Quarries in Missouri & Quarry Links, Photographs, and
Articles
Warrensburg thru Wyaconda
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Warrensburg Area
Sandstone Quarries (Sandstone) (from Report on The Building
Stones of The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for
1880, by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy
and Lithology at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas
C. Kelly, Joint production of the Census Office and the National Museum,
1883)
“The Warrensburg quarries are of the same geological age as the above. At the quarry of Messrs. Bruce & Veitch the rock when quarried often shows planes of cross lamination, and this, although otherwise of good quality, is not of sufficient value for shipping purposes, but is used locally for ordinary purposes of construction. Considerable loss results from this defect. The planes of these laminæ are separated by carbonaceous matter. The stone is this quarry is quite soft when first taken out, and hardens on exposure. Various openings have been made in this vicinity which are not now worked. From one of these 6,000 cubic yards were excavated, and from another 500 cubic yards. Three-quarters of a mile northwest, on the land of Mr. Bunn, a coarser sandstone of the same geological age appears, about 20 feet in thickness, forming a solid bluff on the Blackwater for several hundred yards, and seems to underlie an area of about 10 acres.”
“Quarries 2 miles north of Warrensburg occupy a tract of probably over 200 acres in sandstone of the Lower Coal Measures. The total thickness of this sandstone is over 100 feet. The quarries have not developed the entire thickness suitable for building purposes, only 45 feet in depth having been quarried.”
- Warrensburg, Missouri - the Warrensburg Area Sandstone Quarries
(Sandstone) (The following information is from The Quarrying
Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist,
and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series,
1904.)
“Two of the largest sandstone quarries in Missouri are located at Warrensburg, Johnson county. The importance of these quarries is, in a large measure, attributable to the occurrence at this place of a considerable thickness of massive sandstone of Lower Coal Measure age. As a rule, the Lower Coal Measure formation consists of thin beds of alternating sandstone, limestone and shale. As a result, very few important quarries have been opened in this formation. The quarries at this place, and at Miami, are the only ones of any magnitude.
“The sandstone at Warrensburg appears as a local thickening of the strata, following a sinuous north and south line. The deposit is narrow, thinning rapidly both to the east and west. Broadhead* believed this sandstone to be at the same horizon as that occurring at Miami and Butler, Missouri. Lithologically, the sandstones at these three localities are very similar. The Warrensburg and Miami stones are almost identical in composition, as will be seen by comparing their chemical analyses. The only detailed examination of this sandstone was made by Winslow in 1890 and 1891, in the preparation of the Higginsville sheet, which includes an area in Lafayette county just north of Warrensburg. The following extract from this report is the best explanation of the occurrence of the stone which has thus far been made:**
(* Page 272 footnote: Missouri Geol. Sur. 1872, p. 42.)
(** Page 273 footnote: Missouri Geol. Sur. Areal Geology, Vol. IX, p. 51.)
“‘The true stratigraphic and structural relations of this formation, however, seem not to have been recognized. It appears generally to have been considered of Lower Coal Measure age, and to have been correlated with the inter-stratified sandstones of the Lower Coal Measures, referred to on other pages of this report. The peculiar conditions of occurrence of this formation have, however, received no satisfactory explanation in print, to the writer’s knowledge.*
(Page 273 footnote: “In a letter to the writer of February, 1890, Prof. Broadhead explains the peculiar altitude or position of the sandstone in Lafayette county as due to a bulging of the Lower Coal Measures, and this was probably the explanation accepted by the earlier surveys. In more recent writings, Prof. Broadhead abandons the older view in the light of this later acquired evidence.”)
“The theory here advanced concerning this deposit is that it is of fluvial or lucustrine origin, that it fills a channel which was eroded in the surrounding, regularly deposited strata, during a temporary emergence of these strata from beneath the waters of the Coal Measure swamp. The leading reasons for this conclusion are briefly the following:
1. The great thickness of the deposit.
2. Its long and narrow shape.
3. The superposition of the sandstone upon the Middle Coal Measure rocks.
4. The inclusion of fragments of adjacent rocks.’
“This was one of the first stones to be extensively quarried in this State, and at one time constituted one of the principal building stones in St. Louis. A number of quarries were opened in this stone at an early day, but all except two have long since been abandoned. Three quarries are owned and operated by Jacob Pickel of Warrensburg and Lawrence Bruce of St. Louis.”
