California Granite Quarries - List and Location of Individual Quarries

Fresno County

• Academy Granite Company-Sec. 13, T. 12 S., R. 22 E., M.D.M. - granite is dark, medium-grained quarried from large boulders. (1)

Glenn County

• Talbott Granite-Sec. 8, T. 18 N., R. 4 W. - 10 miles southwest of Willows. Syenitic granite; within 8 miles of Southern Pacific Railroad. At point of chief exposure granite stands from 10 to 15 feet high and exposed along surface of western slope of hill a width of about 40 feet. (1)

Madera County

(granite quarries near Raymond)

• The Hall Quarry - Located 2 miles north of the McClellan Quarry, near the Raymond-Berenda Railway, furnished stone for a San Francisco contract, abandoned when survey done about 1906. (1)

• The Knowles Quarry - In 1906 operated by the Raymond Granite Co. In 1906 had been open for 17 years. Taken to market on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Stone is biotite-muscovite light-gray granite, with the biotite mica in excess of the muscovite, and an occasional crystal of black hornblende. (1)

• The McClellan Quarry - In 1906 owned and operated by the Wilson-Lyon Construction Co., San Francisco. Lies on same hillside about ½ mile south of the Raymond Granite Co. quarry. In 1906 in operation 9 years. Stone similar to Raymond Granite Co.'s quarry. Two quarry openings. Stone used for building and monument purposes. In 1904 preparing stone for the McKinley memorial monument in San Francisco. (1)

• Quarry one-half mile southeast of Raymond - Small quarry with a face of about 18 to 20 feet, spotted gray granite, with large black crystals of hornblende and biotite. A few feldspar veins occur and numerous dark blotches of segregated mica. (1)

Monterey County

• Aromas Granite Quarry, Granite Rock Company (now A. R. Wilson Quarry) History of the company.

Nevada County

• Granite production forms only a local industry chiefly quarrying and working with massive boulders at Nevada City, Grass Valley, Rough and Ready, and Graniteville. Granite marred by intrusions of syenite, "known to stone cutters as 'black knot,'." Principal uses of posts, copings, stoops, and bases for monument. Main color is blue. (1)

  T. J. Ahern, Grass Valley - Blue granite from boulder outcroppings and ledge formation southwest of Rough and Ready, Sec. 26, T. 16 N., R. 7 E. (1)

• Charles Bouchard & Son - Stone yard 1 mile northwest of Grass Valley. Obtained blue granite from boulder quarries at Rough and Ready and black granite from Sex. 20, T. 16 N., R. 7 E., south of Deer creek in boulders, fine grained. (1)

• E. D. Bridges, Pine Grove Quarry - Sec. 8, T. 16 N., R. 9 E, on Masonic cemetery site at eastern edge of Nevada City. (1)

• D. C. Morrison, Rough and Ready - Fine-grained black and blue syenite granite in boulders, Sec. 24, T. 16 N., R. 7 E. (1)

Placer County

• Emigrant Gap - Sec. T. 17 N., R. 12 E. Large exposure of granite in extreme northwestern part of Placer County. Used in the construction of the dam that forms Lake Spaulding. (1)

• Griffith Quarries and Polishing Works - Sec. 35, T. 11 N., R. 7 E., M.D.M. Owner in 1906 David Griffith, Penryn. One of the pioneer quarries of California. Griffith quarried granite at Folsom before moving to Penryn in 1864. Stone from here used in construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. Stone is dark gray biotite granite, uniform in color. Different quarry openings. Griffith also quarried "black granite," a very dark granite one mile east of Penryn. Stone is used mainly for cemetery monuments and building. (1)

• Small quarry opening east side of Penryn - Opened by a San Francisco Company, very small, abandoned by 1906. (1)

• Loomis Station - 3 miles south of Penryn, about midway between Penryn and Rocklin. Quarry operated by Rocklin Granite Co., San Francisco. Quarry is on short spur of Central Pacific Railroad about ½ mile south of town of Loomis on east side of railway and wagon road (in 1906). Quarry opening 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, from 50 to 60 feet deep. West end of quarry is a massive block of granite about 50 feet square, forms side of quarry. Biotite granite. In 1906 granite was being shipped to San Francisco to be used in building the Hibernia Bank building. (1)

