The Quarry Industry (in General)

(Also see: “Quarries - Economics, Methods, Equipment, and
other Considerations” & “The Building Industry”)

---

General Quarry/Mining Industry Information and Links

• Quarry/Mine-related glossaries, dictionaries, definitions, etc. (See: Quarries: Economics, Methods, Stone Types, Equipment, and Other Considerations - Quarry and Mining Terminology section)

• Hard Rock Mining on Federal Lands

• Minerals Information - United States Geological Survey (USGS) (Statistics & Information is presented according to: Commodity, Country, and State.)

  • Active Metal and Industrial Mineral Underground Mines in the United States, United States Geological Survey Mineral Industry Survey.

    Active Metal and Industrial Mineral Underground Mines in the United States in 2002, United States Geological Survey Mineral Industry Survey. [PDF]

    Active Metal and Industrial Mineral Underground Mines in the United States in 2003, United States Geological Survey Mineral Industry Survey. [PDF]

    Active Metal and Industrial Mineral Underground Mines in the United States in 2004, United States Geological Survey Mineral Industry Survey. [PDF]

    Active Metal and Industrial Mineral Underground Mines in the United States in 2005, United States Geological Survey Mineral Industry Survey. [PDF]

  • Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-006, Version 6.9, By Thomas Kelly, David Buckingham, Carl DiFrancesco, Kenneth Porter, Thomas Goonan, John Sznopek, Cyrus Berry, and Melissa Crane.

  • Historical Events in Minerals and Materials:

    • Minerals and Materials in the 20th Century - A Review [available in PDF]

    • Events Affecting the U.S. Nonfuel Minerals Industry, 1900-2000 [available in PDF]

  • Mineral Commodity Summaries (beginning 1996) (scroll down to entry) A few of the Individual Commodity Data Sheet subjects include: Abrasives, Manufactured; Lime; Stone, Crushed; and Stone, Dimension. "Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials."

  • Dimension Stone - Statistics and Information [Mineral Commodity Summaries (from 1997) and Minerals Yearbooks (from 1994)]

    "Dimension stone can be defined as natural rock material quarried for the purpose of obtaining blocks or slabs that meet specifications as to size (width, length, and thickness) and shape. Color, grain texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are normal requirements. Durability (essentially based on mineral composition and hardness and past performance), strength, and the ability of the stone to take a polish are other important selection criteria.

    "Although a variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks are used as dimension stone, the principal rock types are granite, limestone, marble, sandstone, and slate. Other varieties of dimension stone that are normally considered to be special minor types include alabaster (massive gypsum), soapstone (massive talc), and various products fashioned from natural stone."

    • Publications - Dimension Stone

      • Directory of Principal Dimension Stone Producers in the United States in 1995 [ PDF]

        • Dimension Stone

  • Crushed Stone [Mineral Commodity Summaries (from 1997), Minerals Yearbooks (from1994), Preliminary Data for Crushed Stone in 2002 by State, Mineral Industry Surveys (from 2002)].

    • Directories (crushed stone):

      • 2003 Directory of State Listings of Crushed Stone and Sand and Gravel Producers [PDF]

      • Principal Aggregates Producers in the Conterminous United States, 2002 [PDF]

      • Principal Crushed Stone Producers in the United States, 2001 [PDF]

    • Special Publications: (scroll down)

      • Aggregates Industry Atlas of the United States (available on CD-ROM)

      • Crushed Stone [scroll down to "Stone (crushed")]

      • Natural Aggregates - Foundation of America's Future FS144-97 [PDF]

      • Statistical Compendium - Crushed Stone

• Mines and Mining History, prestend by the American Local History Network.

• Mining History and Tourism, presented by MiningUSA.com

• United States Quarries - Library of Congress (American Memory published by the Detroit Publishing Co., 1880 - 1920, WPA interviews, and other resources)

Quarry/Mining (companies, museums, resources, etc.)

• American Memory - Library of Congress. For quarrying photographs and other resources relating to stone quarrying and mining in the United States, a very good historical resource is the Library of Congress. Click here to search using words such as "quarrying" and any state name you are interested in if you are looking for a specific location. Links to many quarry resources will be listed for you to choice from. These will be historical photographs, interviews done by the WPA interviewers, and other resources.

• American Monument Association (dimension stone association)

• Association of Marble Producers from Verona (ASMAVE) (“The AS.MA.VE, Association of Marble Producers from Verona, is proposing to expand the presence in the international markets of a group of companies operating in the Country of Verona, which in processing marble and marble products, can boast with centuries old traditions.”)

• Association of The Natural Stone Mining and Processing Companies in The Ossola, Verbano and Cusio Area, Italy (ASSOCAVE) (“For 30 years Assocave has been promoting in Italy and abroad images of companies that extract and work the natural stones of Ossola, Verbano and Cusio....”)

• Barre Granite Association, Barre, Vermont (dimension stone association)

• Building Stone Institute, Elgin, Illinois. (dimension stone association)

• Canadian Stone Association

• Elberton Granite Association, Elberton, Georgia. (dimension stone association)

• Indiana Limestone Institute of America, Bedford, Indiana. (dimension stone association)

• The Industrial Archaeology & Industrial History Web, Kelvin Lake, Ring Master.

