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San Diego - List of Stone Quarries, Etc.*

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

Pala District, San Diego County, California – Emil Johnson and Sons (National Quarries) (Granite Quarry) (From Commercial 'Black Granite' of San Diego County, California, Special Report 3, by Richard A. Hoppin and L. A. Norman, Jr., State of California, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines, San Francisco, December 1950.")
No. 10 on "Figure 1. Index map of San Diego County granite quarries," located in the Pala District of San Diego County, produced a black stone, trade name "Pala Black granite." First year of production was 1946, last year of production was 1948.

Fig. 10. Transported boulders, Emil Johnson and Sons quarry, Pala.
- Pala District, San Diego County, California – the Emil Johnson and Sons Quarry (Granite/dimension stone) (from Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, County Report 3, by F. Harold Weber, Jr., Geologist, California Division of Mines and Geology, 1963, pp. 263. (Used with permission) (This book is available on the Internet Archive – Texts.)
  
  (Remarks and references) “See National Quarries in text.” (To see the bibliography that lists the books cited in the previous sentence, see the “Annotated Bibliographies” section of Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, pp. 283-309.)
- Pala District, San Diego County, California – Emil Johnson and Sons or Emil Johnson Brothers or Johnson Brothers Quarries (Granite)
  
  Also see:
  
  “Escondido, San Diego County, California – National Quarries (AKA Emil Johnson and Sons, Emil Johnson Brothers) (Granite)”
  
  “Vista District, San Diego County, California – Emil Johnson and Sons (Granite Quarry)”
Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Imperial Granite Co. (1881-1887) (Granite)(originally known as the Magee Quarry, et al.) (1988) (The following quotations are from “Investor Group Sues Pala Indians for Blocking Road to Granite Quarry,” September 1, 1988, Nancy Ray, Times Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times.

In the 1988 article, “Investor Group Sues Pala Indians for Blocking Road to Granite Quarry,” it was disclosed that a group of Iranian investor were trying to gain access to the black granite quarry located near the Pala Indian reservation filed suit against the “Pala Tribal Council and Albert Bradford, who owned the Agua Tibia Ranch. The investment group was doing business under the California corporation name of “Imperial Granite Co.” The suit charged that their access to the mine had been blocked.

According to the article, “The unnamed road leading to the granite quarry begins at Magee Road, crosses Indian reservation land, the Agua Tibia Ranch and another section of Indian land. It was built by the federal government as a Work Projects Administration project about 1933, according to the suit….”
- Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – Imperial Granite Company Quarry (1981-1987) – Closure of the unnamed access road to the Magee Granite Quarry off of Magee Road (The following information is from “Bosclair v. Superior Court (Imperial Granite Co.) (1990), 51 Cal. 3d 1140 [276 Cal. Rptr. 62, 801 P.2d 305], [No. S008470. Supreme Court of California. Dec 17, 1990.], Jerry Boesclair et al., Petitioners, v. The Superior Court Of San Diego County, Respondent; Imperial Granite Company, Real Party in Interest (Superior Court of San Diego County, No. N41357, Don Martinson, Judge.) on Law.justia.com.)
  
  According to this document, the granite quarry, which was originally named the Magee* granite quarry, is located on parcel 1, which is accessed via a dirt road off of Magee Road that crosses parcels 1 through 3. Parcels 1 and 2 “…are held in trust by the United States for the Pala Band. Parcel 2 was granted in fee to the Pala Band in 1973, but is subject to a 25-year trusteeship period by the United States. Parcel 3 is non-Indian land outside the borders of an Indian reservation, and is known as the Agua Tibia Ranch. The ranch is owned by the Bradfords, non-Indians.” (* In this document Robert Magee is shown as Robert McGee.)
  
  Robert Magee, a member of the Pala Band of Indians, purchased parcel 1 (the furthest piece of land away from Magee Road) from the United States in 1924. The United States built the road from parcel 1 (where the Magee granite is located) across parcels 1, 2, 3, and 4 to Magee Road. This document states that “Some time around 1955, the mining activity on parcel 1 was initiated. In 1981, Imperial (Granite Co.)* entered into a lease with the McGee family to operate the mine on that parcel.” (* Imperial Granite Company was backed by an Iranian investment group doing business under the California corporation name of Imperial Granite Company.)
  
  This legal document relates to the dispute that occurred “…when the Bradfords welded shut a gate that extends across the road on the Agua Tibia Ranch, thereby denying Imperial its sole means of egress to McGee Road.” The Imperial Granite Co. alleged “…that the Indian defendants acted in concert with the non-Indian defendants (the Bradfords) to obstruct the portion of the road running through the Agua Tibia Ranch.” The Pala Indian Tribe defendants contended that the road is part of Indian trust land and that they are free to deny access to the Imperial Granite Company.
  
  The Imperial Granite Co.’s position was “…that the road in question is manifestly public….”
  
  The matter went before the trial court and the Court of Appeal: “The Court of Appeal’s reason for upholding state court jurisdiction was somewhat different from that advanced by Imperial or the trial court....”
  
