Logo Picture Left SideLogo Picture Right SideLogo Text at Center
Home > Search > Site Map > Illinois

Geology Resources - Illinois

Research Resources - Illinois

The Illinois Stone Industry

  • 1856 - The following excerpt is from the 1856 - "The Marble-Workers' Handbook," pg. 251:  "In Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois little pains have yet been taken to develop the mineral building materials."
  • 1882 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry in 1882 (transcription), 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 - The Illinois Stone Industry, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Years 1883 and 1884 (PDF images of sections), Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1885.
  • 1885 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry in 1885 (transcription), Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1885 (PDF images of sections), David T. Day, Geologist, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1887. Excerpt from the chapter on "Structural Materials," by H. S. Sproull.
  • 1886 - Illinois Stone and Building Industry in 1886 (transcription), Exerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1886 (PDF images of sections), David T. Day, Chief of Division of Mining Statistics and TechnologyDepartment of the Interior, United States Geological Survey Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1887.
  • 1887 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1887, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1887 (PDF images of sections), J. W. Powell, Director, 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., 1888.
  • 1887 - The Illinois Quarry Industry circa 1887, “Our Building Stone Supply”  (Quarrying in the United States circa 1887), by George P. Merrill, Scientific American Supplement, No. 577, January 22, 1887, & “Our Building Stone Supply” Conclusion, Scientific American Supplement, No. 578, January 29, 1887.
  • 1888 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1888, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1888 (PDF images of sections), J. W. Powell, Director, 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., 1890.
  • 1889 and 1890 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1889, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1889 and 1890 (PDF images of sections), J. W. Powell, Director, 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., 1892.
  • 1891 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1891, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1891 (PDF images of sections), J. W. Powell, Director 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., 1893
  • 1892 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1892, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1892 (PDF images of sections), J. W. Powell, Director, 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., 1893.
  • 1893 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1893, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1893 (PDF images of sections), J. W. Powell, Director, 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., 1894.
  • 1894 - Illinois Stone and Building Industry in 1894, Excerpts from the Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, Part IV.-Mineral Resources of the United States, 1894, Nonmetallic Products (PDF images of sections). Chapter on "Stone," by William C. Day.
  • 1895 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1895, Excerpts from Seventeenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey (PDF images of sections), Part III. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1895, Nonmetallic Products, Except Coal. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896.
  • 1896 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1896, Excerpts from Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey (PDF images of sections), Part V. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1896, Nonmetallic Products, Except Coal. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897.
  • 1897 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1897, Excerpts from Nineteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey (PDF images of sections), Part V. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1896, Nonmetallic Products, Except Coal. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1898.
  • 1898 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1898, Excerpts from Twentieth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey (PDF images of sections), Part VI. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1898, Nonmetallic Products, Except Coal and Coke. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899.
  • 1899 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1899, Excerpts from Twenty-first Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey (PDF images of sections), Part VI. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1899, Nonmetallic Products, Except Coal and Coke. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1901.
  • 1900 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1900, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1900 (PDF images of sections), Charles D. Walcott, Director, David T. Day, Chief of Division of Mining and Mineral Resources, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1901.
  • 1901 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1901, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1901 (PDF images of sections), Charles D. Walcott, Director, David T. Day, Chief of Division of Mining and Mineral Resources, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1902
  • 1902 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1902, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1902 (PDF images of sections), Charles D. Walcott, Director, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1904.
  • 1903 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1903, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1903 (PDF images of sections), Charles D. Walcott, Director Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1904.
  • 1904 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1904, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1904 (PDF images of sections), Charles D. Walcott, Director, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1905.
  • 1905 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1905, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1905 (PDF images of sections), Charles D. Walcott, Director, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1906.
  • 1906 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1906, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States - Calendar Year 1906 (PDF images of sections), George Otis Smith, Director, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1907.
  • 1907 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1907, Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1907 (PDF images of sections), Part II.  Nonmetallic Products, George Otis Smith, Director, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey,  Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1908.
  • 1908 - The Illinois Stone and Building Industry, 1908 (transcription), Excerpts from Mineral Resources of the United States, Calendar Year 1908, Part II - Nonmetallic Products (PDF images of sections), 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) "Stone," by A. T. Coons, and 2) part of chapter on "Abrasive Materials," by W. C. Phalen.
  • 1994 through 2008 - The Mineral Industry of Illinois - United States Geological Survey  (1994 through 2007) 
  • Chicago (near), Illinois - "The Stone Industry in the Vicinity of Chicago, Illinois," by William C. Alden, from Contributions to Economic Geology - 1902, Bulletin 213, United States Geological Survey, 1903.
  • DiscoverySchool.com (Worldbook) - Illinois - Minerals and Mining.
      <http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozgeography/i/272380.html>
    Illinois has large deposits of limestone and sandstone in addition to other minerals.  (The above link is no longer available on the DiscoverySchool.com web site.)
  • Illinois & Michigan (I & M) Canal History - Agriculture, Industry, and the Waterways.  This site is presented by the Canal Corridor Association (the Illinois & Michigan Canal Corridor).  (The following quote is used with permission.)

