Inyo County - List of Stone Quarries

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Inyo County - List of Stone Quarries, Etc.

(* Please note this list does not include sand or gravel quarries.)

Inyo Mountains near Lone Pine, Inyo County, California - “Inyo Dolomite Quarries Photographic Tour ” (These quarries are located in the eastern foothills of the Owens Valley near Lone Pine, Inyo County; and they were known as the Inyo Marble Company quarries in the late 1800s.)

Dolomite, Inyo County, California – Dolomite, California (history and photographs), presented on the Ghost Towns web site.
Dolomite, Inyo County, California – Ghost Town of Dolomite described in “Exploring a Ghost Railroad,” presented by Gary B. Speck, Ghost Town USA.
Dolomite, Inyo County, California – Limestone Quarry at Dolomite in 1949. The following photograph of the “Engine No. 18 switches at the Limestone Quarry at Dolomite in 1949. (Donald Duke)” is presented on the Carson & Colorado Railroad Names that Echo in Time web site.
Inyo Mountains, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Mountain Marble Quarries (circa 1882) - (Excerpts from First Annual Catalog of The State Museum of California Being The Collections Made By The State Mining bureau During the Year ending April 16, 1881, State Mining Bureau, Henry G. Hanks, State Mineralogist, Sacramento: J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing, 1882, pp. 67. (This book is available on Google Books.)

“9784. Marble (white), several specimens, from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company, Keeler, Inyo County, California. Capt. J. M. Keeler. November 30, 1887.”

“9785. Marble (variegated), three specimens, from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company, Keeler, Inyo County, California. Capt. J. M. Keeler, November 30, 1887.”

“9786. Marble (yellow), from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company, Keeler, Inyo County, California. Capt. J. M. Keeler. November 30, 1887.”

Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Company (historical files in archival collections) (circa 1885) A few years ago I found a link on the Nevada State Library & Archives web site, although the link is not working at this time. Listed in their collection was the following file on the Inyo Marble Company:
<http://nevadaculture.org/docs/nsla/archives/corp/corp-i.htm>

Inyo Marble Co.

Date: 1885/11/18 in box # SECSTATE-0319 File #113

A Guide to The Papers of The Virginia and Truckee Railroad, Collection NC427

“The Virginia and Truckee Railroad – “Queen of the Shortlines” (collection dates from 1860-1960) Related Companies – Company Name Collection Number: “Inyo Marble Company”

Inyo Mountains, Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Company Marble Quarry (Marble) - Excerpt from Minerals Yearbook, By United States Bureau of Mines, Geological Survey (U.S.) 1886, “Structural Materials - Pacific Coast,” pp. 545.

“California. – The recent discoveries of marble in California have been the subject of considerable comment during the past year.

“In September, 1885, Mr. Israel Luce, now superintendent of the Inyo Marble Company, at the request of members of the Carson and Colorado Railroad Company, visited the marble deposits known to exist in Owen’s valley, 1 ½ miles from Owen’s lake, 5 miles north of Keeler, and ½ mile from the Carson and Colorado railroad. At that time a company was organized for the purpose of developing the beds, but in May, 1886, it abandoned the project and sold out all equipments (sic), etc., to the present owners, the Inyo Marble Company, which since that time has been developing the ledge and putting up a mill for sawing; sand suitable for this purpose being found in the neighborhood. The first car-load of sawed marble was shipped early in the present year.

“The stone is said to be pure dolomite and the greater part of it is white, but a great variety of colored products is also found, including the variety known as moss agate. According to the reports of all experts who have examined this marble it is of very superior quality, being adapted not only for structural purposes, but also for the finest kinds of work.

“The stone appears to exist in three layers; the upper one is from 15 to 20 feet thick, is considerably shattered and strained, and its present position is believed to have been the result of a slide from the mountain above.

“The second layer is 3 ½ to 4 feet thick, apparently, in its original bed, but is also somewhat strained. The third layer has not been distributed from its original position; its thickness is not yet known, but it has been penetrated to a depth of 6 feet. This stone is the only California marble that has proved acceptable to local cutters and dealers. The offices of the Inyo Marble Company are J. M. Keeler, president; H. B. Keesing, vice-president; O.F. von Rhein, secretary, and Israel Luce, superintendent.”
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Marble Company Quarries (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.

New Discoveries and developments of marble quarries:

“California.-The recent discoveries of marble in California have been the subject of considerable comment during the past year.

“In September, 1885, Mr. Israel Luce, now superintendent of the Inyo Marble Company, at the request of members of the Carson and Colorado Railroad Company, visited the marble deposits known to exist in Owen’s valley, 1 ½ miles from Owen’s lake, 5 miles north of Keeler, and ½ mile from the Carson and Colorado railroad. At that time a company was organized for the purpose of developing the beds, but in May, 1886, it abandoned the project and sold out all equipments, etc., to the present owners, the Inyo Marble Company, which since that time has been developing the ledge and putting up a mill for sawing; sand suitable for this purpose being found in the neighborhood. The first car-load of sawed marble was shipped early in the present year.

“The stone is said to be pure dolomite and the greater part of it is white, but a great variety of colored products is also found, including the variety known as moss agate. According to the reports of all experts who have examined this marble it is of very superior quality, being adapted not only for structural purposes, but also for the finest kinds of work.

“The stone appears to exist in three layers; the upper one is from 15 to 20 feet thick, is considerably shattered and strained, and its present position is believed to have been the result of a slide from the mountain above.

“The second layer is 3 ½ to 4 feet thick, apparently, in its original bed, but is also somewhat strained. The third layer has not been disturbed from its original position; its thickness is not yet known, but it has been penetrated to a depth of 6 feet. This stone is the only California marble that has proved acceptable to local cutters and dealers. The officers of the Inyo Marble Company are J. M. Keeler, president; H. B. Keesing, vice-president; O. F. von Rhein, secretary, and Israel Luce, superintendent.”
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California – “Inyo Marble,” (Excerpts from the Sixth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist, Part I., For the Year Ending June 1, 1886, California State Mining Bureau, Henry G. Hanks, State Mineralogist, Sacramento: 1886. (This book is available on Google Books – Full View Books.)