- Warrensburgh, Missouri - the Town of Warrensburgh & its Sandstone
Quarries (Excerpt from Historical and Descriptive Review
of Missouri, Vol. 1. The Central and Southwestern Sections, Kansas
City: Jno. Lethem, 1891, pp. 128.)
“Warrensburgh received its name from Samuel Warren, the pioneer settler. It was founded in 1836, and has ever since been the county seat.
“Thirty miles from Sedalia on the one hand, and sixty-five from Kansas City on the other, she is not in her business seriously affected by either of these places. The population is about 5,000. Of this about 1,000 have come here within the last two years....”
“The city stands upon the summit of a high sandstone ridge, which slopes off in every direction for several miles. The natural drainage is unexcelled. This, and the mineral waters found all over the community, make Warrensburgh a natural sanitarium. These waters are found in wells and springs upon some of the principal business streets....”
“About two miles to the North are the famous sandstone quarries. The stone is sixty feet deep. About 3,000 carloads of stone are shipped annually. Steam saw mills run in connection with the quarries, prepare much of the stone for immediate use as columns, ornaments, etc., in churches, court houses, and other public buildings.”
- Warrensburg, Missouri - Stone
Quarries - Historical Warrensburg, presented by the Greater
Warrensburg Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. (The
link from which the following information was obtained is no longer
available.)
<http://www.warrensburg.org/history.htm>According to this web site, the sandstone deposits were located north of Warrensburg in the 1870s, and the quarries began operation at the beginning of the twentieth century.
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Warrensburg Quarry, (location) (from Brainy Geography)
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Bruce & Veitch
Quarry (Sandstone) (from Report on The Building Stones of
The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880,
by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Lithology
at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas C. Kelly, Joint
production of the Census Office and the National Museum, 1883)
The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The Bruce & Veitch Quarry, Warrensburg, Johnson County, gray, color: Sandstone; quarry opened in 1871.
“...At the quarry of Messrs. Bruce & Veitch the rock when quarried often shows planes of cross lamination, and this, although otherwise of good quality, is not of sufficient value for shipping purposes, but is used locally for ordinary purposes of construction. Considerable loss results from this defect. The planes of these laminæ are separated by carbonaceous matter. The stone is this quarry is quite soft when first taken out, and hardens on exposure. Various openings have been made in this vicinity which are not now worked. From one of these 6,000 cubic yards were excavated, and from another 500 cubic yards....”
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Bruce Quarry Co.
Stone Quarry (from “Notes
on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary
to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin
No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)
The quarry dimensions.
“Bruce Quarry Company: - This company works two sandstone quarries in close proximity to each other, just north of Warrensburg. Both quarries are sunken. One is thirty-five feet deep, two hundred and fifty feet long, and one hundred and thirty-five feet wide; the other is fifty feet deep, five hundred and twenty-five feet long, and one hundred and thirty-five feet wide. The stripping varies from six to eighteen feet in thickness, and consists of soil and decomposing sandstone.
The stone used.
“The stone has frequent flaws, and consequently a great deal of waste material is handled. Its color varies from a light to a brownish gray. It is micaceous and calcareous, and is very soft when quarried, but hardens somewhat on exposure to the air. It varies in the quality of durability, in different parts of the quarry, and some of it appears to be inferior in this respect. Its refractory qualities are excellent. The product consists wholly of dimension stone and blocks of any desirable size are obtainable.
The Plant.
“The plant consists of one sixteen horse power engine, and a twenty-five horse power boiler, one steam pump, four channeling machines, wagons, sheds, office, blacksmith shop, three steam derricks, and one horse power derrick.”
- Warrensburg (north of), Missouri - the Bruce Sandstone Quarry (from Stone Magazine,
October 1898, Vol. XVII, No. 5, pp. 370)
“Lawrence Bruce, owner of the Bruce sandstone quarries north of Warrensburg, Mo., recently closed a contract providing for the stripping of a tract of ground 160x110 feet just south of the old quarry. A big quarry is to be opened there next spring by the Bruce company to furnish the product for next year’s trade.”