    I & M Canal History

    The following are some of the subjects covered in the history section of this site: Who Was Here; Building the Canal; Cities and Towns; Environment; Agriculture, and Industry & Waterways.  The following quote is taken from the "Agriculture, Industry, and Waterways" section of this site. (The section from which the following information was taken is no longer available, you can view the site on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
    <http://www.canalcor.org/canalhistory.html>

    Industry

    "In digging the canal, large quantities of a magnesium-rich limestone called dolomite were exposed.  Within a few years a new industry was born, and dozens of quarries opened in Lemont, Lockport and Joliet, creating thousands of new jobs. This heavy, durable stone was easily and cheaply transported on the canal, and was used in many buildings throughout the corridor, including the Joliet Penitentiary and the Chicago Water Tower. By about 1900 the local building-stone industry was largely eclipsed when superior Indiana stone came to be favored. Today the regional stone industry produces crushed stone, used in the construction industry and for erosion control along lakes.  Quarries still operate in the corridor at McCook, Romeoville, Joliet, and Lemont."

  • Illinois Voluntary Limestone Program Producer Information, produced by Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois Department of Transportation.

  • “Joliet Limestone:  The Rise and Fall of a Nineteenth Century Building Material and Its Architectural Impact on the Joliet, Illinois Area” (pdf), Quarterly Publication, Will County Historical Society, Winter, 1997, pp. 268-274.

  • Joliet-Lemont Limestone:  Preservation of an Historic Building Material.  This booklet is available through the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.
  • Joliet, Illinois - About Joliet - History, presented by the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry  (photographs and history)  Abundant limestone deposits were discovered at Joliet which created a new industry for the area.  The limestone was used in the construction of public buildings, churches, schools, and homes.  Joliet became known as "Stone City" because of its many limestone buildings.  The quarry industry provided employment for thousands of people. (The link from which this information was obtained is no longer available.)
    <http://www.jolietchamber.com/about_history.htm>
  • Limestone Quarries - “Updated limestone quarry report available from ag department,” presented by AgriNews, dated November 4, 2005.

  • Limestone Quarry Report (This article was originally published on October 11, 2007 and expired on November 1, 2007. It is provided here for archival purposes and may contain dated information.) 

    (From the web site)  “This booklet lists the limestone quarries throughout Illinois by county and then reports the quality of their agricultural limestone. Individual copies of this report are available at no charge by contacting the IL Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 19281, State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL 62794-9281 phone (217) 782-3817 or by going to their website at http://www.agr.state.il.us/news/publications.html to download an electronic copy.”

