The California Stone Industry

• 1840s Through about the 1860s - Building Material & Stone Usage in the Mother Lode Region of California. Excerpts from Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 - Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother Lode Country, Bulletin 141, Olaf P. Jenkins, Chief, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.
• 1856 - The following excerpt is from the 1856, “The Marble-Workers' Handbook”: “Marble has been found in Marin County, and in some other parts of California.”
• 1882 - The California Stone and Building Industry in 1882 - Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1882, J. S. Powell, Director, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1883. Excerpts from the chapters on 1) "Structural Materials" and 2) "The Useful Minerals of the United States."
• 1883 and 1884 California Stone Industry - Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Years 1883 and 1884, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1885.
• 1885 - The California Stone and Building Industry in 1885 - Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1885, David T. Day, Geologist, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1887. Excerpts from the chapters on 1) "Structural Materials," by H. S. Sproull; and 2) "Abrasive Materials."
• 1886 - The California Stone and Building Industry, 1886 - Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1886, David T. Day, Chief of Division of Mining Statistics and Technology, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1887. Excerpts from the chapter on Structural Materials, by William C. Day.
• 1886 - California Building Stones (1886), and History of the California Stone Industry - Excerpt from Report of the United States National Museum Under the Direction of the Smithsonian Institutions For the Year Ending June 30, 1886, Chapter entitled, “The Collection of Building and Ornamental Stones In The U. S. National Museum: A Hand-book and Catalogue,” By George P. Merrill, Curator, Department Lithology and Physical Geology. Subtitle, “Serpentines of the Various States and Territories.”
• 1898/1899 - Excerpt from Maryland Geological Survey, Vol. II, "A History of the (Maryland) Quarrying Industry," by Edward B. Mathews, 1898:

  "The sandstones (of the state of Connecticut), and especially those along the Connecticut River, as at Portland and Cromwell, are very extensively quarried and owing to the ready transportation facilities offered by the river, are extensively utilized in all the Eastern cities, and have even been sent around Cape Horn to San Francisco."

• 1890 - California Stone Industry up through 1890 - Excerpts from The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 24, History of California, Volume 7: 1860-1890, Published in 1890.
• 1906 - California Slate Industry (up to 1906) - Excerpts from Slate Deposits and Slate Industry of the United States, Bulletin No. 275, by T. Nelson Dale with sections by E. C. Eckel, W. F. Hillerbrand, and A. T. Coons, "Slate Deposits and Industry of the United States - California, by Edwin C. Eckel, pp. 56-59, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906.
• 1906 - California Structural and Industrial Materials / Building Stones (historical account leading up to circa 1906) The following material on the California stone industry circa 1906 are excerpts from The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.
• 1908 - The California Stone Industry, 1908 - Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1908, Part II - Nonmetallic Products, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1909. Excerpts from the book are from the chapters on: 1) "Slate," by A. T. Coons; 2) "Stone," by A. T. Coons; 3) part of chapter on "Abrasive Materials," by W. C. Phalen.
• 1913 -1914 - California Mines and Mineral Resources (circa 1913-1914) - Excerpts from Report XIV of the State Mineralogist - Mines and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist's Report - Biennial Period 1913-1914, San Francisco, California, July, 1915, California State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1916.
• 1915 - California Mineral Resources & Introduction to the Sacramento Valley and Foothills Area of California (circa 1915) - Excerpts from Sacramento Valley and Foothill Counties of California: An Illustrated Description of all the Counties Embraced in this Richly productive Geographical Subdivision of the Golden State, compiled and edited by Emmett Phillips and John H. Miller, Published under the direction of The Sacramento Valley Exposition, J. A. Filcher, Director-in Chief, January, 1915.
• 1919 - Mineral Industry, California, (As of 1919) (From California Mineral Production for 1919, Bulletin No. 88, by Walter W. Bradley, California State Mining Bureau, 1920)
• 1939 - California Stone Industry (as of 1939) - Excerpts from The Stone Industries, by Oliver Bowles, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1939.
• 1947 - The Mineral Industry of California (As of 1947) - Excerpts from "Annual Report, Division of Mines for the Ninety-Eighth Fiscal Year, July 1, 1946 to June 30, 1947," by Olaf P. Jenkins, Chief, California State Division of Mines. Manuscript submitted for publication December 1947, California State Division of Mines, California Journal of Mines and Geology, pp. Vol. 43, No. 4, October 1947, pp. 389-412. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
• 1947 - Limestone in California (As of 1947) - Excerpts from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357.
• 1949 - Stone Quarries in the North San Francisco Bay Counties ((historical account as of 1949), excerpts from Geology and Mineral Deposits of an Area North of San Francisco Bay, California: Vacaville, Antioch, Mount Vaca, Carquinez, Mare Island, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Point Reyes Quadrangles, Bulletin 149, California State Division of Mines, 1949.
• 1950 - California Stone Industry (historical account up to circa 1950), excerpts from Geologic Guidebook of the San Francisco Bay Counties, Bulletin 154, California Division of Mines, 1951.
  • California Dimension Stone
  • California Crushed Stone Industry
  • "The Building Stone and Aggregate Industry of the San Francisco Bay Counties," by Mort D. Turner, Assistant Mining Geologist, California State Division of Mines.
  • "Volcanic Rocks Useful in the San Francisco Bay Area," by C. W. Chesterman, Associate Mining Geologist, California State Division of Mines.
  • The California Cement Industry
  • Limestone and The Cement Industry of the San Francisco Bay Counties," by Oliver E. Bowen, Jr., Associate Mining Geologist, California State Division of Mines.
  • "Old Lime Kilns Near Olema," by Adan E. Treganza, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, San Francisco State College.
    