• Rocklin - Principal granite-producing point in the Sacramento Valley. First quarry opened in 1863, stone used in construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Stone used in construction of the State Capitol in Sacramento, Hibernia Bank and Crocker building, San Francisco. Rocklin quarries lie close together in area less than a mile square on "gently rolling plan.Granite occurs at the surface in most cases. Rocklin stone is biotite granite. Contains some plagioclase and a little augite, but the prevailing feldspar is orthoclase, and biotite is in excess of muscovite." Fifteen quarries in operation in 1904, several idle. Most were small and operated by Finns, Russians, and Italians. Largest and most northerly situated owned by Rocklin Granite Co., ".a rectangular pit, sunk in surface of the rolling plain. The opening is about 100 feet deep, 100 feet wide, and 250 feet long.." (1)

• Quarry owned by Adolph Penru* - Quarry 50 feet deep, 50 feet square, 300 yards south of Rocklin Granite Co.'s quarry. (1) *(Penru should be Pernu)

• Allen Quarry - 300 feet west of Rocklin Granite Co. property. (1)

Riverside County

Granite widespread in Riverside County. (1)

• Corona - East of Corona on north side of Southern Pacific Railroad, half-mile from railway were several quarries. Much of Corona granite quarried from boulders. Stone used for paving stone, monuments and building stone in southern California. Granite from Mayer's quarry at Corona consisted ".of orthoclase feldspar, with a little microcline and albite, quartz, biotite, and muscovite-the constituents of typical granite." (1)

• Temecula - Two granite quarries about two miles south of Temecula near junction of Temecula Creek and San Jacinto River. Stone mainly quarried from boulders. A solid ledge is exposed in some places. Interior of stone "has a rich, light gray color, with a faint rose tint which makes it very attractive.." ".Temecula stone (is) a biotite granite, with a very little hornblende and muscovite. There is a little soda feldspar and some microcline, but the prevailing feldspar is orthoclase, some of it perthite." (1)

• Bly Brothers (Los Angeles) - Two quarries: one at N. W. ¼ of Sec. 2, T. 2 S., R. 6 W., S. B. M.; other in the S. E. a/4 of same section. Produced large quantity of fine granite used in Los Angeles buildings. Stone "from Bly Brothers' Declez quarry typical granite, composed of quartz, orthoclase feldspar, and muscovite and biotite mica, with a small percentage of soda feldspar, albite.." Light gray color. (1)

• Casa Blanca Quarries - Sec. 10, T. 3 S., R. 5 W., and Sec. 15, T. 3 S., R. 5 W., S. B. M. Southern Pacific Railroad owned two large quarries. Quarries about ½ mile apart north and south, about 1 mile southeast of Casa Blanca railway station, located at the base of the granite buttes. Stone medium dark gray granite. "Rock is biotite-hornblende granite, bordering on a granodiorite, as it contains much plagioclase and runs low in quarts." (1)

• Fairchild-Gilmore-Wilson Co. (Los Angeles) - Quarry located in Secs. 8 and 17, T. 3 S., R. 6 W., S. B. M. Contracting company which uses granite in buildings, paving blocks, ballast and in concrete. "Besides the granite quarries at Hammer switch, this company operates a large quarry at Porphyry station. Stone used for concrete, macadam, and railway ballast. (1)

• M. J. Mayer, Corona - Quarry in low foothills close to Santa Fe Railroad track near Porphyry station couple of miles east of Corona. Boulders. (1)

• Peerless Quarry - Stone shipped to Los Angeles for monumental use. (1)

• Rock Mine (Elsinore)

• Rubidoux Hill Quarry - very near and west of Riverside. Small opening northwest side of city. Stone is gray granite used for building stone. (1)

• Sierra Grande Quarries - Manufactured large numbers of Belgian blocks for streets in Los Angeles and supplied monumental dealers. (1)

Sacramento County

• Folsom State Prison Granite Quarry - Owned by State of California in 1906. In Sec. 25, T. 10 N., R. 7 E., on east bank of American River, one mile east of north from town of Folsom. Quarry operated by convict labor. Prison quarry stone is biotite granite. Face of quarry in 1904 ".had a north south length of 300 feet, 65 feet vertical depth, and a width of 100 feet from the edge of the river bed." Electric power was in use. (1)

San Bernardino County

• Declez Quarries - Owned by Southern Pacific Railroad Co. in 1906. Declez Quarry on spur of Southern pacific Railroad about 1 mile south of Declez Station on main line, 9 miles west of Colton. Stone dark-colored biotite granite. (1)