  • Mines and Mining Exhibit at the Chicago Fair  (July 1892) The Manufacturer and Builder, Vol. 24, Issue 7, July 1892, pg. 158. (Article in digital images viewed at American Memory, Library of Congress.)
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois. This site is presented by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  The material on the site is prepared under a "Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Illinois State Geological Survey for collecting information on all nonfuel minerals."  There are several quarries listed in this chapter. Vulcan Materials Co. quarries: the Reed Quarry in western Kentucky; Michigan Limestone's Rogers City Calcite Quarry, located in Michigan on the coast of Lake Huron; in southern Illinois the two crushed limestone quarries:  Jonesboro Quarry in Union Co. and the Cypress Quarry in Johnson Co. (The link from which the above information was obtained is no longer available, although you can view the site on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
    < http://dnr.state.il.us/mines/education/indus.htm>
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 1994, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1993, By Use; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1993, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Martin Marietta Aggregates quarries and Union Pacific Minerals, Inc., high-calcium limestone prospect.) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 1995, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey, 4 pp. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois : Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1994, By Use; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1994, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used In 1994, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1994, By Use and District. (The following quarry was named in this document: Thornton Quarry.) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 1996, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1995, By Use; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers In 1995, By Use And District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used In 1995, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used In 1995, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Vulcan Materials Co.’s Joliet and Bollingbrook quarries and lime kilns in Cook County at their Mantero quarry in Kankakee County; Material Service Corp.’s Romeoville quarry; Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Co.’s Barbers Corner quarry; and the Marblehead Lime Co. quarry.) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 1997, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold Or Used By Producers In 1996, By Use; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1996, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1996, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1996, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Vulcan Materials Co. Joliet quarry and Laraway quarry south of Joliet, and Manteno lime plant in Kankakee County and Momence quarry; and the Bedrock Stone Co. Niner Quarry.) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 1998, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, by Kind; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used by Producers in 1997, by Use; and (4) Table 4. Illinois : Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1997, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1997, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used In 1997, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Vulcan Materials Co.’s distribution center in Champaign County; Vulcan Material Co.’s Reed Quarry in western Kentucky; Michigan Limestone’s Rogers City Quarry on the coast of Lake Huron in Michigan; Columbia Quarry Co.’s Jonesboro Quarry in Union County; and the Cypress Quarry in Johnson County. [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 1999, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois : Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1998, By Use; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1998, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1998, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1998, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Conco-Western Stone Co. quarry at North Aurora in Kane County; Prairie Material Group purchased “Sheely Aggregates’ Polo property, Ogle County...north of Prairies’ cement land at Dixon ( Lee County ).” “The Mormon Church announced a plan to rebuild the temple at Nauvoo in Hancock County that was destroyed more than 150 years ago. The plan included using the same local limestone that was used in the original building. However, limestone and dolomite building stone may be shipped in from commercial operations elsewhere, due to the expense of setting up a building stone operation in an aggregate quarry or in the nearby limestone bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley, where the old building stone quarries were located.”) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 2000, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following stone-related tables are included in the document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers, in 1999, By Use; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 1999, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 1999, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used In 1999, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Conco-Western Stone Co. dolomite quarry at North Aurora in Kane County; Material Service Corp.’s Federal Quarry in Cook County/northeastern Illinois; the Moline Consumers Co. quarries in northwestern Illinois; and Material Services’ Thornton Quarry.) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 2001, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey (with map). (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The following tables are included in this document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois : Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 2000, By Use; (4) Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 2000, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 2000, By Major Use Category; (6) Table 6. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold or Used in 2000, By Use and District. (The following quarries are named in this document: Elmer Larson LLC quarry near Sycamore, De Kalb County; and the Vulcan Materials Co.’s Lemont Quarry.) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 2002, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey (with map). (U. S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook) The Following Are Included in This Document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Mineral Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, By Kind Includes; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 2001, By Use; (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 2001, By Use and District; (5) Table 5. Illinois: Construction Sand and Gravel Sold Or Used in 2001, By Major Use. (The following quarries are named in this document: Vulcan Materials Co.’s Casey Stone Co. limestone quarry near Casey, Clark County; Downen Aggregate Group, LLC’s limestone quarry in Hardin County; Martin Marietta Aggregate’s limestone reserve previously owned by the Mississippi Lime Co.; “underground limestone mine in Village of Valmeyer in Monroe County, south of St. Louis, was converted to a business complex...”; former Columbia Quarry converted to the Rock City Business Complex; the Alby quarry in Alton, Madison County; and the planned-for-underground limestone mine beneath Bluff Springs Fen nature in Bartlett, Cook County by Bluff City materials, Inc.; ) [PDF]
  • The Mineral Industry of Illinois, 2003, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey and the U. S. Geological Survey. (includes Illinois map) The following are included in this document: (1) Table 1. Nonfuel Raw Material Production in Illinois; (2) Table 2. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used, by Kind; (3) Table 3. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used by Producers in 2002, By Use; and (4) Table 4. Illinois: Crushed Stone Sold or Used By Producers in 2002, By Use and District. The following quarries/companies are named in the document: (1) Material Service Materials Corp.’s Thornton Quarry and (2) Vulcan Materials Co.’s Casey Quarry. [PDF]
  • Mineral Producers in Illinois - Directory of Illinois Mineral Producers and Maps of Extraction Sites, 1997, Illinois Minerals 117, by John M. Masters, Viju C. Ipe, Lisa R. Smith, and Michael Falter (Office of Mines and Minerals), Illinois State Geological Survey. (Includes chapters on Lime and Stone, Table 1. Limestone and Dolomite Products, and Figure Stone Quarries and Mines in Illinois(map). (Many Illinois stone quarries are listed in this document.) [PDF]
  • Mining of Coal, Fluorite, and Limestone in Illinois, 1997, presented by the Illinois State Geological Survey. (The following quarries and stone-related entities are named in this document: Material Service Corp.’s Thornton Quarry; the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers (IAAP); Martin Marietta Aggregates’ underground limestone quarry in the Prairie de Rocher area, Randolph County; Vulcan Materials Co.’s Casey quarry; and the Material Service’s Thornton Quarry.) (The link from which the above information was obtained is no longer available, although you can view the site on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
    <http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/faq/gg-faqs/GGQ23.html >