- Warrensburg (north of), Missouri - the Bruce Sandstone
Quarry (Sandstone) (The following information is from The
Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director
and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology
and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry was opened in 1867 and since that time has been worked almost continuously. It is located in sec. 11 and 14, T. 46, R. 26 W., about two and one-half miles north of Warrensburg. The quarry has recently been leased to the Forrester Brothers Stone Co. of Kansas City. The opening farthest west has a vertical face of about 45 feet, which extends about 1,000 feet north and south. Just east of this, the second opening has been worked to about the same depth and about 300 feet north and south. An enormous amount of stone has been removed from these openings, neither of which is being worked at the present time. Quarrying is now being carried on exclusively at the new opening which is located northeast of the other two.
“The stone in the abandoned openings is essentially a fine grained, micaceous sandstone, cemented with calcium carbonate and bitumen. Two-thirds of the stone is what is commonly known as blue, while the remainder is white. The blue sandstone occurs chiefly in the upper part of the quarry and the white at the bottom. Between the white and blue is a transitional zone in which the stone has a streaked or striped blue and white color. This striped appearance is due to alternating thin layers of blue and white stone. At the bottom of the quarry, the stone is again slightly blue and is known locally as ‘bottom blue.’
“The quarry contains occasional irregular, nodular areas in which the sandstone has been altered to quartzite. These are known by the quarrymen as ‘nigger heads.’ In places, the stone has been colored with concentric bands of iron oxide, forming what are known to the quarrymen as ‘kidneys.’ When some of these so-called ‘kidneys’ are exposed to the atmosphere, the iron oxide washes out, staining the stone in their immediate vicinity. These ‘kidneys’ occur chiefly in the blue stone, and they increase materially the percentage of waste. The blue stone contains occasional nodules of iron sluplhide (sic), while the white variety is free from this impurity.
“Short discontinuous joints, which occur in the stone, are locally known as dries and slips. The dries are small jointing planes which have been discolored by iron oxide. They are usually vertical and continue only for a short distance. The slips are small discontinuous joints, generally inclined, which show no discoloration. In some parts of the old openings, these joints were a source of considerable annoyance. The new opening has been sunk only to the depth of two channel cuts, and it is impossible to say what the character of the stone will be below. One hundred feet west, the stone was tested by hand channeling and thirty-five feet of excellent blue stone was found. The stone was not prospected below this depth.
“The quarry is equipped with all modern machinery, including a power plant. Wordwell channelers and steam derricks. Near Warrensburg, located upon a side track of the Missouri Pacific railroad leading to the quarry, the company has a mill in which the stone is sawed and dressed. The quarry is usually worked from March to December and employs twenty men, on an average.
“Besides being used for all constructional purposes, the sandstone makes an excellent grindstone. The gray variety is coarser grained and quick cutting. The stone known as the ‘bottom blue,’ is finer grained and makes a better edging grindstone.”
- Warrensburg (north of), Missouri - the Bruce Sandstone Quarry (from Stone Magazine,
October 1898, Vol. XVII, No. 5, pp. 370)
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Bruce Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)
- Warrensburg, Missouri - Bruce Quarries, Warrensburg, MO. (postcard
photograph; early 1900s; unmailed)
Bruce Quarries -Warrensburg, MO. (postcard photograph; early 1900s; unmailed) 
- Warrensburg, Missouri – “A Beauty Spot at Quarries,
Warrensburg, Mo.”
(color postcard photograph; Standard Herald, Printers, Warrensburg, Mo.; postmarked October 31, 1908) 
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri – Sandstone Quarries (The
link to the City of Warrensburg web
site from which the following information was obtained is no
longer available.)
<http://www.warrensburg-mo.com/Cemetery/warrensburg.htm>Sandstone deposits of a highly durable gray stone were discovered in the 1870s north or Warrensburg. This sandstone was used in building many buildings in St. Louis, Kansas City, and was the main stone used in building the State Capitol building in Little Rock, Arkansas. The quarry area eventually became the Garden of Eden Pool. The quarries operated into the early 1900s.
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri – Blue
Sandstone Quarries (The link from which the following information
was obtained is no longer available.)
<http://www.lhdi.com/backissue_pages/0009_feature/sd02.html>After the blue sandstone from the quarries was no longer popular for building, some of the quarries were converted to a resort named the Garden of Eden and used for swimming.
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Pickle
Brothers Quarry (from Report on The Building Stones of
The United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880,
by George W. Hawes, Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Lithology
at the National Museum, and by F. W. Sperr and Thomas C. Kelly, Joint
production of the Census Office and the National Museum, 1883)
The following information was taken from the table entitled, “Table IV. Tables indicating the Amount and Kinds of Rock in the Different States”: The Pickle Brothers Quarry, Warrensburg, Johnson County, Sandstone, color: gray; quarry opened in 1871.