• 1951 - California Mineral Commodities in 1951 (Excerpts from "Mines and Mineral Resources of San Benito County, California," California State Division of Mines, California Journal of Mines and Geology, pp. Vol. 50, No. 1, January 1954, pp. 3-147.)
• California Stone & Mineral Industry (as of 1966), excerpts from Geology of Northern California, Bulletin 190, Edgar H. Bailey, Editor, United States Geological Survey, California Division of Mines and Geology, Ferry Building, San Francisco, 1966.
• California Stone Industry (historical account and up to 1966), excerpts from Mineral Resources of California, Bulletin 191, California Division of Mines and Geology, San Francisco, California, 1966.
  • The Mineral Industry of California (circa 1966)
  • Mineral Resources - Introduction
  • Limestone, Dolomite, and Lime Products, by O. E. Bowen, California Division of Mines and Geology, San Francisco, California.
  • Figure 34. Principal limestone and dolomite districts in California (Map)
  • Stone - Crushed and Broken
  • Stone - Dimension
    
• 1973 - Limestone & Dolomite Resources of California (as of 1973), excerpts from The Mineral Economics of The Carbonate Rocks: Limestone and Dolomite Resources of California, Bulletin 194, by Oliver E. Bowen, Cliffton H. Gray, Jr., and James R. Evans, California Division of Mines and Geology, Sacramento, 1973.
• 1994-1996 - Mines and Mineral Producers Active in California, excerpts from Mines and Mineral Producers Active in California (1994-1995), Special Publication 103 (Revised 1996), California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology, in cooperation with California Department of Conservation, Office of Mine Reclamation.
  • (1990-1995) Map of California Mineral Producing Localities (1990-1995)
  • (1995) California Nonfuel Minerals - 1995

  • California Nonfuel Minerals - 1995; Total Value $2.7 Billion

• 1994 through 2004 - The Mineral Industry of California - United States Geological Survey (1994 through 2004).
• 2000 - California's Non-Fuel Mineral Production 2000, by Susan Kohler, Senior Geologist, California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology, Sacramento, California. [PDF]
• 2000 - California Mining and Quarry Industry (historical account as of 2000), excerpts from A Guidebook to Mining In America: Volume 1: West (The Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and farther West), by John R. Park, Stonerose Publishing Co., Miami, Florida, April, 2000.

  "Native Americans in California were very active in exploiting mineral resources. Nearly all substantial archeological finds in California include soapstone bowls, finger rings, and other ornaments and tools. Turquoise was also mined. Cinnabar, hematite, and sienna were mined for pigments…The Golden State is of course best known for the 1849 gold rush that followed the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848. It isn't so well known that Spaniards-Mexicans were actively mining gold as early as 1775…In any case, by 1860, little easily mined placer gold was left, and hydraulic and hardrock mining began, financed by large companies. In the 1890s, dredging was introduced to exploit some deeper placer deposits. By definition, the Gold Rush Country extends from Mariposa in the south to Sierra County in the north. The area north of El Dorado-Coloma is called the Northern Mines and the area to the south of this point is called the Mother Lode…."

  "The mineral production of California is extremely diverse (e.g., also including fullers' earth, kaolin, feldspar, gypsum, iron ore, dimension stone, asbestos, sodium sulfate, soda ash, magnesium compounds, pumice, pumicite, perlite, talc, salt and potash)…."

• California State Mining and Mineral Museum - California State Parks
• “California’s Non-Fuel Mineral Production – 1996,” California Geology, vol. 50, July/August 1997. (Available from the California Geological Survey - California Geology Magazine Back Issues.)
• “California’s Non-Fuel Mineral Production 2000,” California Geology, vol. 54, September/October 2001. (Available from the California Geological Survey - California Geology Magazine Back Issues.)
• California Marble (May 1894) The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol.26, Issue 5, May 1894, pg. 108-109. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
• Gold Rush Country, California - Building Materials Trip in 1998 – This is a photographic tour of selected buildings and structures in the Gold Rush Country of California starting at Mariposa in Mariposa County heading northward to Auburn in Placer County. (Also see the section below entitled: "1840s Onward – Building Stone Usage in the Mother Lode Region of California.")
• Inyo Marble (California) (March 1889) The Manufacture and Builder, Vol. 21, Issue 3, March 1889, pgs. 59-60. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
• Mineral Resources of California - Bulletin 191, 1906, by H. B. Goldman, California Division of Mines and Geology, San Francisco, California, 1966. Extracts from this book include the following headings:
  • California Stone - Dimension: Granite quarries in the Sierra Nevada Batholith; Sandstone in California; Limestone and Marble in California; Slate in California; Basalt in California;
  • California Stone - Crushed and Broken: Granite; Sandstone; Basalt (and related volcanic rocks); Limestone; Slate; Basalt (and related volcanic rocks);
  • The Stone Industry in the Area North of San Francisco Bay: Building Stone.
• Rock Quarrying Photographs in the California State Archives in the Photograph Collection, Sacramento, California.
  • 50 - F3778:2976-3043, Public Works, Highways, Photographs, District I-X. 1912-1949. 5,746 items. Arranged by highway district number and alphabetically by county thereunder. Formats included are: photographic prints, negatives, photograph albums and postcards. (This collection includes photographs of rock quarrying.)
• Rocks in Rocklin, Placer County, California - Granite, Conglomerates, Sandstones, Claystones and Lava Rocks by Dick Hilton, Geology Instructor, Sierra College.

• Rocklin - History of Rocklin, California (Placer County) by Roy Ruhkala - This history includes the granite industry in the Rocklin area.
• Statuary Marble in (Inyo) California (May 1886) The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 18, Issue 5, May 1886, pgs. 107-108. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)

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