  • Niagara Limestone, Nature Bulletin No. 282-A, November 11, 1967, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Richard B. Ogilvie, President, Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation.

    (From the web site)  “Chicago stands at the crossroads of America -- the heart of the Middle West -- and one of the most important natural resources upon which it depends is the Niagara limestone beneath it….”

    • “Years ago, these quarries supplied blocks of limestone for the buildings and sidewalks of this region. Miles and miles of such blocks protect our lake front. Today, crushed limestone is used in making the concrete that goes into the construction of buildings, streets, sidewalks and highways….”

  • Quarries in Illinois - Illinois?  Coral Reefs?  No Way! Producing Aggregate in the Quarries of Illinois, by Guest Columnist by GeoT, July 13, 2001.  This article is from the web site, "About Geography," hosted by Matt Rosenberg; and the following quote is used with his permission. 

    "The coral reefs belong to the middle Silurian, - the Niagaran Series, - part of a geologic complex surrounding the Michigan Basin, and taking its name from the famous waterfall between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It's amazing to think that same rock underlies parts of Illinois. But it does!

    "Following the Chicago fire of 1871 the need for more substantial fireproof buildings was obvious.  Stone and brick this time! Much of the stone used was a dolomite belonging to the Silurian Period.  Quarries near Joliet and Lemont produced great quantities - calling it 'Joliet Marble' or 'Athens marble.' (The famous surviving Chicago Water Tower was made of it prior to the fire). It weathers to a pleasing yellowish color, but in the process, has also been known to exfoliate - not desired by most architects! Limestone from Indiana soon replaced the local Silurian dolomite as a building stone. No peeling from it."

  • "Quarries use limestone 'cycles' to predict reserves of minable rock," from GeoNews Online, by Illinois State Geological Survey, July 1997.
  • Shelby & Moultrie Counties, Illinois - Combined History of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois - Chapter IV, Geology of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, by Prof. J. Pike, M. A., Philadelphia, 1881, presented on the "History of Moultrie County and Sullivan, Illinois web site, presented by R. Eden Martin.