• Oro Grande Quarries - Two miles south of Oro Grande on east side of river there were "solid granite in rounded ledges and rounded boulders of disintegration covers an area of more than a square mile." Produced mainly Belgian blocks. Quarries in Secs. 28 and 29, T. 6 N., R. 4 W. Most stone from surface boulders, some work on ledge beneath boulders. (1)

• Near Victorville - Several quarries were in operation mainly producing paving blocks. (1)

• Brownstone Quarry No. 4 - Sec. 34, T. 6 N., R. 4 W., S. B. M. Quarry "is in northern part of a narrow and low granite ridge running about north and south through which the Mojave River cuts just above Victorville, forming the Upper Narrows, and on which all the granite quarries near Victorville are located." Medium-grained, light-gray color used for building and monuments. Stone used in building San Bernardino county jail. (1)

• Corona Quarry - Sec. 3, T. 5 N., R. 4 W., S. B. M. Granite boulders. Granite has yellowish cast. Used for paving blocks. (1)

• Leahy & Turner Granite Quarry - Sec. 28, T. 6 N., R. 4 W., S. B. M. On southwest slope of Silver Mountain north of Victorville, three fourths mile from Santa Fe Railroad. Formerly known as the Leahy, Storan & Rodgers quarry. (1)

• Scheerer Quarry - Sec. 29, T. 6 N., R. 4 W., S. B. M. Close to the Leahy & Turner Granite Quarry. (1)

• St. John Quarry - At Victorville on the Upper Narrows of the Mojave River. (1)

• Victor Quarry - Sec. 3, T. 5 N., R. 4 W., S. B. M. Principally granite boulders worked to produce paving blocks and curbstones. (1)

• White Granite Quarry - Secs. 22 and 23, T. 6. N., R. 4 W., S. B. M. On south slope of Silver Mountain, northeast of the Leahy & Turner quarry. (1)

San Diego County

• A. E. Babcock (San Diego) - "At Foster, the terminus of San Diego, Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway, granite is quarried for rubble and shipped to the San Diego breakwater." (1)

• Simpson-Pirnie Granite Co. (San Diego) - Granite quarry at Santee, a station on the San Diego, Cuyamaca and Eastern Railway, 3 miles north of El Cajon and 25 miles north of San Diego. Stone "is a bright-colored, light-gray, biotite-augite granite, which has a reddish to brownish tint on the weathered outcrop." Mainly used (in 1906) for monuments. (1)

• Sweetwater Dam Quarry - ".some miles southwest of San Diego.product was used entirely in the construction of the reservoir dam." (1)

• Mrs. W. S. Waterman (San Diego) - Quarry in a canyon about a mile west of Foster. Used in buildings and monuments. Stone light-colored and fine-grained. (1)

Shasta County

• Granite in Shasta County principally hornblende granite.

• Masterson Brothers (Redding) - "Formerly quarried the granite in Sec. 25, T. 31 N., R. 6 W., and Sec. 20, T. 32 N., R. 6 W." Abandoned their quarries by 1906) (1)
  
  

Sierra County

• "Granite and granitic rocks occupy a prominent place in the geological structure of Sierra County, especially in the eastern and south-central portions. No exploitation with a view to determining its structural qualification has been undertaken." (1)

Siskiyou County

• Large amount of granite and granodiorite. "The greater portion is.too much shattered to be used for monument or building purposes." (1)

Trinity County

• "The granite in Trinity County is the same material and occurs in the same manner as in Shasta County." (1)

Tulare County

• Mr. Bartlett (Portersville) - In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 3 miles northeast of Porterville for building purposes. Granite quarried on both sides of the gap. Stone used in building a bank building in Porterville. (1)

• Rocky Point Granite Quarry - Sec. 8, T. 19 S., R. 27 E. Granite is gray syenitic rock in large detached masses and flattened beds or layers from 2 to 25 feet in thickness. (1)

Tuolumne County

• Phoenix Lake Granite Quarry - Sec. 23, T. 2 N., R. 15 E. Quarry located at head of Phoenix Lake about 7 miles northeast of Sonora. Gray, fine-grained granite. (1)

Yuba County

• "Granite, of a quality suitable for structures, occurs in Yuba County on the east side of Willow Creek, in Sec. 9, T. 18 N., R. 8 E., 2 miles by wagon road southwest from Camptonville." (1)

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