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - Jacob Pickel’s
Stone Quarry (from “Notes
on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties
Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist,
in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson
City, July 1891)
The quarry dimensions.
“Bruce Quarry Company: - This company works two sandstone quarries in close proximity to each other, just north of Warrensburg. Both quarries are sunken. One is thirty-five feet deep, two hundred and fifty feet long, and one hundred and thirty-five feet wide; the other is fifty feet deep, five hundred and twenty-five feet long, and one hundred and thirty-five feet wide. The stripping varies from six to eighteen feet in thickness, and consists of soil and decomposing sandstone.
The stone used.
“The stone has frequent flaws, and consequently a great deal of waste material is handled. Its color varies from a light to a brownish gray. It is micaceous and calcareous, and is very soft when quarried, but hardens somewhat on exposure to the air. It varies in the quality of durability, in different parts of the quarry, and some of it appears to be inferior in this respect. Its refractory qualities are excellent. The product consists wholly of dimension stone and blocks of any desirable size are obtainable.
The Plant.
“The plant consists of one sixteen horse power engine, and a twenty-five horse power boiler, one steam pump, four channeling machines, wagons, sheds, office, blacksmith shop, three steam derricks, and one horse power derrick.”
- Warrensburg, Missouri - Jacob Pickel’s Stone Quarry (from “Notes on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)
- Warrensburg (north of), Missouri - the Pickel Sandstone Quarry
(Sandstone) (The following information is from The Quarrying
Industry of Missouri, by E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist,
and H. A. Buehler, Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd
Series, 1904.)
“This quarry is located two miles directly north of Warrensburg, in the W. ½ of the S.W. ¼ of sec. 12, T. 46, R. 26 W. It is owned by Jacob Pickel and operated by his two sons, under the firm name of Pickel Bros. It has been in continuous operation since it was opened in 1873. It is worked from April to November and employs about fifteen men. Mr. Pickel owns two 80-acre tracts of land on each of which a quarry is located. The opening, which lies just west of the Bruce quarry, is not being operated. The stone is essentially the same as that obtained from the other opening to the east.
Plate XLIII. Warrensburg Sandstone. Pickel Bros. quarry, Warrensburg, Mo. 
Plate XLIV. Warrensburg Sandstone. Johnson County Courthouse, Warrensburg, Mo. 
“The active portion of the quarry consists of a rectangular opening 400 feet long by 200 feet wide by 55 feet deep. Stone is now being quarried from the east 200 feet of the south side of the quarry.
“The stone is a fine grained, calcareous sandstone in which the quartz grains are cemented mainly with calcium carbonate. The stone has light bluish gray color in the upper part of the quarry, gradually taking on a deeper blue tint, as the depth increases, to within eight feet of the bottom, where the color changes to white. The transition from blue to white is sharp and distinct. The twenty feet directly above the white is the best blue stone.
“Small nodules of iron sulphide occur in the quarry, chiefly in the blue stone. They are distributed promiscuously, although they are more abundant at some horizons than at others. In some parts of the quarry they do not occur. A chalybeate spring occurs about fifteen or twenty feet from the base of the quarry, giving evidence of the quantity of iron in this formation, especially at that horizon.
“Carbonaceous matter occurs in some parts of the quarry along the bedding planes. When the stone is split parallel to the bed, this appears as leaf-like impressions or sheets. When broken normal to the bedding, it is either not noticeable or has the appearance of black pencil marks. Stone, which contains an abundance of carbonaceous matter takes on a ‘reedy’ structure, which renders it unsuitable for building purposes. In some places the stone is apparently cross-bedded. Occasional pieces of coal occur in the stone.
“As in the case of the Bruce quarry, one finds here large irregular masses of the sandstone which has been indurated so that it is now almost quartzite. These masses usually have a lighter color than the surrounding stone and are known by the quarrymen as ‘nigger heads.’ They are very detrimental and are usually removed by blasting.
“When lifted in the quarry the stone has a tendency to break along the stratification planes, which dip slightly to the southwest. The stone is channeled from east to west and lifted to the south, in order to minimize the waste which results from this tendency to split along the stratification planes.
