Mississippian System

Type section and use of name: The Leesville Limestone was named as a member of the Harrodsburg Limestone by Stockdale (1929b, p 239). The adjective limestone was dropped from the name by Smith (1965), and the Leesville was reduced to bed rank by Nicoll and Rexroad (1975, p. 9) and assigned to the lowest part of their Harrodsburg Limestone. (See Figure 1 under "Harrodsburg Limestone.") The type section is along the road at the site of two small abandoned quarries on the west bank of Guthrie Creek about one-fourth mile (0.4 m) east of Leesville near the center of the NE¼ sec. 27, T. 5 N., R. 2 E., Lawrence County, Ind. The name Leesville is presently applied to the basal part of the Harrodsburg Limestone lying below lenses of the Guthrie Creek Bed, but where these lenses are absent, the Leesville cannot be separated from the rest of the Harrodsburg.

Description: The Leesville Bed is relatively pure bryozoan- and crinoid-rich calcarenite, 1 to 11 feet (0.3 to 3.4 m) thick, which forms the basal part of the Harrodsburg Limestone. The Leesville has been recognized along the Ohio River in Floyd County, Ind., and northward into Monroe County, Ind. Because it is more resistant to erosion than the underlying Ramp Creek Formation and the overlying Guthrie Creek Bed, it commonly forms ledges or waterfalls. It conformably overlies the Ramp Creek Formation.

Correlation: See under "Harrodsburg Limestone" for correlation.