Building Stones and Building Materials in California

History of Building in Ancient and Modern Times, with Some Account of the Materials Used in Construction

“As early as 1862 I traveled from the south side of Mono lake to the head of Owen’s Valley, then without a house or a settler north of Camp Independence. From Adobe Meadows our party of four saw for the first time the grand summit of White Mountain, capped with what seemed to be snow, slightly yellow in tint, which we attributed to the golden light of the setting sun, or dusty particles blown upon it from the desert adjacent; but snow it certainly appeared to be. When, however, we reached the base of the mountain, I discovered that the apparently snowy summit was in reality composed of a white rock; and in the rugged cañons we picked up fragments which, when freshly broken, were as pure and white as the finest Carrara marble. Subsequent chemical examination proved it to be dolomite of the finest quality. This was the now celebrated Inyo marble, which is found in numerous localities in the Inyo Range, from White Mountain south one hundred miles or more. While we make special mention here of Inyo marble, we must not for that reason omit to state that other beautiful marbles and building stones are found in these mountains, which I have seen and examined with great interest.

“The most beautiful porphyries, equal to those of Egypt, are of frequent occurrence, while granite, syenite, pegmatite, and various crystalline and metamorphic rocks are met with in the sublime cañons, or lie tilted against the flanks of the higher mountains.”

Technical Description of Inyo Marble.

“Color, pure white, saccharoidal, cryptocrystalline, hardness between 3 and 4, scratches calc-spar with ease, specific gravity 2,856, which being a case of cubic foot will weigh 178.5 pounds avoirdupois. While in mass the mineral is resistant to crushing force, a small fragment can be crumbled between the fingers to a crystalline powder, which under the microscope may be seen to be obscure crystals with concave faces; some four sided pyramidal terminations are more distinct. At a red heat continued for two hours, the mineral loses 30.3 per cent by weight; the calcined mineral when wet with water becomes very hot and falls to a powder. In cold concentrated hydrochloric acid the mineral even when pulverized effervesces but feebly, but on application of heat the action is intensified, and a perfect solution is obtained which is golden yellow when concentrated, and pale straw color when dilute. The hydrochloric acid solution becomes darker colored on addition of nitric acid, and solution of sulphocyanide of potassium imports a deep blood red color to it. From the first solution ammonia throws down a small precipitate; the filtrate from this precipitate is colorless. Oxalate of ammonia throws down a copies precipitate; this being filtered off, phosphate of soda gives a second and also copious white precipitate. The mineral does not absorb water to any considerable extent; a fragment weighing 39.71 grains, soaked in water for twenty-four hours, increased in weight only 79 milligrams.

“Before the blowpipe on charcoal the mineral falls to a powder like aragonite. This is owing to the fact revealed by the microscope that it consists of crystals distinct in themselves held together by a feeble force. In a closed glass tube the mineral gives traces only of water. These reactions show the presence of the following substances: Carbonic acid, lime, magnesia, iron, alumina. The two latter in small quantities, and traces of water. A full qualitive and quantitive analysis will be made in the future.

“Measurements of the crystals, average of ten, in decimals of an inch:

Smallest – 0 – 00082 +
Largest – 0 – 02853 +

Average – 0 – 01472 +

“Mr. Israel Luce, a marble cutter of Sacramento, has given the following information as to the quarry from which the Inyo marble is to be taken to build the Sharon gate to the park: It lies a few miles from Keeler and near the lake. The exact locality is the southwest quarter of section fourteen, township sixteen south, and range thirty-seven east. It is owned by the Inyo Marble Company, incorporated last September in the State of Nevada.”

The Following are Localities

Of the principal rocks, building stones, and building materials collected by the State Mining Bureau:

15. DOLOMITE, Modoc Mine, Inyo County.

18. DOLOMITE, Deep Spring Valley, Inyo County.

20. DOLOMITE, Inyo County.

66. LIMESTONE, Modoc Mine, Inyo County.

90. MARBLE, fine white, slightly bluish green, suitable for building stone and lime, Inyo County, near C. & C.R.R.

(Note: Only the entries for Inyo County are Listed above. Peggy B. Perazzo)
- Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California – Inyo Marble Company Marble Samples in the State Mining Bureau Collection 1887 (First Annual Catalog of The State Museum of California Being The Collections Made By The State Mining Bureau During the Year ending April 16, 1881, State Mining Bureau, Henry G. Hanks, State Mineralogist, Sacramento: J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing, 1882, pp. 67.)
  
  “9784. Marble (white), several specimens, from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company, Keeler, Inyo County, California. Capt. J. M. Keeler. November 30, 1887.”
  
  “9785. Marble (variegated), three specimens, from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company, Keeler, Inyo County, California. Capt. J. M. Keeler, November 30, 1887.”
  
  “9786. Marble (yellow), from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company, Keeler, Inyo County, California. Capt. J. M. Keeler. November 30, 1887.”
Inyo Mountains, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Mountain Marble Quarries (circa 1887) - (Excerpts from Appendix To The Journals of The Senate and Assembly of The Twenty-Seventh Session of The Legislature of the State of California, Vol. VII, Sacramento: State Office, P. L. Shoaff, Supt. State Printing, 1887, pp. 193-195.

“Inyo County lies between the State line and the high Sierra Nevada Mountains, the western boundary being along the summit of the latter, at an elevation of several thousand feet above the general level of the rest of the country and 8,000 or 10,000 above the sea....”

“...But there is another source of wealth possessed by this county of comparatively recent discovery. We allude to a vast quarry of the finest marble. A writer, speaking of the discovery, says:

It is virtually a mountain of marble, rising to nearly 1,000 feet above the level of Owens River Valley. Whether or not it existence had before attracted attention is not known, but about 4 months ago D. A. Bender, of the Nevada and Colorado Railroad Company, procured a piece of the marble, and sent it to Israel Luce, a well known and experienced marble worker in Sacramento, to be tested as to its quality. Mr. Luce, after making several tests, became convinced that it was of a superior quality. He then visited the Owens Lake section, and satisfied himself of the fact that the ledge, or mountain, was practically inexhaustible, and the marble extra fine throughout - by all odds the best ever found on the coast. Further tests convinced him that it was better even than the famed Italian marble, and for these reasons:

1. It is whiter, clearer, and of a better uniform color throughout.

2. It is stronger, having double the power of resistance to crushing weight.

3. It is free from flint.

4. It will not stain as readily as Italian or other marbles.

5. It will not effervesce by the application of muriatic acid, and if acid will not work on it, it is but reasonable to suppose that atmosphere will not. Geology teaches that dolomite (marble) or magnesian limestone is the most durable stone of the secondary formation; also, that being burned into quicklime it makes a more desirable cement than common limestone, owing to the fact that it absorbs less carbonic acid from the atmosphere than the latter. The eminent geologist, Von Beach, maintains that this peculiar quality of dolomite has been given it by volcanic vapor or gas. Some deny this, but give no better - nor, indeed, any other - cause for this change in the nature of marble.