“Near the surface the stone is soft and only used for foundation purposes. Deeper in the quarry it becomes gradually harder. The difference in hardness is nicely shown by the rapidity with which the stone is cut by the gang-saws. That from the surface is cut at a rate of from eight to ten inches per hour, while that from the lower portion is cut at a rate of from five to six inches per hour. The white stone is thought to be the best in the quarry and is particularly well fitted for buildings, in which it is used for caps, sills, steps, cornices, coursing and foundations. The stone is also used for sidewalks, monument bases, curbing, chimneys, hitching posts, stepping blocks, retaining walls and columns.
“The quarry is equipped with modern machinery for quarrying, cutting and dressing the stone. Wordwell channelers, gang-saws, steam hoists, and steam derricks are among the equipment. The company is in position to supply either rough or sawed stone of any dimensions.
Laboratory Examination.
“Microscopic Examination. - A thin section of this stone, examined under the microscope, shows that it consists chiefly of small roundish to subangular grains of quartz with subordinate amounts of calcite, mica, chlorite, iron oxide, bitumen, feldspar and clay. The chief cementing constituents are calcite and iron oxide.
“Physical Examination. - The following are the results of the tests made on this stone to determine its strength and durability.
Crushing strength - 5910.6 lbs. per sq. in.
Transverse strength - 777.97 lbs. per sq. in.
Specific Gravity - 2.6485
Porosity - 16.765 per cent.
Ratio of absorption - 7.644 per cent.
Weight per cubic foot - 137.7 lbs.
Crushing strength of sample subjected to freezing test - 5097.5 lbs. per sq. in.
“The result of the average of three determinations of the crushing strength on edge gave 4,860 pounds per square inch. The crushing strength of this stone is not high, although sufficient for most buildings of ordinary dimensions. It is evident from these tests that the strength of the stone is affected very little by alternate freezing and thawing, although the impression seems to have prevailed that the stone does not withstand effectually conditions of alternate freezing and thawing.
“The following is a partial list of the buildings in which the stone from this quarry has been used:
St. Louis, MO.:
Chamber of Commerce. Thompson Building. Southern Hotel. Oliver Hart Building. Lindell Hotel Kennett Building. St. Joseph Church. Wilgus Building. Second Baptist Church. Murphy Building. Union Methodist Church. Gay Building. Lucas Av. Pres. Church. Granite Building. Third Pres. Church. Bradford & Martins. Jesuit College. Drummond Tobacco Works. Gerhard B. Allen Residence. Peter L. Foy Residence. Major Pope Residence. Ex. Governor Standard Residence. Col. Hunter Residence. Capt. White Residence. Leighton Building. Omaha, Nebraska:
Y.M.C.A. Building.
J. H. Green Building.
Hayden Block Building.
St. John’s Church.
Johnson Residence.
Water Works.
Martin Building.
Kansas City, MO.:
U. S. Postoffice.
Oglesby Building.
Warder Grand Opera House.
Lincoln, Neb.
Lincoln Normal University.
Union College.
Grant Memorial Laboratory of Nebraska.
Lindell Hotel.
Lyman Terrace.
Public Buildings:
Insane Asylum, Clarinda, Iowa.
Greenfield Court House, Iowa.
Red Oak Court House, Iowa.
Cherokee Court House, Iowa.
Osceola Court House, Iowa.
David City Court House, Nebraska.
Blair Court House, Nebraska.
Natural Science Building, University of Illinois, Urbana. Illinois.
Grand Hotel, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Maryville Court House, Kansas.
Olathe Court House, Kansas.
Ottawa Court House, Kansas.
Lincoln Court House, Kansas.
Clinton Court House, Missouri.
Sedalia Court House, Missouri.”
- Warrensburg, Missouri - William Pickel of St. Louis
(Obituary) (from Stone magazine, September 1923, Vol.
XLIV, No. 9, pp. 527)
“William Pickel, 80 years old, founder and president of the Pickel Marble and Granite Company, of St. Louis, Mo., died on July 19th, at his home in that city. Mr. Pickel was born near Coblenz, Germany, and came to America at the age of seventeen. He worked for a brother in the marble business in St. Louis, and in 1874 organized the firm that bears his name. He was one of seven brothers, all engaged in the same business. Mr. Pickel was prominent in St. Louis financial circles, being a director in several banking and Manufacturing enterprises.”
- Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri - the Pickel Bros. Quarry (Visit this web site for historical information on this quarry, presented on the web site entitled, Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips)
- Warrensburg, Missouri - Pickel Bros. Sandstone Quarry, the
William Bruce & Company Sandstone Quarry, and the James B. Miller
Sandstone Quarry Excerpt from Missouri Mining Heritage
Guide, by John R. Park, Stonerose
Publishing Co., Miami, Florida, March 2005. (The following excerpted
quotations are used with the permission of John R. Park, author. A photograph
of the Garden of Eden quarry and the Garden of Eden gas station are
included in John Park’s book.)
“Garden of Eden
“The Garden of Eden is a former sandstone quarry, which later operated as a local swimming resort. At present, it is a private lake immediately west of (and visible from SR 13). The site may be accessed by a private road which serves several residences. Do not disturb. The Garden of Eden Gas Station was built in 1928 of sandstone from the quarry.
“The railroad station and the Johnson County Courthouse in Warrensburg are also built of Warrensburg Sandstone.
“Quarrying of the local light-gray, nominally ‘blue’, Warrensburg Sandstone was begun in 1870-1871 by the brothers Jacob, Peter, and Anton Pickel. A steam-powered channeling machine was used to cut blocks in the quarry. Hoisting of blocks was also steam-powered. The sandstone case-hardened on exposure - a very desirable feature (because the native soft rock is much less expensive to quarry). As many as 300 men were employed in the quarries. When mechanized sawing of the rough blocks into finished shapes was introduced, the workforce dropped to about 40.
“The first large order was for the Chamber of Commerce building in St. Louis. The stone has been used in many buildings in St. Louis, Kansas City, the Johnson County Courthouse (in Warrensburg), the Henry County Courthouse, and was the main dimension stone used in the Arkansas State Capitol building in Little Rock, AR. The stone has also been used for grindstones, and cut into sheets for sidewalk paving. The quarries were served by a spur (called the Quarry Switch) from the Missouri Pacific Railroad. As many as 1500 railroad cars of stone were shipped annually. The quarry was operated to a depth of about 50’, when infiltration of groundwater became a problem. Operations finally ceased in the 1920s.
“When the Pickel Quarry closed, for many years the property was operated as the Garden of Eden, apparently a swimming resort or club. Most likely, the Garden of Eden Gas Station was an associated business. Ben Pickel succeeded his father, Jacob as manager of the quarry, and presumably, of the Garden of Eden.
“Another local quarry was opened in 1871 by William Bruce & Company, and purchased by Jacob Pickel & Brothers in 1880. William Bruce & Company then opened a third quarry, which was subsequently operated by James B. Millar, also probably until about 1920.”
(gas station N38° 47,449’ W93° 44,515’)
(Johnson County Courthouse N38° 45,900’ W93° 44,458’)
- Warrensburg, Missouri - the Warrensburg Marble & Granite
Works (from Monumental News Magazine, April 1938,
Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 164.)
Trade News: Mr. J. B. Baird of the Warrensburg Marble & Granite Works at Warrensburg, Missouri, purchased the interest of his partner on June 16, 1937. He has been in the monument business since 1898, first with F. S. Farley, then with Mr. Townsend from 1902 to 1937.
- Warsaw, Missouri - the Phillips Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The
following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by
E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri
Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry, which is located one and a half miles north of town, in the S.W. ¼ of the N.W. ¼, sec. 8, T. 40 N., R. 22 W., is owned by C. B. Phillips and operated by J. S. Kidwell. It is situated near the crest of a hill and has a west face of about 135 feet. The stone is limestone of Burlington age. The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:
1 ft. - Soil stripping.
3 ft. 6 in. - Buff colored, coarsely crystalline limestone. Splits into beds from two to six inches in thickness. It is badly broken by joints and is very fossiliferous.
10 in. - Gray to buff colored, fossiliferous limestone. This bed contains dries.
2 ft. 6 in. - Very coarsely crystalline, bluish gray, fossiliferous limestone. A suture joint one foot from the bottom, divides this bed into two layers. The stone has a buff color on both sides of the suture joint and for six or eight inches below the upper bedding plane.
1 ft. - Coarsely crystalline, bluish gray limestone. Buff colored along the bedding planes.
10 in. - Limestone similar to that above.
“The major joints strike N. 70° W. Two other sets strike N. 21° E. and N. 55° W.