    The types of building stone available in the area are siliceous limestone, argillaceous limestone, and sandstone.  The limestone on Cooperas creek was used for heavy work.  A large amount of sandstone was quarried on the west side of the east fork of Little Wabash river.  This sandstone was used in the construction of the of culverts on the Illinois Central Railroad.  Two miles southeast of Shelbyville gray sandstone was quarried.  Some of this sandstone was used as grindstones.  On Sand Creek and west of the Kaskaskia River about four or five miles northeast of Shelbyville limestone was quarried for the construction of the Shelbyville railroad bridge.  West of Robinson's Creek there was a deep blue argillaceous limestone.  The article notes that this limestone was only good for rip-rap or culverts.

  • Stone Companies and Quarries Listed in Report of the Canal Commissioners of the State of Illinois (1836-1917), Made to the Governor December 1, 1897, Springfield, Ill., Phillips Bros. State Printers, 1898, available on Google Book Search.

    The following stone companies and quarries were listed in a table of distances on page 50 of the above-cited book: Davidson’s Quarry, Penitentiary, Western Stone Co. Quarry No. 9, Joliet Lime Stone Co., American Stone Co., Kearns, Prendergast & Bender, Western Stone Co. Quarry No. 7, Erickson’s Quarry, Western Stone Quarry No. 6, Western Stone Co. Quarry No. 5, Western Stone Co. Quarry No. 4, Western Stone Co. Quarry Nos. 2 and 3, Illinois Stone Co., and Western Stone Co. Quarry No. 1.

Stone Carvers, Stone Cutters, etc., Cutters in Illinois

  • Walter S. Arnold, Sculptor and Stone Carver, Chicago, Illinois  (present-day carver)  His web site has a great deal of information on historical and current issues regarding stone carvers, etc.
  • John Augustine, Marble Worker and Carver, Wilmington, Illinois - Monuments and Tombstones (late 1800s)

    John Augustine’s business card reads:

    “John Augustine MARBLE WORKER AND CARVER –– MONUMENTS AND TOMBSTONES, I respectfully solicit a share of your patronage, WILMINGTON, ILLINOIS”

  • Niels Heldt Henriksen & his son, Thorvald Henriksen, Chicago, Illinois (Carver, sculptor in the Gall & Company monument shop, & architectural stone-carver and contractor, Mount Olive Monument Company  (The following is (from Manufacturing and Wholesale Industries of Chicago, Josiah Seymour Currey, vol. 3, Chicago: Thomas B. Poole Co., 1918, pp. 258-259, available on Google Books)  (For information on the Mount Olive Monument Company, please visit the Illinois List of Quarries section of our web site using the preceding link.)

    N. Heldt Henriksen

    “N. Heldt Henriksen, the founder of this important enterprise (Mount Olive Monument Company), had achieved national reputation as a sculptor and as a creator of the finest type of designs for monumental work, his talent having become noteworthy even in his boyhood, when he produced remarkable specimens of carving in wood and other material.  He was born at Aarhus, Denmark, on the 24th of January, 1869, a son of Heldt Henriksen, who was a farmer by vocation.  At the age of eighteen years Mr. Henriksen came to the United States and established his residence in Chicago, where he found employment as a stone carver, a work in which he had become specially skillful.  For a few years he held the position as carver and sculptor of the monument shops of Gall & Company, and he then determined to establish himself independently as an architectural stone-carver and contractor.  His first contract was for the production of the ornamental stone work of the city hall in Omaha, Nebraska, and he developed a substantial and prosperous contracting business, in connection with which he greatly enhanced his reputation as a professional artist in stone work.  He continued his activities as a contractor until he became associated with his brother Emanuel in founding the Mount Olive Monument Company, as noted in a preceding paragraph.  Of this company he continued the president until his death.  Among the many fine examples of the professional skill and artistry of Mr. Henriksen may be noted the great granite lions that adorn the façade of the E. J. Lehmann mausoleum, in Waldheim cemetery, Chicago; the state seal of Indiana as produced in Montello Granite and placed in the monument dedicatory of that state.  His ability as a sculptor led also to his receiving commissions for the carving of marble busts of various persons of distinction.  It is worthy of special note in this review that Niels Heldt Henriksen also designed and executed a statue of a bull buffalo and that the same has been pronounced by the highest authorities to be a wonderful and faithful reproduction.  Duplicates of this celebrated statue found a wide sale throughout the United States, and demands for the same still continue.  The size of the statue is eighteen by thirteen by seven inches, and on the design and product Mr. Henriksen was granted copyright (No. 53303, G. class) December 19, 1916, only a few days prior to his death.  He was engaged in designing and carving the artistic stone ornamentation that mark the front of the Hearst building in Chicago when he was stricken with pneumonia, the attack resulting in his death on the 29th of January, 1917.  Mr. Henriksen was a man of lofty ideals, fine mentality and noble character, – a sterling citizen who commanded unqualified popular esteem.  He was a charter member of Chicago Lodge, No. 18, Danish Brotherhood, this having been the first lodge chartered in the United States and he having thereafter shown most lively interest in the general development of the organization, which now has more than one thousand lodges in the United States.  His religious faith was that of the Lutheran church, of which his widow likewise is an earnest communicant.