“If this marble is all that is claimed for it in quality and quantity, Inyo has in this a better source of wealth and prosperity than in all her mines.

“The Carson and Colorado Railroad runs through the valley from end to end. Fine marble quarries are being opened and worked at Owens Lake, and works for the evaporation of the waters of that lake to obtain the soda are now set afloat.”
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Marble Company Quarries (from the Eighth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist for the Year Ending October 1, 1888, California State Mining Bureau, William Irelan, Jr., State Mineralogist, Sacramento, 1888. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
Inyo County, by W. A. Goodyear, Geologist, Assistant in the Field.

(pp. 224) “For something over two years, i.e., from April, 1870, until July, 1872, I was constantly and actively employed on the old State Geological survey of California, under Prof. J. D. Whitney, at that time State Geologist. But, owing to the discontinuance of the Geological Survey, which followed shortly afterwards, a greater portion of the geological work done in those two years has never yet been published. I have now, therefore, as the sequel will show, drawn freely and extensively from my old notes – more especially with reference to san Diego and Inyo Counties, but to some extent also concerning San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, and Tulare Counties.

“The little town of Keeler, on the eastern shore of Owens Lake, is at the present time (1888) the southern terminus of the Carson and Colorado Narrow Gauge Railroad, and south of the town of Belleville, in Nevada. This railroad now runs only three passenger trains each way per week ….”

(pp. 229) “The Inyo Marble Quarries are situated at the very foot of the Inyo mountains, about five miles northerly from Keeler, and seven and a half miles southeasterly from the railroad station of Lone Pine. The dolomite from these quarries is generally fine grained and quite hard, takes a good polish, and is a durable and handsome stone. The quarry, however, is full of seams and cracks, which run in all directions, and it is difficult to get out blocks which are perfectly sound, of more than two or three tons in weight. Basaltic dikes, here and there, cut through the limestone in this vicinity….”

(pp. 248) “The western foot of the Inyo Mountains here consists almost entirely of limestone, generally highly metamorphic and crystalline. Some of it seems to be very pure. But it varies greatly in this respect and presents a great variety of colors, from white to pinkish, red and brown, and bluish and nearly black. Some of it has the appearance of being quite heavy-bedded, while other portions are very thin-bedded indeed. This mass of strata, consisting chiefly of limestone, extends at this locality about one third of the way from the foot to the summit of the mountains. Above it comes a series of alternating and highly metamorphosed strata, comprising very thin-bedded clay, slates, and shales of many shades of color, such as blue, gray, black, and brilliant red (nearly the color of hematite powder), brown, greenish, etc. Shaly sandstones, sometimes very thin-bedded, calcareous clay rocks, a pretty well characterized porphyry, a rock with granitic texture and appearance, but containing little or no mica, all apparently stratified and alternating here and there with beds of limestone, though in places the stratification of the more highly crystalline rock has been considerably obscured. From base to summit of the range these strata have been locally bent, broken, and twisted to such an extent that, if one were to consider but a small area at a time, it would often be difficult, if not impossible, to make out any definite system with reference to their directions of strike and dip….”
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Marble Company Quarries – Biography of Israel Luce, Superintendent of the Inyo Marble Company Quarry (from An Illustrated History of Sacramento County, California, H. Win. J. Davis, Lewis Publishing Company. 1890, Pages 470-471.

ISRAEL LUCE

Israel Luce was born in the village of Newfield, near Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, the son of James and Mary (Barber) Luce, both natives of New Jersey. Grandmother Barber was a sister to John Abbott, a scion of the Tompkins County family of that name. The Luce family is a numerous one throughout New England, and the family traditions show them to have been of English ancestry. Three brothers emigrated to America in the colonial days; one settled in New Jersey, one in Massachusetts, and one in Kentucky. When Israel was nine years old his family moved to Elmira, where he grew to manhood. At the age of twenty he went to West Troy, New York, to learn the marble-cutters' trade; monumental work he learned at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and was employed at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where he carried on the marble business for three years. Returning to Pittsfield, he went into partnership with Charles Rule. From Pittsfield, he went to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he caught the gold fever and started for California, sailing on the John Castner for the mouth of the Rio Grande. He left New York January 29, and arrived at San Francisco on the 25th of May, 1849. He came directly to Sacramento, on his way to the Coloma mining districts. In September he returned to Sacramento, clerked in a store till March 1830, when he went up the American River nine miles and built the Nine-Mile House, of which he was part proprietor for a time; but as selling rum was not agreeable to his conscience, he sold out and came again to Sacramento; mined at Cape Horn, beyond Colfax, in 1851. In December 1850 he bought a lot of marble on the wharf at San Francisco, brought it to Sacramento, and established the first marble yards, February 1851, on the east side of Seventh, between J and K Streets. In 1853 he formed a co-partnership with Mr. A. Aitken, and they established themselves on K Street, near the Golden Eagle Hotel. For twenty-five years this firm carried on the business, dissolving in 1878. During the following year Mr. Luce again started business near the old stand, where his son is at present located. For eighteen of the twenty-five years, Luce & Aitken worked the quarry at Indians' Diggings, El Dorado County. In 1872 Mr. Luce prospected on the McLeod River, and spent six months at Tehachapi in 1877. In September 1885 he located the Inyo marble quarries, of which so much has been said of late, and of which he is the superintendent. This stone is of pure white dolomite, susceptible of a high degree of polish, very beautiful, and more durable than granite. Mr. Luce is one of the oldest Odd Fellows in the State, having been initiated into the order at Berkshire Lodge, No. 57, Massachusetts, in May 1848, and joined Eureka, No. 4, by card. In the early days he was especially devoted to politics, was a Democrat up to the time of the late war, and since then a Republican. Business cares and advancing years have made it impossible for him to take an active part in matters political, but he takes an interest in all public matters, especially those pertaining to the welfare of Sacramento. Mr. Luce has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1848, was Mary Adeline Nichols of Worcester, Massachusetts. She died in 1861, leaving two sons and one daughter, as follows: Mary R. Marsh, John C. and G.W., the former in business here in the Capital City, and the latter in San Francisco. In 1863 he was united in marriage to Mrs. Eliza Elliott, by whom he has had two children, viz.: Fannie, now Mrs. W.W. Clary, and Charles S., who is employed in the money order department of the Sacramento post office. The Luce homestead on M Street is one of the old-time landmarks, the abiding place of generous, old-time hospitality.
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Mountains Marble Quarries (circa 1890s) - Excerpt from the Tenth Annual Report of The State Mineralogist For The Year Ending December 1, 1890, California State Mining Bureau, Sacramento: State Printing Office, 1890, pp. 215-218. (This book is available on Google Books - Full View Books.)