“Most of the stone can be used either for foundations and ashler masonry or burned into a good grade of lime. It is used for both of these purposes, the output being sold chiefly to supply the local market.”
- Washburn, Missouri - F. L. Stockton (from Monumental
News: Granite, Marble, Stone, Bronze Sculpture, March 1923, Vol.
XXX, No. 3, pp. 162)
“The sixth annual convention of the Memorial Craftsmen of Missouri was held at Moberly, Missouri on February 1st and 2nd....”
“On Thursday afternoon the following new members were elected: S. L. Eggert, Kirksville, Hardin & Son, Columbia; F. L. Stockton, Washburn.”
- Weldon Spring, Missouri - the
Old Klondike Sandstone Quarry located in the Present-day Klondike
Park Campground, presented by Trails.com.
According to this web site, Klondike Park Campground is located on the site of the old Klondike Sandstone Quarry which closed in 1983. Today the old quarry area can be viewed from the trails that run throughout the park. (Visit the web site above for a more detailed description of the park and the old quarry site.)
- Weldon Spring, St. Charles County, Missouri - the
Weldon Spring Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (inactive)
The following is from: NPL Site Narrative for Weldon Spring Quarry/Plant/Pitts
(USDOE), Weldon Spring Quarry/Plant/Pits (USDOE/Army), St. Charles
County, Missouri, Federal Register Notice: July
22, 1987, presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
According to this web site, The Weldon Spring Quarry covers 9 acres in St. Charles County, Missouri, about 30 miles west of St. Louis.” An ordnance works located operated by the Army during 1941-1944 was located “3 miles to the northeast of the old limestone quarry” “The Army disposed of soil and building rubble from the demolition...in the deepest part of the quarry.”
- Weldon Spring, St. Charles County, Missouri - the
Weldon Spring Rock Quarry (historical quarry) (location)
(from Brainy Geography)
- Weldon Spring Rock Quarry - Weldon
Spring Site Quarry - Interpretive Center Online Tour
According to the web site: “In 1941, limestone was excavated from a quarry four miles south of the Weldon Spring Site to construct the roads and building foundations for the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works (WSOW). From 1942 to 1969, the quarry was used to dump the debris generated from the cleanup efforts of the WSOW and various U.S. Department of Army and U.S. Atomic Energy Commission operations....”
- Weldon Spring Quarry Site History (PDF) (history and photographs)
- Weldon Spring Rock Quarry - Weldon
Spring Site Quarry - Interpretive Center Online Tour
- West Port, Missouri - the Kroth & Ramsey Stone Quarry (from “Notes on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)
- West Port, Missouri - M. Revedon’s Stone Quarry (from “Notes on The Clays and Building Stones of Certain Western Central Counties Tributary to Kansas City,” by G. E. Ladd, Assistant Geologist, in Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Missouri, Jefferson City, July 1891)
- Western Missouri - Early Stone Cutters in Western Missouri, A Research Study From Jones-Seelinger-Johannes Foundation, 2005, Poplar Heights Farm, 103 West Walnut Street, Butler, Missouri. (Brian Phillips - Executive Director, Terrie Jessup - Program Director, Patricia Jacobs - Research Assistant, Betty Newton - Research Assistant, Photography - Brian Phillips, Terrie Jessup, Melissa Phillips) (Below are only a few of the very informative links/sections on this web site.)
- Westphalia, Missouri - the Hoer Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The
following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by
E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri
Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“The surface rock over a greater portion of Osage county is Jefferson City (Second Magnesian) limestone. This formation consists of the so-called cotton rock and pitted dolomite, the latter of which occurs in thick beds throughout the county. Quarries have been opened in many places, the stone being used to supply local demands.
“One quarry is operated at Westphalia which has a face 75 feet long and 12 feet high. It was opened in 1885, is owned by Mr. C. Hoer and operated by Joseph Weibel.
“It consists of four to six feet of clay stripping and twelve feet of stone, the upper seven feet of which splits into beds from two to sixteen inches in thickness. The lower five feet does not occur in beds, but can be easily capped into layers of from two to four inches. The sixteen-inch bed at the base of the upper ledge is the most desirable stone.
“All of the stone is very much the same, being a semi-crystalline, dark gray, magnesian limestone, containing small irregular cavities filled with a white sugary quartz, which weathers out upon exposure, leaving a very rough, hackly surface.