    • “Mr. Henriksen was happily married early in life and his widow still retains her residence in Chicago.  They became the parents of seven children, and the eldest son, Jens, is now vice-president of the Mount Olive Monument Company.  The younger son, Thorvald, has inherited much of his father’s talent as a sculptor and has perfected the same through study and practical experience gained under most auspicious conditions.  He has already achieved distinction as an artist and sculptor and he devotes much of his time and attention to the designing of the finer pieces of art sculpture that are manufactured by the Mount Olive Monument Company in the filling of its most important contracts.  His honored father is an active and valued member of the Chicago Art Institute, and was widely and favorably known in the representative art circles of the United States, his fraternal alliances having included membership in the Humboldt Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and the Hesperia Lodge No. 111, A. F.  A. M.”

  • Henry Miller, Naperville, Illinois (The following information is from the “Stonecarver's Shop” section of the Naper Settlement - A 19th Century Museum Village web site.)

    “Henry Miller, a Germany immigrant, made his living carving hearths, fireplace mantels, and gravestones for 19 th-century Naperville residents. Behind Miller’s shop, visitors can view the equipment used by workers who cut and hauled huge blocks out of the limestone quarries that were a major industry in mid 19th-century Naperville.” (Visit the web site above to view photographs of the Stonecarver’s Shop.)

  • J. Pfeiffer (Stone-cutter in New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Chicago, Illinois)

    (Biography of Charles A. Pfeiffer, from Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, September 1892, Vol. V, No. IV, pp. 400. A photograph of Charles A. Pfeiffer is presented as the Frontispiece of this magazine issue on pp. 365. This book is available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)

    “Chas. A. Pfeiffer, the subject of our frontispiece, was born in Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern, Germany, Dec. 19, 1844, and is therefore at present in his forty-eighth year. Four years after his birth his father emigrated to America, and a year later his mother followed taking her son with her. His father was a practical stone-cutter, at which trade he readily found employment in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, respectively, in which cities the son was given the benefits of a common school education. While yet a mere lad he assisted his father in his labors and the thorough methods acquired by the father in the mother country were gradually instilled into the mind of young Pfeiffer, who was also taught how to sketch and draw, to estimate on cut-stone work and prepare himself generally for the requirements of the trade he had adopted. Having acquired a thorough common school education, he entered a commercial college attending evening sessions. At the age of 24 he became his father’s associate in the business which had been established eight years before, and the firm name was changed to J. Pfeiffer & Son, under which title it was conducted until 1881, when it was incorporated under the laws of Missouri as the Pfeiffer Stone Co., of which Charles A. is president, with headquarters at St. Joseph, Mo. At the annual meeting of the Missouri Valley Cut-Stone Contractors’ and Quarrymen’s Association, held at Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 26, 1892, Mr. Pfeiffer was elected its president and was delegated to attend the convention of the Ohio Valley Association for the purpose of effecting relations insuring a uniformity of action relative to issues affecting cut-stone contractors generally and those of the Ohio and Missouri valleys particularly. This he accomplished to the satisfaction of both organizations.”

  • Louis Henry Sullivan - “Poems in Stone: Tombs of Louis Henri Sullivan,” by Robert a. Wright, in Markers V, pp. 168-209, Association for Gravestone Studies. (Illinois, Missouri, USA)

[Top of Page]