“San Francisco, April 7, 1890.

“Hon. William Irelan, Jr., State Mineralogist:

“Dear Sir: On July 26, 1888, the writer visited and examined the Inyo Marble Quarries, and as the result of such examination wrote the notice of them which appears on page 229 of the Eighth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist.

“Having recently (March 27, 1890) visited these quarries again, I find that on some further development they now promise far better than they did in 1888.

“At that time only a small opening had been made at the foot of the mountain, and perfectly sound blocks of three tons in weight were rare. Since then, however, this opening has been somewhat further deepened, and an entirely new one has been made some two hundred feet higher up on the mountain side, and opened out to a depth of some twenty-five or thirty feet into the solid rock.

“It is still true that no quarry has yet been sufficiently opened here to prove beyond all doubt how great its capacity may be to furnish very large and perfectly sound blocks of a fine quality of marble. But so far as can be judged from present appearances, the probabilities now are extremely favorable in this direction.

“The later developments have shown that a great proportion of the ‘seams and cracks’ which are so plentiful and conspicuous on the surface as to produce the inevitable first impression of the rock being badly shattered in all directions, are themselves, in reality, only superficial in their character; that is to say, they extend but a small depth into the rock, and then run out entirely, leaving the marble beneath them perfectly clean and sound.

“Some of them run only two or three feet deep or less; others extend to depths of five to ten feet or more. But the number of them which run out and disappear entirely within a depth of twenty or twenty-five feet is so great that below that depth there will, in all probability, but no difficulty in obtaining sound blocks of any dimensions that may be required, and that can be handled.

“The strata here are upturned at a very high angle, the strike being about north 75 degrees west magnetic, and the dip generally 75 or 80 degrees northeasterly into the mountain.

“The superficial cracks and seams which run out as above described, follow approximately the planes of bedding of the strata, and are simply the result of the slow percolation of surface waters during the untold ages of weathering to which the stone has been exposed: For these rocks are very old.

“There are, indeed, other cracks here and there which cut the strata in various directions, and extend indefinitely and irregularly both in distance and in depth, and which are really the results of seismic disturbances in the mountains. These latter cracks are in the nature of veins, and are usually filled with a material sometimes harder than the marble itself, and locally known at the quarry under the name of ‘cement.’ Both these vein-seams are neither so numerous nor so close together as to be likely to interfere much with the quarrying of sound blocks of any size that can be handled.

“There is no machinery here yet of any value except a couple of derricks, one at the upper quarry and one at the foot of the hill, and all the blocks of any size hitherto gotten out from either quarry have been first blown out with gunpowder or dynamite, a proceeding which causes a great waste of stone, and always tends to shatter as much as possible any large blocks which may be moved.

“Furthermore, the only means at the present time of getting large blocks down from the upper quarry (now the best one) to the foot of the hill is by sliding them something over two hundred feet down the steep mountain side, taking chances to their catching some underlying knob of solid rock on the way, and then overturning and bounding, as they sometimes do, to the bottom, thus further breaking up, to a greater or less extent, both themselves and everything else which happens to lie in their way.

“It of course follows that no large blocks can now be obtained from the upper quarry except such as are split and dressed at the foot of the mountain out of much larger irregular ones originally blown from the quarry, and then slid or rolled down the mountain.

“Under these circumstance there happened to be lying at the foot of the mountain, on March twenty-seventh, a few blocks from the upper quarry, roughly dressed into shape, which I measured as follows:

6 feet by 4 feet by 3 ½ feet = 8 cubic feet.

8 ½ feet by 8 feet by 2 ½ feet = 63 ¾ cubic feet.

7 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet = 56 cubic feet.

5 feet by 4 feet by 2 ½ feet = 50 cubic feet.

6 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet = 24 cubic feet.

“Every one of these blocks was pure white, fine-grained, very uniform in texture, and, so far as could be seen, without a crack or flaw. The largest one particularly, containing eighty-four cubic feet and therefore weighing nearly fifteen thousand pounds, was a most beautiful blocks, and if as good and sound throughout as it looks on the surface, would make a fine piece of statuary marble.

“I conclude that where such blocks as these have been obtained under such circumstances, from such a little hole as that upper quarry is, it is more than probable that on further development this quarry can furnish perfectly sound blocks of any size that can be handled. And if this prove true, the quantity is inexhaustible, for the whole southwestern flank of the mountains for a considerable distance there is made of marble.

“The present openings furnish almost exclusively white marble; but only a few hundred yards distant from them there are very heavy masses of a grayish, streaked and mottled marble, filled with dendritic markings which take a fine polish, and are of a hard and handsome quality. The ‘ground mass’ of this mottled marble varies somewhat in color, being sometimes very white; while in other places it is more or less tinged with varying light shades of yellow and green. It also is generally fine-grained and compact, and can probably be obtained in blocks of very large size, though it is not yet sufficiently opened up to satisfactorily prove its condition.

“At another locality, which I did not visit because it was too far up in the mountains, and scarcely any work has yet been done upon it, there is a distinctly yellow marble, of which I saw some handsome fragments, and which the Superintendent of the works, Mr. M. V. B. Bronson, believes can also be obtained in large, sound blocks.

“In other places there are other colors, especially such as range from white, through numerous varying shades of gray, to black. But these are yet undeveloped.

“As to the so called ‘onyx marble,’ though there is considerable of it in some places here, I could not learn that any large blocks of it had ever yet been obtained.

“In the present state of affairs it will unavoidably require the expenditure of some time, as well as money, to further open up these quarries, and to furnish them with proper machinery to enable them to turn out the marble rapidly and economically in large dimension blocks. But when this is done there is every reason to believe that at least the white and the mottled-gray varieties can then be procured in any quantities, and of any sizes that may be required.

“An analysis just completed in the laboratory of the State Mining Bureau by Dr. W. D. Johnston and Mr. C. A. Ogden, of a specimen of the purest white marble from those quarries, shows that it is a typical and exceptionally pure dolomite. The composition of the sample analyzed was as follows:

Carbonate of lime - 54.25 per cent.

Carbonate of magnesia - 44.45 per cent.

Iron and silica (clay) -.60 percent.

(Total) 99.30 per cent.

