Bulletin No. 25. The Architectural, Structural, and Monumental Stones of Minnesota

Abstract

The stone industry in Minnesota began more than a century ago when limestone was quarried to build part of Fort Snelling. From this small beginning in the early history of the territory, the industry has progressed, with periods of fluctuations and retardation, until today it has become the second in value in the mineral production of the state. The stone industry now gives employment to hundreds of persons, from trained administrators and salesmen to quarrymen and skilled stonecutters and carvers. Early geological surveys demonstrated that the state was endowed with an unlimited supply and a great variety of building material. The results of these surveys were published in earlier reports by the Minnesota Geological Survey and by the United States Geological Survey. Since the publication of these reports new varieties of stone have been located and quarried for commercial purposes, and numerous new properties have been developed in widely separated regions within the state. Furthermore, great strides have been made in the methods of quarrying and fabricating stone. Modern machinery has eliminated much of the tedious manual labor, and wastage has been greatly reduced by the utilization of by-products. In this report an attempt is made to acquaint architects, building contractors, and real estate firms with the merits of the various structural and ornamental stones quarried and fabricated in Minnesota. Until recent years our stone products were used more extensively in distant states than within our own communities. Minnesota stones enjoyed a national reputation for beauty and adaptability before their merits were recognized by our local builders. Even today many architects and structural contractors do not realize that more than fifty distinct varieties of architectural stone are quarried and fabricated in this state.