Introduction

Introduction
(Also see section entitled, How the Page is Organized)

I am Peggy Barriskill Perazzo, and my husband, Pat Perazzo, and we would like to introduce ourselves to you so you will be aware of how this web site is organized and the roles we play in its creation and ongoing growth. If you would like to contact us, you can either reach us either by email at <pbperazzo(at symbol)comcast.net> or by telephone at (925) 754-8460.

We live in the Delta area in the eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in California in the United States, so you may, at times, see a perspective skewed by our living here in California. I have not traveled much, although my husband has traveled in Europe and Canada. Pat is responsible for designing and maintaining this web site. He has been involved with computing since the early 1980s and has an interest in web design and programming. He also likes to ride his bicycle and occasionally plays a button accordion. Below you can read about how this project came about and how it is organized, if you wish. We hope you enjoy the web site and find it of value.

We have decided to put the web site online even though it is not completely "finished." (I keep finding more photos, articles, and books so how can it ever be finished?) We will be adding to the web site as each section is completed. There is still a lot more material and books, so over time you will have a large selection of items to view.

I have been researching the cemetery stone carvers and monument companies and the old cemetery stones created during the 1800s and early 1900s in the San Francisco Bay Area in California for few several years and family history research for many years. My husband has graciously accompanied me many times and participated in surveying the cemeteries. When I began my research, I was surprised to find it very difficult to easily obtain information on the quarries, quarriers, stone carvers, dealers of stone, and the results of their work online. While my stone carver research will continue on, I have decided to create this online page that will present information (including quarry locations and descriptions when possible), online links, personal histories, photographs, and quarry-related books for those also interested in stone quarries of the past and related subjects.

My main interest is in dimension stone quarries, although other types of quarries have caught my attention and intrigued me and some of other types of quarries are addressed as well. As I found huge numbers of gravel and sand quarries, I decided not to include these two commodities in the lists. (Initially, quarries may have started as dimension stone quarries and are aggregate quarries today.) I will continue to add to this web site as my research progresses. Please do not consider the material on this page to be a complete listing of any subject. Each section of the web site will continue to grow and become more inclusive as my research continues, although there will always be unfound quarries still out there to be rediscovered..

While researching the stone carvers is the main purpose of my research, other aspects have caught my interest. One of the most interesting subjects has been the dimensional stone quarries. To me these quarries are both intriguing and beautiful, although I understand to others they may be considered an eyesore and a blight on the landscape. I have found that some of these old quarries have been transformed into golf courses, gardens, theme parks, places for artists to work, etc.

Because of my interest, my husband, Pat, and I have been seeking out historical stone quarries here in California to tour and photograph. The results of our travels will be included in this web site, including photographs in case you also find quarries places of beauty and interest. If you, too, travel to and photograph these old stone quarries, I invite you to write up your visit and send it on to me. I would be glad to add them to this page with your name as the contributor. Also, if you have photographs, some of these can be included also.

Along with the quarries you will also find other related subjects touched upon to varying degrees. I hope to present this web site to you as a resource or as an introduction to the subject or research (a kind of clearing house), but I do not wish to present myself as an expert - more a compiler who will provide resources so that you can use the information to explore and enjoy these subjects. I still have a lot to learn. If you see errors in the page, please contact me and give me the information and the source. It is important to me that the information be accurate and documented if possible.

How the Page is Organized

This site is set up basically as general links and information, and photographs on stone quarries, stone workers and dealers, and the finished products listed by state/country and locale. In addition to listings of quarries and quarry information for each state/country, separate subjects within the state/country sections are also included, such as geology, research resources, and each state's stone industry, if there is (or was) one. (For example, if you wanted to see the listings of Vermont quarries, you would first go to the Vermont state section of the page.)

Note: All finished products (monuments, buildings, bridges, sculptures, etc.) are listed in the state in which the stone was quarried. You can use the on-site search engine to help you locate what you are searching for. You can also check the topic, "names and origins of stone," found on the main menu under the "quarries" section on the main page to help ascertain the origin of certain stones or you can go directly to the location of the quarry in the state or country sections.

There is also a list of the unique articles, books, and photographic quarry-related trips that I have presented. You can click the title here, Articles, Links, & Booklets, or on the main page under the "quarries" section.

For each state and country, I am compiling lists of individual historical stone quarries (many of which are now abandoned) under the state/country listings. In each state there will be two sections that relate to quarries in addition to the other sections. The first section will be the stone industry for each state, and the second will be the "Quarries & Quarry links, Photographs and Articles" section. If you are looking for quarries in a particular area, check the state/country where I have listed all the quarries that I have been able to find. Sometimes the location descriptions are quite specific, while other times they are vague. Locations described in the early 1900s may well have been built upon by now. Also, most of these quarries today are located on private property, so you should need to permission before entering the property. Also, many of these abandoned quarries are very dangerous today. If you wish more detailed information on these quarries, feel free to contact me as I have only abstracted, in some cases, very brief information from the descriptions and may have more information in my possession and may have more information in my possession.

One other item I would like to address is the fact that I have included several present-day companies. Most of these are listed because they have historical information on their sites about the quarries in the past and many have some beautiful, or informative photographs of equipment and the quarries as they are today. The presence of a company on these links is not meant as any kind of recommendation or endorsement for these companies or their products as I have no relationship with any of these companies.

There is one area I am including on this page for which I am seeking information and input from others. I am including a section in which people can contribute their own ancestors' stories of their days in any of these related businesses. In addition to my stone carver research, I am a family historian and I value our ancestors' stories and would like to provide a place so the stories of these people who worked in the stone industry or created the many buildings and art created from stone can live on and be read and appreciated by others. If you have any stories you feel would be of interest to others about your own people who were involved in the historical stone industries that you would like to contribute, please contact me and full credit will be attributed to you. If you already have your story written up on your own web page, please contact me with the link. We hope you enjoy your visit to our page.

Peggy B. Perazzo, Compiler
Member of the Association For Gravestone Studies & the Early American Industries Association, Inc.
George (Pat) Perazzo, Webmaster

[Top of Page]