“The further comment of the analysis is that ‘this stone will weather well,’ and that ‘it contains but a small trace of irony clay.’

“Respectfully yours,

“W. A. Goodyear.”
- Inyo Mountains (north of Keeler), Inyo County, California – Inyo Marble Quarries (circa 1891) (from transcription of Stones for Building and Decoration (pdf), by George P. Merrill, Curator for Geology in the United States National Museum, J. Wiley & Sons, 1891.
  
  “At the foot of the Inyo Mountains in Inyo County, above five miles north of the town of Keeler, there occurs an extensive bed of dolomite in which within a few years marble quarries have been opened. The strata here are upturned at an angle of 75° to 80° and the beds superficially seamed and cracked to such an extent that large blocks on the immediate surface are unobtainable. Although the quarry openings are as yet shallow the indications are, however, that these defects soon disappear, and at no great depths sound blocks of any size that can be handled may be obtained.*
  
  (* Footnote: Tenth Annual Report State Mineralogist, 1890.)
  
  “The stone at the various outcrops now exposed is quite variable. At one of the openings it is pure snow white, fine grained and equal in texture to Italian marble, but much harder, firmer and more compact. But a few hundred yards from this is an opening which seems destined to furnish some of the most unique and yet beautiful stone thus far produced in America. In texture this is of the same quality as the last, but the white groundmass is injected in every direction with blotches, streaks and finely divided branching and feathery dark brown nearly black dendritic or fern-like markings – presumably caused by oxide of manganese – and which added to occasional blotches of Siena yellow produce an effect that must be seen to be appreciated. Still a third variety is Siena yellow of varying shades. This last while nearer the true Italian Siena than any now produced, differs in being distinctly granular in texture, and can perhaps be more correctly compared with the well-known Estremoz, or so-called Lisbon yellow from Alemtejo Province, Portugal.
  
  “A fine grained black marble is also found in the near vicinity, which, while it does not polish well may answer for floor tiling.
  
  “The Inyo marbles are perhaps among the most promising the west has as yet produced. Chemically they are a very pure dolomite, close grained and compact, and equally well adapted for exterior and interior work. Their superior hardness will cause a greater expense in working than in the eastern or Italian marbles, but whether these items will not be more than counterbalanced by cost of transportation the future only can decide. The quarries are on steep hillsides quite devoid of timber or soil, and cost of fuel necessitates the transportation of the rough blocks to Essex, Nevada,* a distance of some miles, before the can be sawn.
  
  (* Please note: According to the Yale Peabody Museum – GNIS Dataset Service, the historical Essex, Nevada, was located in Washoe County. Peggy B. Perazzo)
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Company (The following quotation is from “California in The Quarry Business,” in Stone Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 1, May 1891, pp. 20. (This book is available in Google Books.)

“California in The Quarry Business,”

“A large block of marble arrived at San Francisco, Cal., recently from Inyo county, consigned to the Inyo Marble Company. It weighs seventeen tons, and will be the cap or lintel over the Bush street entrance of the new Mills building. In about four weeks the work of placing it in the building will commence. The first two stories, thirty-two feet high, will be constructed of elaborately carved white marble.”

Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Company Quarry (From Twelfth Report of the State Mineralogist (Second Biennial) Two Years Ending September 15, 1894, California State Mining Bureau, California Division of Mines and Geology, 1894, pp. 392.
Inyo County.

“Inyo Marble Company. – The quarries of this company are situated at the base of the Inyo range, between Keeler and Lone Pine Station. Their claims are scattered along the base of the range for several miles, but the point at which most of the work has been done is about 5 miles N. of Keeler. The management of the quarries has recently changed, and several new and apparently excellent beds of marble have been discovered. One of the best of the new locations lies about 2 miles S. of the old works. Although not opened up at the time of the Bureau’s examination, there is shown a large body of banded and variegated marble, free from cracks and flaws, so that large pieces can be obtained. This marble varies from nearly white to gray and black in bands, and often beautifully mottled and knotted. For the general purposes of a variegated marble it would seem that this would completely fulfill the requirements. A little south of the old quarries a bed of fancy variegated marble is being opened. It is mottled with white, yellow, gray, and black, and is penetrated by beautiful dendritic markings of manganese. The old quarries of white marble are to be abandoned, because of the broken condition of the rock, and a new one has been opened near by. The marble found in the latter gives promise of a more perfect white color, and of being obtained in larger blocks. Recently pieces of 15 to 18 tons weight have been obtained. A half mile north of the main works a new quarry of yellow marble is being opened. A deposit of black marble of good quality has also been found, and is employed chiefly for floor tile. Development work is being actively pushed, and it is expected from present indications that the demand will rapidly increase. These quarries were described in our Xth Report, p. 215. Inyo Marble Company, of San Francisco, owners; M. J. McDonald, Mills Building, President.”

Inyo County, California – Inyo County Marble (Dolomite) Quarries circa 1894 - “California Marble” (pdf), in Stone Magazine, Vol. VIII, No. 3, February 1894, pp. 254-257.

Inyo County Marble

“Inyo county marble – Near the base of the Inyo mountains in Owens valley near the lake of the same name, lies what is perhaps the largest and most wonderful deposits of marble that has been as yet discovered. It is impossible to describe truthfully these vast deposits of beautifully colored stones.

“There is white, black, blue and yellow in pure colors, purple veined, black and gold, making a grand variety of colored marbles very beautiful for interior decoration. The white marble is perfectly clear, the grain is fine, very compact and will stand great pressure; it is pure dolomite, therefore, will take on and retain a very fine polish.

“The first two stories of the Mills Building in this city are, as well as a greater part of the interior finish of same, done in this material, and is a most creditable piece of work, the main entrance to the building shows what may be done in the way of relief with the white marble.

“The black is almost identical in color with the Belgium black marble, it is very difficult to distinguish one from the other when polished. The yellow marble varies from a delicate cream to a dark mottled orange, there are veins of deeper yellow with fern like markings similar to moss agate; is particularly adapted for furniture and interior decorations.

“Inyo moss agate marble. – The color of this runs from light to dark lively browns with beautiful fern like markings, and I understand is the only marble of the kind known; it takes a fine polish.