• International Center for Aggregates Research (ICAR)

• Internazionale Marmi E Macchine Carrara Spa (IMM), Italy

• List of Underground Mines/Museums - Souterrains (man-made underground objects, artificial cavities, mines, quarries, tunnels)

• Marble Institute of America

• Mining History & Exploration WebRing

• National Lime Association

• National Stone, Sand, & Gravel Association

• Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association

• Ontario Dimension Stone Producers and Processors Directory

• Stone World - "Stone World magazine is recognized worldwide as the leading source of information on stone use in architecture and interior design as well as stone production, distribution, installation, and maintenance. With technical information, high quality architectural photography and in-depth international industry coverage, Stone World is designed for and read by the top buyers and decision makers who specify, quarry, fabricate, export, import, distribute, design, sell and install stone and stone-related equipment and supplies."

• Women in Mining - About Minerals - Women In Mining "is dedicated to educating students, teachers and the general public about the importance of minerals."

Stone Selection Resources

(Please Note: There are many stone portals on the Internet, and below are a few. If you are aware of other similar web sites, feel free to send them to me to be included in the list below.)

• "Dimension Stones of the World," Vol. I & II, (CD) available through the Marble Institute of America.

• estonex.com

• Findstone.com - Stone Album (over 2700 stone photographs from 50 countries) You can also visit the text list of stones that are in the Findstone.com album.

  • findStone.com (main web site URL)
  • findStone stone names and colors (by country)
  • findstone - stone images (by country)

• National Building Granite Quarries Association, Inc. presents the "Color Classifications of Granite Quarried by Association Members" which lists the granite according to color, quarry location, and quarrier.

• Stone Contact: International Stone Marketplace
• StoneInfo.com
• Stone Locator
• Stone World - "Stone World magazine is recognized worldwide as the leading source of
  information on stone use in architecture and interior design as well as stone production, distribution, installation, and maintenance. The "Buyers Guide" section includes a "Stone Suppliers" list of stone suppliers on the Web.

Historical Perspectives in Quarrying/Mining

• The Art of Splitting Stone: Early Rock Quarrying Methods in Pre-Industrial New England, 1630-1825, (book) by Mary Gage and James Gage, Powwow River Books, Amesbury, Massachusetts. (A comprehensive study of methods used to split stone in pre-industrial New England. A total of 11 different stone splitting methods are documented in New England for the time period. Some were transferred from Europe, while others were developed here. All are discussed in the book, which includes illustrations. Powwow River Books, 163 Kimball Road, Amesbury, MA 01913-5515.)

• “Barre in The ‘Nineties,” (Barre, Vermont) by William Barclay, son of the first William Barclay, founder of the pioneer firm of Barclay Brothers, in Monumental News Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 12, December, 1939, pp. 548-550. (Includes information on the progressive use of new tools and equipment in the granite quarry industry from 1899 up through 1939.)

• Historical Review - 1872 - Quarries from The Great Industries of the United States Being an Historical Summary of the Origin, Growth, and Perfection of the Chief Industrial Arts of This Country, 1872.

• Historical Review - 1923 - The Production of Granite in the New England States (From The Commercial Granites of New England, 1923.)

• “Horses, Oxen and Granite,” (in Barre, Vermont), (online article) by Paul Wood, January 7, 2008, in the Barre Montpelier Times Argus.

  The time period covered in this article is during the early 1800s.

Key words in article: Adamant Quarries, Montpelier, Vermont; block and tackle; boom derrick; clog chains; John Crouse of Syracuse, New York; Fayette Cutler, Barre, Vermont; double runner sleds; freight Tariffs; Joseph Glidden, Mark Glidden;granite quarries; granite sheds; horse sweep; Jones Brothers, Vermont; “New Hampshire Horses,” railroads; ramp, rollers; single-drum winch; skids; spur track; St. John the Devine Cathedral, New York City; Stanford Mausoleum; wagon pulled by horses and oxen teams, wagons.

• Stone Cutters Online, presented by Dorothea McKenzie.

  From the web site: “This web site was developed to help preserve the memories, contributions and hard work of the granite, limestone, slate and marble quarry workers of the United States and Canada. The site is also a virtual resource of collecting names of ancestors and their contributions to the industry and their labor unions.”

• “Tools and Machinery of the Granite Industry” (in four parts), by Paul Wood, in The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc. (Issues of these magazines are available from th Early American Industries Association, Inc. Parts I, II, and III the four articles are available on the Find Articles web site at the web addresses below, although the photographs are not included.)
  • Part I. Vol. 59, No. 2, June 2006. (“Introduction: This article, the first in a series of four on granite working, deals with granite as a material, an industry, and a product and begins the description of the granite quarrying process.”)
  • Part II. Vol. 59, No. 3, September 2006. (“Introduction: This article, the second in a series of four on granite working, completes the description of the quarrying process....”)
  • Part III. Vol. 59, No. 4, December 2006. (“Granite Finishing: A small number of basic finished dimension stones made up the great majority of granite shed production. For gravestones and private....”)
  • Part IV. Vol. 60, No. 1, March 2007. (“This article is the last in a series of four on the tools and machinery of granite working....”)

Other

• Women Who Walk Through Time, presented by the American Geological Institute - AGI. This site is for everyone but includes some special things for girls and women interested in the earth sciences.