  The Supreme Court of California concluded on December 17, 1990, that the “…the trial court should have granted the Indian defendants’ motion to dismiss all claims of Imperial’s rights in that portion of the road that runs through parcels 2 and 4, which are Indian trust territory.”
- Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – Imperial Granite Company Quarry
  
  Also see: “Pala (near), San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry” below.

Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry (Gabbro / “Black Granite”) (Granite/dimension stone) This is the original name of the quarry – See list of companies below that operated the quarry:

This granite quarry (which is located east-northeast of Pala) was originally on (1) land held in trust for the Pala Band of Mission Indians by the United States which was (2) sold to Robert J. Magee in 1924 (Magee a member of the Pala Mission Band of Indians). The granite quarry was then operated by the: (3) Riverside Monumental Works; (4) National Quarries (aka Emil Johnson and Sons); (5) Allied Granite Company in 1958; and (6) Imperial Granite Company 1981-1987. (As far as I am know, this granite quarry is no longer in operation; and the unnamed dirt access road is closed. Peggy B. Perazzo)

Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry (Gabbro / “Black Granite”) (Granite/dimension stone) (from Geological Survey Bulletin, U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., 1949, pp. A13)

“The economic geology of the Pala district has been studied in detail by Jahns and Wright (1951), and the Rincon district by Hanley (1951). Both districts are on the southwest side of the Elsinore fault. They are characterized by an unusual abundance of pegmatite dikes that intrude the country rock. The pegmatite dikes commonly crop out as narrow ribs of light-colored rocks that are readily seen trending across the hillsides. The productive pegmatite dikes are in areas of gabbro, and the gem minerals and lepidolite are found only in erratically distributed ‘pockets’ in some of the pegmatite bodies. The principal gems are tourmaline, kunzite, and beryl in the Pala district and beryl in the Rincon district. The principal production of lepidolite in the Pala district has come from a single mine Most of the gems and lepidolite was produced from the Pala district during the period 1900-1922; by 1947 the value of the total recorded production was approximately three-quarters of a million dollars (Jahns and Wright, 1951). The quality of gems that have been produced from the Rincon district is not accurately known, but according to Weber (1963), less than $2,000 worth of gem minerals was mined during the main period of production.

“Dimension stone has been mined from the Magee quarry in the Pala district, in SE ¼ sec. 19, T. 9 S., R. 1 W., and mining operations there were in progress at the time of our reconnaissance. The quarry is in an area of gabbro on the west edge of the Elsinore fault zone as mapped by J. B. Hanley and others (unpub. data) and has been described by Hoppin and Norman (1950). The stone is a variety of gabbro that is referred to commercially as “black granite” and has been used mainly for monuments and facing stone. At the Magee quarry it is mined chiefly from transported and residual boulders.

“The production from the quarry has been small, and no reliable records are available of the total tonnage produced. According to Alvin I. Lodge, manager of Allied Granite Co., Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., the total production does not exceed a few tens of thousands of tons by all operators since the opening of the quarry. The Magee quarry is the smallest of a number of ‘black granite’ quarries in San Diego County.”

Pala District, San Diego County, California - McGee Quarry (Robert J. McGee) (Stone Quarry) (From Commercial 'Black Granite' of San Diego County, California, Special Report 3, by Richard A. Hoppin and L. A. Norman, Jr., State of California, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines, San Francisco, December 1950.")

No. 10 on "Figure 1. Index map of San Diego County granite quarries," located in the Pala District of San Diego County, produced a black stone. First year of production was 1922, last year of production was 1934.

Figure 16. Vertical west face of McGee quarry, near Pala, as it appeared in July 1947. Note large boulders in upper part of thick, well-defined "creep" layer, which also contains smaller boulders that show some exfoliation. The underlying residual material, with its large, spheroidally weathered boulders, is well exposed to the right of the man. Its sharp upper contact is elsewhere concealed by slumped debris and quarry waste.

Pala District, San Diego County, California – Riverside Monumental Works (Granite Quarry) (From Commercial 'Black Granite' of San Diego County, California, Special Report 3, by Richard A. Hoppin and L. A. Norman, Jr., State of California, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines, San Francisco, December 1950.")

No. 10 on "Figure 1. Index map of San Diego County granite quarries," located in the Pala District of San Diego County, produced a black stone, trade name "Mission Black granite." First year of production was 1945, last year of production was 1945.
Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry* operated by Allied Granite Co., Inc. in 1958 (Granite/dimension stone) (originally operated by Robert J. Magee; Riverside Monumental Works, & National Quarries) (from Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, County Report 3, by F. Harold Weber, Jr., Geologist, California Division of Mines and Geology, 1963, pp. 262. (This book is available on the Internet Archive – Texts. (* The Magee Quarry is located on Pala Band of Mission Indians Reservation.)

(Map No.) (blank) (Name of claim, mine, or group) Allied Granite Co.; (Location) (blank); (Owner name, address) Allied Granite Co., Inc., 1480 S. Lorena, Los Angeles (1958); (Geology) (blank).