“Much more could be said of the colored marbles of Inyo county but I must retain space for some of the other counties and their marble. Yet before passing from Inyo it is but just that I mention the fact of it being my extreme good fortune a few days since to be shown a very large collection of fancy colored marbles (in sample) from Italy, and at the time I took pains to obtain from the party the pieces of the different varieties on board the vessel at Genoa, Italy, and also delivered here in San Francisco. I found the prices of this colored marble were far in excess of the Inyo colored material, and while I must admit that there was some very beautiful specimens of marble in the collection from Italy, I say without fear of contradiction, that the colored marble of Inyo county is fully up to their standard, and in my judgment much more beautiful. The question may be asked, are the Inyo deposits being worked? I answer yes, and with a plant of the most improved machinery, capable of turning out as high a grade of work as can be done any place in the world.

“The California Architect and Building News.”
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Company (from the Thirteenth Report (Third Biennial) of the State Mineralogist for the Two Years Ending September 15, 1896, pp. 628.)

Structural Materials – Marble - Inyo County.

“Inyo Marble Co. – See our Xth and XIIth Reports, pp. 215 and 392. Its quarries lie on the western base of the Inyo range, between Keeler and Lone Pine. During 1895 the company shipped about $50,000 worth of marble. M. J. McDonald, Mills Building, San Francisco, president.

“At the western base of the Inyo range, 6 miles E. of Big Pine, lies a bed of white rock made up almost entirely of the debris of shells. It covers an area of 3,000 acres, and is perhaps 10’ thick. It contains a trace of phosphoric acid, and may be of value as a fertilizer. M. D. Rocheford, of Big Pine, owner.”
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Marble Company Quarries (From The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)

"Inyo Marble Company; M. J. McDonald, Mills Building, San Francisco, president. The quarries are situated at the base of the Inyo range, between Keeler and Lone Pine. They are scattered along the base of the range for several miles, but the point at which most of the work has been done is about 5 miles north of Keeler. The marble from these quarries is a dolomite, is generally fine-grained and quite hard, takes a good polish, and is a durable and handsome stone. A specimen of the pure white dolomite was analyzed, with the following results: carbonate of lime, 54.25 per cent; carbonate of magnesia, 44.45 per cent; iron and silica (clay), 0.60 per cent. A little south of the original quarry face a bed of fancy and variegated marble was opened. It is mottled (white, yellow, gray, and black), and is penetrated by beautiful dendritic markings of manganese. The white quarries furnish any desired size of blocks; pieces of from 15 to 18 tons weight have been obtained. There is a quarry of beautiful yellow marble about half a mile north of the main workings. A deposit of black marble is utilized for floor tilings. The company ships the rough-dressed marble to its mills on the Truckee River, 18 miles west of Reno, where it is sawed and dressed ready for shipment. This company furnished the stone for the Mills Building, both inside and out, and many other buildings in San Francisco."
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Quarries circa 1913 (The following excerpt is from “California” (pdf), by G. F. Loughlin, in the Mineral Resources of the United States Calendar Year 1913, Part II. Nonmetals, United States Geological Survey, 1914, pp. 1360.)

“Marble. – The marbles of California have mostly been quarried from crystalline dolomite and limestone strata of Paleozoic age, although the limestones of Triassic, Jurassic, and early tertiary ages afford in places more or less suitable materials. The outlines of certain limestone and marble deposits of the State have been shown in a recent Survey bulletin.*....”

(* Footnote 1: “Eckel, E. C., Portland cement materials and industry in the United States, with contributions by E. F. Burchard and others: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 522, pl. 4, 1913.”)

“One of the most interesting deposits reported, not only in California but in all the Pacific States, is that exposed along the southwest base of the White Mountain and Inyo Range, between Keeler and Lone Pine, in Inyo County. It has been quarried on a commercial scale only at Inyo. The marble is a dolomite, generally fine grained and rather hard. Several varieties are available: Pure white; white mottled with yellow, gray, and black and penetrated by black dendritic markings of manganese oxide; yellow, similar to the Siena marble of Italy, but more distinctly granular and more closely resembling the Estromoz or so-called Lisbon yellow marble of Portugal; black, suitable for floor tilings. These marbles are distinctly harder than many eastern marbles and the foreign marbles which the resemble.*

(* Footnote 2: “This paragraph is abstracted from G. P. Merrill’s Stone for building and decoration, pp. 206-207, 1903. A brief account of the geology of the deposit is given by R. T. Hill in the Min. and Sci. Press, p. 86, July 20, 1912.”)

Inyo County, California - Inyo Marble Company (Marble) (Excerpts from Report XV of the State Mineralogist, Mines and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist's Report Biennial Period 1915-1916, Part I. Alpine County, Inyo County, Mono County, California State Mining Bureau, pp. 5-175.)

"Inyo Marble Company, D. H. Dunn et al., of Los Angeles, have filed locations on twenty-four 160-acre claims, along the total length of the marble outcrops, including the property of the old Inyo Marble Company. A spur track of the California and Nevada Railroad runs to the quarry. Water for working purposes is obtained from artesian wells. There are three openings along the outcrop, the largest and most important of which produces the white marble. When visited, large talus blocks of this white marble were being hand broken and shipped 7 miles south to the plant of the Natural Soda Products Company for generating carbon dioxide. (See Dolomite.) A number of large blocks of the white marble were lying at the base of the quarry, ready for shipment, but no further work was being done.

Bibl.: Rept. X, 215; Rept. XII, 392; Rept. XIII, 628; Bull. 50, pp. 99, 100; Mining and Sci. Press, July 20, 1912.

Photo No. 74. Marble Quarry of the Inyo Marble Co., north of Keeler.

(To view present-day photos of and information about the old Inyo Marble Co. quarries, see “Inyo Mountains” or “Inyo Mountain Range.”

Inyo County, California – the Inyo Marble Company (The following excerpt is from The Stone Cutters’ Journal, Vol. XXXVI, No. 3, March 1921, by the Journeymen Stone Cutters’ Association of North America, pp. 7. This book is available on Google Books – Full View Books.)

“Mountain of Inyo Marble Available,” by E. L. Duffy.

“Development in Inyo County making accessible America’s largest commercial marble deposit, which, according to a United States geological report, is a ‘mountain of marble six miles long, 3,000 feet wide and 600 feet high.’ were pronounced complete yesterday by Robert H. Tune, secretary of the Inyo Marble Company. An exclusive contract to handle the marble in Los Angeles has been made with the Sierra Marble and Tile Company, a corporation newly formed for the purpose.

“The marble, of which the deposit contains twenty-four varieties is ‘fine grained and equal in texture to Italian marble, but much harder, firmer and more compact,’ according to ‘Stones for Building and Decoration,” a book by Prof. G. P. Merrill, curator of the United States National Museum, published recently.”
Inyo County, California – Inyo Marble Products Company President, Arland D. Dunn – (The following is an excerpt from a short biography of Arland D. Dunn, who had once guided the company, presented on EdgarOnline web site.

