Relience Clay pit, Troup, Smith County, Texas, USAi

Regional Level Types
Relience Clay pit	Pit
Troup	- not defined -
Smith County	County
Texas	State
USA	Country

Located on County Road 4706 off Farm and Machinery Road (FM) 13 at Henry's Chapel Church.

The clay pits just south of Troup, Texas have been producing kaolin clay and ball clay for many years under the management of several companies including United Clay of Texas, Reliance Clay Products and General Refractories Company. There are many pits, both abandoned and active in a several square mile area but only one is of interest to the collector. The active ones are now being worked by the brick company in Henderson. Besides the red brick clay, some white to gray ball clay is produced. Ball clay is a finer quality kaolinitic sedimentary clay commonly consisting of 20-80% kaolinite, 10-25% mica, and 6-65% quartz and is used in porcelain and high temperature fire brick. The pit, often referred to as the Old Reliance Clay Pit, is located off of FM 13 near the historic Henry’s Chapel Church. The exact location of the specimen producing area is at coordinates 32°6’24.08” north, 95°3’25.16” west. The items of interest to the rockhound were well preserved and plentiful specimens of the Eocene pelecypod, Venericardia planicosta and some exceptional large and well-formed crystals of gypsum (variety selenite). A gravel road runs along the pits edge making for easy access to the water. Several years ago, the Smith County Sheriffs Department and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) dive team recovered a number of stolen cars, trucks and ATVs that had been stripped and dumped over the side. Some locals were using the pit for a trash dump, prompting the company to bulldoze a high dirt berm along the road to discourage that practice. Besides the Venericardia planicosta that were found in great abundance, a few gastropods (Turritella sp.) and some out-standing, large and well-formed crystals of gypsum variety selenite. Over several years of frequent collecting, less than a dozen complete V. planicosta were recovered with both valves still attached. The fossil zone was near the very top of the workings. East Texas red clay is not a very good media for fossil preservation, so that made this a rare occurrence. But it, like so many other locations, is no longer available to the collector. The clays were being produced from the Eocene age Reklaw Formation (56-33.9 million years). It consists of sandstone and clay, fine to medium grained sand, abundant hematite, muscovite, glauconite, silty clays and lignite. It is friable to highly indurated, cross bedded and has a thickness of 50 to 80 feet. During the late 1970’s and early 80’s the author made frequent collecting trips to the locality,and was able to preserve some nice specimens from a very unique occurrence.

A clay processing plant, at coordinates 32.15547N, 95.09854W, was owned by General Refractories Company, Texas (1979). This locality is not listed in the USGS MRDS database; however, the referenced processing plant is.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10178402

Mindat Articles

The Troup, Texas Clay Pits by Charles Creekmur

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References