(Remarks and references) “Operates Magee quarry near Pala, which…see.”
Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry (Granite) (from Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, County Report 3, by F. Harold Weber, Jr., Geologist, California Division of Mines and Geology, 1963. (This book is available on the Internet Archive – Texts.)

(pp. 258)

“In mid-1958, four companies were both quarrying and finishing granite in the county for use as dimension stone: Pacific Cut Stone Company, Alhambra (Escondido Quarries, Inc.); Allied Granite Company, Los Angeles, Pomona Granite Company, Pomona; and Valley Granite Company, Escondido. The National ‘Quarries, Inc., Escondido, was producing only unfinished stone. Five companies were finishing stone only: California Wire Sawyer Corporation, Lakeside; Clemens Granite Company, El Cajon; Escondido Granite Company, Escondido, Pyramid Granite Company, Escondido; and Southern California Granite Company, San Diego.”

(pp. 260)

“Pala Area (Black Granite). The Magee Quarry, which is northeast of Pala, has been operated intermittently from 1923 to the present. The rock quarried here is very dark gray gabbro, one of the darkest stones in the county. In mid-1958 the quarry was being operated by the Allied Granite Company, Los Angeles.”

(pp. 262)

(Map No.) (blank) (Name of claim, mine, or group) Allied Granite Co.; (Location) (blank); (Owner name, address) Allied Granite Co., Inc., 1480 S. Lorena, Los Angeles (1958); (Geology) (blank).

(Remarks and references) “Operates Magee quarry near Pala, which…see.”

(pp. 264)

(Map No.)* 424; (Name of claim, mine, or group) Magee quarry; (Location) NE ¼ SW ¼ SE ¼ sec. 19, T9S, R1W. SBM; Pala district, about 3 ¼ miles east-northwest of Pala;* (Owner name, address) Paul Magee and 2 brothers, Pala (1958); (Geology) Very dark gray gabbro which comprises boulders as large as 20 ft. in diameter. (* You can find the location of this quarry on Plate 10 near the end of the book at the link above. This map covers the Lakeside-Foster, the Escondido, and Vista areas of San Diego County. NOTE, the quarry is actually located “east-northeast” of the town of Pala not “east-northwest” of the town.)

(Remarks and references) “Property consists of 80 acres. Operated by Robert J. Magee from 1922 to 1934; by Riverside Monumental Works in 1945; by National Quarries from 1946 to 195…; and by Allied Granite Co. from 1957 to present (mid-1958). Riverside marketed the stone as ‘Mission black granite’. National Quarries (which also see) marketed the stone as ‘Pala black granite’ for use as monuments. (Hoppin and Norman 50:4, 7, 11, 18).” (To see the bibliography that lists the books cited in the previous sentence, see the “Annotated Bibliographies” section of Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, pp. 283-309.)
Pala, San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry (Gabbro / “Black Granite” /dimension stone) (from Geological Survey professional Paper, Volumes 1-1984, U. S. Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, 1984, pp. 166)

“…The Pala district, centered about 2 mi. west of the primitive area, had yielded gemstones and lepidolite valued at more than $750,000 by 1947 (Jahns and Wright, 1951), and it is estimated that at least an equal value has been produced since that time. (E. E. Foord, U.S. Geological Survey, oral commun., 1982). The Rincon district, centered about mi. south of the primitive area, has yielded beryl valued at less than $2000 (Weber, 1963). Gabbro has been mined at the Magee quarry just west of the Elsinore fault. It is referred to commercially as ‘black granite’ and is used for monuments and facing stone. Total production from the Magee quarry probably has not exceeded a few tens of thousands of tons.”

References for the above quotation:

Mineral Resources of the Agua Tibia Primitive Area, California, by W. P. Irwin, R. C. Greene, and H. K. Thurber, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1319-A, 1970, 19 pp.

Gem- and Lithium-bearing Pegmatites of the Pala District, San Diego County, California, by R. H. Jahns and L. A. Wright, California Division of Mines and Geology Special Report 7-A, 1951, 71 pp.

Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Magee Quarry* in April 2012 (Granite)

I tried to obtain permission to visit and photograph the Magee Quarry area recently, but I was told that the quarry is locked and not accessible. Information on the Magee Quarry may be available at the Cupa Cultural Center on the Pala Band of Mission Indians reservation. (* If anyone has photographs of the Magee Quarry area from recent years, please contact me. I would very much like to present the photographs in this section of our web site. Peggy B. Perazzo)
Pala (east-northeast of), San Diego County, California – the Riverside Monumental Works Quarry (Granite/dimension stone) (from Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, County Report 3, by F. Harold Weber, Jr., Geologist, California Division of Mines and Geology, 1963, pp. 265. (This book is available on the Internet Archive – Texts.)

(Remarks and references) “See Magee quarry. (Hoppin and Norman 50:7).” (To see the bibliography that lists the books cited in the previous sentence, see the “Annotated Bibliographies” section of Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego County, pp. 283-309.)

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