Arland D. Dunn, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board Las Vegas, Nevada

“Born in the high desert of eastern California, Mr. Dunn graduated Columbia Law School (With Special Recognition)...Returning to his roots, he joined the Inyo Marble Products Company in his native Inyo County, California. At that time, the company was the largest provider of marble and terrazzo in the United States. Mr. Dunn guided that company through a difficult period of contraction of basic natural resource industries in the United States, including dealing successfully with the then new environmental, safety and ecological regulation, while maintaining profitability and business growth. He earned his substantial equity position in Inyo Marble.”
Inyo County, California - Inyo Marble Company's Deposits (Marble) (Excerpt 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. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)

"Inyo Marble Company's deposits have been described in many Division of Mines reports since 1888, when the original company of this name began work. The marble is found on the southwest side of the Inyo Range from just east of Swansea on the narrow-gauge Nevada & California Railroad on the northeast side of Owens Lake, northwestward for several miles, rising steeply on the northeast from an elevation of 3700 feet. The railroad runs along the east side of the valley within less than 1 mile of the deposit for the entire distance.

"Work by the original Inyo Marble Company began in 1888. Near the surface the marble was found to be shattered, but later work made it possible to take out blocks weighing from 15 to 18 tons each. The early work was on a dense, white marble, about 3 miles northwest of Swansea. A little south of this a bed of white, yellow, gray, and black marble was found. About half a mile north, a quarry was opened in yellow marble, and a quarry of black marble, used for floor tiling was also worked. Marble production in Inyo County was recorded in Division of Mines reports from 1894-98; from 1903-07 inclusive, and in 1913-14. The total for these periods was 78,400 cubic feet valued at $219,300, all believed to have come from this property. Later production of marble in the county continued irregularly until 1930, but details are concealed. During the early periods of production at least up to 1908, the rough marble was shipped north over the railroad to Truckee where the old company had a marble sawing and dressing plant. The marble was used in the Mills Building and others in San Francisco.

"Sometime later, prior to 1916, the claims were idle and were allowed to lapse. They were relocated by the present owners who also took the name Inyo Marble Company. They filed on 24 association claims of 160 acres each. Of these, they have obtained patents for 320 acres in sections 10 and 11, 120 acres in section 24, and 40 acres in section 25, all in T. 16 S., R. 37 E., M. D.; also 200 acres in section 19 and 120 acres in section 30, both in T. 16 S., R. 38 E., M. D.

"Most of the marble production here has been white dolomite, fine grained and dense. W. A. Goodyear who wrote of the deposit in 1890 (see De Groot, H. 90, pp. 215-218)* considered that it had possibilities as statuary marble because of its uniform white color and texture where opened 200 feet above the foot of the mountain. Analysis made in 1890 by the State Mining Bureau showed 54.25 percent CaCO₃, 44.45 percent MgCO₃ and 0.60 percent iron and silica, indicating a nearly pure dolomite.

(* H. De Groot, "Inyo County," California Mining Bureau Report 10, pp. 209-218, 1890.)

"From 1915 until recently (circa 1947), dolomite has been produced and sold to soda plants around Owens Lake, and some has been shipped to Los Angeles for use in steel furnace lining and flux, and for stucco dash and terrazo. Due to expiration of patent rights to another process for making sodium carbonates, firms that formerly used dolomite and limestone to produce CO₂ gas for carbonation are said to have been turning to the use of the formerly restricted process, and are no longer burning limes. The quarry that served these plants reached a length of 1000 feet or more, and employed 35 men 20 years ago. At that time, considerable work was also done on the Golden Yellow quarry. This marble is golden yellow, brown, and white. It was exposed for a distance of 150 feet and a height of 200 feet. Six quarries in all were opened. Besides an air compressor and crushing plant, the main (Alco) quarry was equipped with derricks and marble saws."

Inyo County, California – Inyo Marble Company Marble (Dolomite) Quarrying, article entitled, “Marble,” presented on the Carson & Colorado Railway News web site. (The following excerpt is from this article.)

“Very high quality marble (dolomite) was first discovered in the Owens Valley in the mid-1880s. The Carson & Colorado railroad attempted to organize a company to mine it but failed. A new company - Inyo Marble Co. with J.M. Keeler as President and Israel Luce as superintentdent (sic) - took over and, by 1887 or 1888, was successfully quarrying and selling sawed blocks. Initially all work on the stone was done locally but, after awhile, the company realized it was cheaper to ship the rough dressed blocks to Marmol, on the Truckee river 18 miles south of Reno, for final dressing (Marble was quarried near Keeler, shipped to Moundhouse via the Carson and Colorado Railroad, then to Reno via the V and T, and then to Marmol on the CPRR. The Marmol plant was run by water power which was cheaper than the 100 HP steam plant formerly used at Dolomite)….”
Inyo County, California – Inyo Marble Works, Proprietor Charles Darby, 1907 (The following newspaper excerpt was transcribed by Betty Loose.)

“DARBY--Pioneer Dies--VERDI (Nev.), October 8 - Charles DARBY, proprietor of the Inyo Marble Works near here, and one of the first settlers of Verdi, died at his home at Marmol yesterday from ptomaine poisoning due to eating ripe fruit along with some canned goods. The deceased has been a resident of the Golden West for the past thirty years and resided for a time in San Francisco. He was a prominent member of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias of this city.” Source: Sacramento Evening Bee, 8 Oct 1907. Transcribed by Betty Loose.
Inyo County, California - Inyo Pit and Mill (Limestone) (active ca 1996) (active ca 1996) (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. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)

Mine name: Inyo Pit & Mill; Operator: F. W. Aggregates, Inc.; Address & County: P.O. Box 732, Lone Pine, CA 93545, Inyo County; Phone: (619) 876-4410; Latitude: 36.57, Longitude: -117.96, and Mine location number: Map No. 195; Mineral commodity: Limestone.
Lone Pine Area, Inyo County, California – “Inyo Marble Works Products Grace The West and Contributed To Our Economy,” by Chris Langley, Executive Director, Lone Pine Film History Museum, Exploring With The Backyard Historian, in the Territorial Review Monthly (online edition), May 2008, pp. 7. (The following article is used with the permission of the author Chris Langley.)

