Terry and a number of other
counties, notably in the High Plains area.
Deposits of kaolin are found in Real and
several other counties, suitable for making
porcelain. A white firing clay suitable for the
production of tableware, sanitary ware and
certain types of porcelains is found in sev-
eral Northeast Texas counties.
The value of clay products produced in
Texas in recent years (other than pottery
and refractories) has been $9,290,000 in 1949,
$9,648,000 in 1948 and $7,550,000 in 1947. Clay
refractories were valued at $868,000 by the
census of 1947, and pottery products at
$2,219,000. (See Census of Manufactures,
p. 247.)
Fire clay production and value in Texas inrecent years, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Mines:
Production
Year- (Tons). Value
1945 .............. 821.497 $1,195,764
1946 ......... ... 1,347,427 1,521,512
1947 ..... ....... 1,367.250 1,592,954
1948 ..... ....... 1,560,318 1,898,968
1949 ............ ...1.106,264 1,457,033
Bentonite production and value in Texas in
recent years, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Mines
Production
Year- (Tons). Value.
1945 ........ ........24,503 $247,940
1946 ........ ......... 21,576 192,891
1947 .................. ..18,628 146,187
1948 ....... .............. 29,926 282,036
1949 .................... 27,598 302,384
Fuller's earth production and value in
Texas in recent years, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Mines
Production
Year- (Tons). Value.
1945 .. .. ... 103,076 $931,878
1946 . ................ 110,693 1,157,892
1947 . . 102.901 1,199,726
1948 ....... .....92,310 1,162,336
1949 ......... 100.745 1.242,558'
SHELL
Oyster and other marine shell occurs in
large quantities in the shallow bays of the
Gulf coast and is dredged and marketed for
the production of lime, use in poultry feeds
and other purposes. It has also been used in
surfacing roads. The Gulf coast Portland
cement plants at Houston and Corpus Christi
get their lime from shell. Amount and value
of shell has not recently been released by
the U.S. Bureau of Mines, but the revenue
from sale of shell by the State Game, Fish
and Oyster Commission was $525,241 in the
fiscal year 1949-50 and $503,624 in 1948-49.
ASPHALT
There are several occurrences of bituminous
rock, or rock asphalt in Texas, which are of
commercial value. Principal production in
recent years has been from Cline in Uvalde
County and La Pryor in Zavala County. The
U.S. Bureau of Mines has not released data
in recent years, probably because of the
small number of operators. Deposits are
found also in Kinney County in Southwest
Texas, Burnet County in Central Texas,
Anderson and Nacogdoches Counties in East
Texas and Montague and Cooke Counties in
North Texas.
GYPSUM
Several forms of gypsum, hydrous calcium
sulphate, are found in Texas and utilized in
several places in the manufacture of gypsum
cement and plaster, and wall board, Sheet-
rock and other building materials. Plants are
located at Sweetwgter in Nolan County,
Acme (near Quanah) in Hardeman County,
Rotan in Fisher County and Hamlin in Jones
County. There is also production from a large
deposit near Falfurrias in Brooks County.
The principal area of surface gypsum is a
band extending from the Red River in the
vicinity of Hardeman County southwest to
Nolan County. Deposits are found also in
large areas in the Trans-Pecos and in Jim
Hogg and other South Texas counties. Gyp-
sum occurs as rock gypsum, gypsiferous
earth, and satin spar. Alabaster, which is a
compact, translucent form of gypsum, occurs
in some places, notably in Stonewall County.
Gypsum production in Texas in recent
years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Mines:
Production
Year- (Tons). Value.
1945 ................... 407,640 $511,869
1946 . ................. 771,633 1,630,929
1947 ................... 831,633 2,000,341
1948 .................. 893,704 2,143,539
1949 ............... ..... 843,292 2,178,569
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Texas Almanac, 1952-1953, book, 1951; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117137/m1/233/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.