“The principal joints strike N. 60° E., N. and S. and N. 60° W. The beds dip gently to the east and west from the middle of the quarry.
“The five-foot ledge splits very easily and is suitable for making blocks 10, 12, 14 and 16 inches in thickness. This stone is suitable for culverts, bridge abutments and other constructional purposes, in which rough stone can be used. It is very similar to that used in the foundation to the new School of Mines building at Rolla. The output is used locally.”
- White House, Missouri - the Bussen Limestone Quarry (Limestone) (The
following information is from The Quarrying Industry of Missouri, by
E. R. Buckley, Director and State Geologist, and H. A. Buehler, Missouri
Bureau of Geology and Mines Vol. II, 2nd Series, 1904.)
“This quarry, which is owned and operated by Mr. E. W. Bussen, is located one-fourth of a mile south of White House Station, on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern railroad. It is situated on a river bluff just west of the railroad tracks and has a face 110 feet long and about 40 feet high. It was opened in 1900.
“The following is a description of the beds from top to bottom:
10 ft. - Gray to drab, finely crystalline limestone in layers from six inches to two feet in thickness. At the north end these layers have been removed by erosion.
3 ft. 4 in. - Fine grained, drab colored limestone. Splits along a bedding plane nine inches from the bottom. Joints occur along which the stone is colored buff.
1 ft. 6 in. - Yellowish gray limestone.
2 ft. - Dark gray limestone, merging above into a yellowish color. Beds show fine stratification planes.
2 ft. 3 in. - Fine grained, gray limestone.
6 ft. - Massive bed of fine grained, gray limestone. Contains dries.
3 ft. 10 in. - Argillaceous, drab colored limestone. Chert nodules occur at the top of the bed.
4 ft. - Very argillaceous, blue limestone, having a shaly structure. Upper portion contains small particles of pyrite.
5 ft. 9 in. - Yellow to buff colored semi-crystalline limestone. Shows white efflorescence on the surface. Two small layers of flint occur respectively three and fifteen inches from the top. Small flint nodules and large dark spots also occur in the stone.
6 ft. 4 in. - Fine grained, yellowish gray limestone. Small irregular nodules and layers of black flint occur from six to twelve inches apart. The upper six to twelve inches is very shaly and contains considerable chert.
2 ft. 2 in. - Compact, light gray limestone, very brittle and breaks with a splintery fracture. Has dark stratification planes. Chert nodules occur along the bottom of the bed. The stone contains many dries.
8 ft. 6 in. - Fine grained, gray limestone. Splits into three beds two feet, five feet and one foot in thickness. The stone is colored with iron oxide along the short tight seams, which occur throughout the bed. A layer of chert nodules occurs twelve inches from the bottom. Occasional chert nodules are also disseminated through the bed.
“The entire output from this quarry is used for furnace flux in St. Louis.”
- Wickes, Missouri – Jefferson Stone Company
Quarry - Labor Strike circa May 1897 (from Stone: An Illustrated
Magazine, April 1897, Vol. XIV, No. 5, “Notes from Quarry
and Shop” section, pp. 648)
“Jefferson Barracks, Mo. – The men working at the Jefferson stone quarry, located at Wickes, Mo., a small station on the Iron Mountain road, nineteen miles from St. Louis, have struck and refuse to work until their wages which are in arrears, have been paid. They are now two weeks behind, and they cannot get any satisfaction as to when they will be paid, so they all went out. There are between thirty and forty men involved and all are married men with families, and it will go very hard on them, as the wages due a lot of them runs from $50 to $60. The Jefferson Stone Company was organized about one year ago, and comprises several well known business men of St. Louis. They purchased this property from Judge Newcomb, which was his residence for several years. They put in a large plant and were prepared to do very extensive business. Everything went on very smoothly very recently, when Superintendent Daugherty informed the men that he had no money on hand and could make no payment that pay day, and put them off repeatedly. The men worked along for a few days, but saw no signs of coming prosperity, so the strike was decided upon.”
- Wyaconda, Missouri - the Whitney Granite Company (from Monumental
News: Granite, Marble, Stone, Bronze Sculpture, March 1923, Vol.
XXX, No. 3, pp. 147)
Firm Changes and Other News: “Wyaconda, Mo., is to have a granite shop. The Whitney Granite Company of Fairfield, Iowa, has leased a building there and are putting in their new granite stock.”
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