“Inyo Marble Works Products Grace The West and Contributed To Our Economy”

By Chris Langley, Executive Director, Lone Pine Film History Museum, Exploring With The Backyard Historian

“Sharp-eyed visitors from Highway 395 can see the white patterns of mineral left behind. They might realize they are piles of broken white dolomitic rock if they know mining.

“Travelers to and from Death Valley have no doubt what the gaping holes and the easily seen piles of rock and the evidence of mining mean. If they stop at the historic plaque placed by E. Clampus Vitus, they would know the story of Inyo Marble Company, at least in part. It is quite a story and continues today.

“The original deposit of marble was discovered in 1863, probably by miners looking for gold and silver. The Owens Valley Indian Wars were coming to a sad conclusion, and the miners had retreated because of the violence. They would soon be back searching the deposits and claims at Cerro Gordo, not too far away. Because of the remoteness of the area not much was done with the marble works until 1883.

“Soon the Carson and Colorado narrow gauge was arriving at its most southern stopping place in Keeler. It was always planned to go on to Mojave but with the subsiding of mining in most of the areas, the economic value of the line was called into question and investors didn’t see the advantage of risking more capital.

“In 1885 Drew Haven Dunn filed the mining claims for the marble and mining began. In recent times it was determined that the deposit was huge. It measured more than seven miles long and 1400 feet deep, so it was not going to run out any time soon.

“In 1887 the railroad line was extended two more miles two miles south of Keeler to the old Cerro Gordo boat landing named Diggville. The construction was forced because it was mandated in the original charter. Rumors abounded that the line was going to be continued to the original goal, but these stories proved to be unfounded.

“Also in 1887 a five mile spur was built to connect north of Keeler to the Marble Works now owned by

Israel Luce. While the narrow gauge did carry some marble, it amounted to 200 cars of white marble to be used in the construction of the Mills’ building in San Francisco.

“The Mills Building was badly damaged in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and pictures of the grand stair way made of Inyo Marble were circulated as a postcard.

“In 1900 Al Staudinger owned the Marble works, father in law of J.D. Black. While work in the area has continued, there have been changes in ownership. Most recently the works were bought by Premiere Marble Products in 1959. The F.W. Aggregates bought it in 1992.

“The beds of marble vary in color and thus are useful in different architectural projects. A historic geological report stated, “There is shown a large body of banded and variegated marble, free from cracks and flaws, so that large pieces can be obtained. The marble varies from nearly white to gray to black in bands, and often beautifully mottled and knotted.”

“Manuel Castro is the manager now and his generosity has made available large pieces of white marble for the placing of plaques and memorials. The Film History Museum has one such memorial placed by the Shriners and another can be seen at the Mortuary. Many other pieces have been placed throughout the Owens Valley and citizens should be appreciative of Mr. Castro’s civic mindedness.

“Interestingly man films have used the setting in different ways. Oil for the Lamps of China was filmed there starring Pat O’Brien. Nevada Smith, Digital Man, An Eye For an Eye and Tremors all used the area around the marble works to help make their scenes visually more interesting. The “saloon” from Nevada Smith can still be seen, although permission must be obtained from Mr. Castro.”

Inyo County, California – F. W. Aggregates Dolomite Quarries (present-day company) These quarries were originally discovered in the mid-1880s and opened and operated by the Inyo Marble Company for many years. Samples of the early dolomite (marble) quarried were submitted to the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa. According to Darci Moore, Curator at the museum, three specimens of Inyo County Marble from Keeler were submitted to the museum collection by Capt. Jim Keeler. They were collected on November 30th, 1887 from the Inyo Marble Company quarries. There are two white specimens and one yellow specimen, and these samples are still located today at the museum.)

In late September 2010, Pat and I visited the F. W. Aggregates quarry area; and you will see a few of the photographs from that trip below. Our “Inyo Dolomite/Marble Quarries Photographic Tour” presents photographs of what the dolomite quarries look like today along with some photographs of the ghost town of Dolomite and photographs of the Inyo Marble Quarry monument. (These quarries are located in the eastern foothills of the Owens Valley near Lone Pine in Inyo County; and they were known as the Inyo Marble Company quarries in the late 1800s.) Peggy B. Perazzo

F. W. Aggregates White Dolomite
quarries near Lone Pine, CA

F. W. Aggregates White Dolomite
quarry near Lone Pine, CA

F. W. Aggregates White Dolomite
quarry active today near
Lone Pine, CA

Active F.W. Aggregates White
Dolomite quarry at a distance
from the ghost town of Dolomite
near Lone Pine, CA

F.W. Aggregates dolomite quarries
near Lone Pine, CA

F.W. Aggregates Quarries
near Lone Pine, CA

Base of building displaying dolomites
of many colors quarried from the old
Inyo Marble Co. / present-day
F.W. Aggregates Quarries

Base of building displaying dolomites
of many colors quarried from the old
Inyo Marble Co. / present-day
F.W. Aggregates Quarries

White dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries near
Lone Pine, CA

Bronze dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries near
Lone Pine, CA

Inyo Gold dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries
near Lone Pine, CA

Inyo Gold dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries near
Lone Pine, CA

Inyo Gold dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries near
Lone Pine, CA

Inyo Gold dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries near
Lone Pine, CA

Inyo Gold dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries
near Lone Pine, CA

Inyo Gold dolomite from
F.W. Aggregates quarries
near Lone Pine, CA

White streaked dolomite
cemetery stone,
Mt. Whitney Cemetery,
Lone Pine, CA

Back of grey dolomite
cemetery stone,
Mt. Whitney Cemetery,
Lone Pine, CA

Grey dolomite cemetery stone,
Mt. Whitney Cemetery,
Lone Pine, CA

White dolomite
cemetery stone,
Mt. Whitney Cemetery,
Lone Pine, CA

Back of dolomite cemetery
stone (“Die - main stone - is
changing from white dolomite
to an Inyo Gold caused by
iron stain,” according to
Manual Castro of
F.W. Aggregates.),
Mt. Whitney Cemetery,
Lone Pine, CA

Dolomite Mine (Quarry) Memorial,
near Lone Pine, CA

Plaque on the Dolomite Mine
(Quarry) Memorial, near
Lone Pine, CA

Inyo County, California - Panamint Valley Limestone (Limestone) (active ca 1996) (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. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)

Mine name: Panamint Valley Limestone; Operator: Intermountain Mine Services; Address & County: P.O. Box 66, Trona, CA 93592, Inyo County; Phone: (619) 372-2113; Latitude: 36.16, Longitude: -117.41, and Mine location number: Map No. 203; Mineral commodity: Limestone.

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