Note: This web site, “Stone Quarries and Beyond Continues,” is a continuation of the original/legacy web site, “Stone Quarries and Beyond,” that was created over 20+ years ago by my late husband, Pat Perazzo. I can no longer add to or correct the original web site, although it will remain online as is. Future additions will be added to the new web site “Stone Quarries and Beyond Continues” and our Stone Quarries and Beyond Facebook page. Peggy B. Perazzo
Only the entry page for the Colorado state section is available at this time on the new web site. You will find the rest of the Colorado state page on the original web site Stone Quarries and Beyond using the links below.
Geology Resources – Colorado
- Colorado State Geological Survey (Below are only a few of the many resources available on the Colorado State Geological Survey web site.)
- Colorado Geological Survey Facebook Page
- Colorado Mineral Resources (The “Mineral Resources” section includes the following subjects: General, What are Minerals?, Abandoned Mine Lands, Gemstones, Image Gallery, Industrial Minerals, Maps, Metallic Minerals, Need for Minerals, Mineral Collecting, and Personnel.)
- Abandoned Mine Land
- Colorado Aggregate Resources Map ON-007-01 “This interactive map includes the digital versions of our sand, gravel, and quarry aggregate publications for most of the Front Range counties, Garfield County, and includes a statewide map of older quarry locations….”
- Colorado Mineral and Energy Industry Activities 2019-2020 IS-83 (available for free)
- Industrial Minerals (The “Industrial Minerals” section includes the following subjects: Aggregate, Dimension Stone, Image Gallery, Map, and Publications.)
- Aggregates
- Dimension Stone in Colorado
- Maps
- Colorado Geology (This section includes the following subjects: 19th Century Geology, Folian Geology, Fossils, Glacial Geology, Igneous Rocks, Image Gallery, Landforms, Links, Metamorphic Rocks, Meteorites, Sedimentary Rocks, Statewide Maps, Structures, Timescale, and Topography.)
- Field Trips – POGIs
- Gemstones
- The Geology Along The Trails West of the NCAR, by the Colorado Scientific Society. (Includes photographs and a map which includes the Lyons Sandstone and a nearby quarry in Lyons Sandstone.) (This page is now available on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.)
(From the web site) “This guide is essentially a ‘geologic treasure hunt’ where you find features of geologic interest along the trails west of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Using this guide, you will see many of the features that geologists study and use to interpret the geologic history of the Rocky Mountains. You will see various kinds of sedimentary rocks, see how these rocks control landforms, see fossils associated with these rocks, and observe changing environments over geologic time. As you follow this tour, you will be walking through time across older and older rocks.”
- Historic Mining Districts in Colorado
- Publications
- RockTalk “is a newsletter published by the Colorado Geological Survey dealing with all aspects of geology throughout the state of Colorado.” Back issues are available on the web site, and you can sign up to learn about new issues.
- Teacher Resources
- “A Brief History of Colorado Through Time (Geology of Colorado),” YouTube video by Interactive Geology Group, Colorado, November 2, 2015.
- Bureau of Mines Mineral Yearbooks, U. S. Geological Survey from 1932-1993. (For earlier years see: “Mineral Resources of the U.S.G.S. (for some of the years 1883 through 1931)” on Stone Quarries and Beyond Continues.
- Colorado geologic map data, U. S. Geological Survey.
- Colorado Geology, Colorado Encyclopedia.
- Colorado State Minerals Information (USGS)
- Colorado College – Department of Geology, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- Colorado Mineral Fact Sheets, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Colorado Minerals and Geology, by Amy Zimmer, March 12, 2019, Colorado State Publications Blog: Time Machine Tuesday.
- “Colorado,” Onyx Marble and Travertine, Information Circular, Issue 6751, United States Bureau of Mines, December 1933, pp. 9, 10.
- Colorado Rockhounding Location Guide & Map on Rockhound Resource.
- Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado.
- Colorado State University – Warner College of Natural Resources – Natural Resources, Fort Collins, Colorado.
- Colorado’s Official State Rock – Yule Marble, web site presented by Netstate. (photographs, history, & resources)
- “Contact versus Regional Metamorphism: The Secret to Yule Marble’s Unrivaled Quality. To Understand the Supreme Quality of Colorado Yule Marble You Need To Know The Difference Between Contact and Regional Metamorphism.” Posted on August 1, 2019 by Martin Cooney, Stone Sculptor.
- Fort Lewis College – Geology, Durango, Colorado.
- Geologic Story of the Great Plains, by D.E. Trimble, A nontechnicaldescription of the origin and evolution of the landscape of the Great Plains, Geological Survey Bulletin 1493, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 980, 1989.
- “Geology of Colorado” section of Wikipedia.
- Geoscience Links, Colorado Scientific Society.
- Mesa State College – Geology Department, Grand Junction, Colorado.
- Metropolitan State College of Denver-Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Denver, Colorado.
- The Minerals of Colorado and Area Locations, State of Colorado Bureau of Mines Circular No. 2, by G. A. Franz, Jr., Deputy Commissioner of Mines, August 1, 1960.
- National Geologic Map Database, presented by the United States Geologic Survey.
- Prairie Peak and Plateau, by John Chronic and Halka Chronic, the Project Gutenberg EBook.
- “Rainbow of Rocks: Mysteries of Sandstone Colors and concretions in Colorado Plateau Canyon Country,” by Marjorie A. Chan and William T. Parry, Public Information Series 77, Utah Geological Survey.
- Rock & Mineral Shows, GeoSites, Museums, Gem & Bead Shows in Colorado.
- Travels in Geology: Touring geologic time in Colorado Springs, by Terri Cook and Lon Abbott, June 6, 2018, Earth: The Science Behind the Headlines.
- University of Northern Colorado: Earth Sciences Colorado State Geological Survey (Below are only a few of the many resources available on the Colorado State Geological Survey web site.
- Colorado Geological Survey Facebook Page
The following links are to photographs at the site of the History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library.
Copyright and Restrictions for the Denver Public Library Collection apply (for items below). Check this site for the Copyright and Restrictions made by the Denver Public Library, the owner of the original materials sited here.
General Stone Quarry Photographs from the American Memories Collection.
(For Yule Marble Quarry photographs, see section below this one.)
The following links are from the American Memory Historical Collections for the National Digital Library, Library of Congress. By using their on-site search engine and using search words such as “quarry” or “quarries” plus “colorado,” (Combining the two words is important as the collection covers locations outside of the state of Colorado.) I was able to find the following photographs. I was unable to retain the links that the search generated, so I have listed the photographs I found in the search using the above words so that you can use the Search to locate these same photographs. Peggy B.Perazzo
- “A man stands near the main mining area of probably the Pikeview Quarry near Cascade, El Paso County, Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “A miner poses on a pile of rocks near pneumatic tripod drills at a quarry possibly in Colorado. A piece of rock is ready to be hoisted by a crank with a lock snatch block nearby.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “A miner poses with a miner’s candle at the entryway to a stone quarry tunnel in Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “A miner poses with a mallet and miner’s candle in a stone quarry tunnel in Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “A miner poses near a tramway probably at the Pikeview Quarry near Cascade, El Paso County, Colorado. Wheelbarrows are near the tracks.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “A miner poses near probably the Peakview Quarry near Cascade, El Paso County, Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Crushed stone storage. View of a stone storage building at a quarry in Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Funicular to Strauss Marble Quarry. View of a funicular cable tram and ore car used to move marble between the Strauss Quarry and rail terminal, above Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado.” (1912?)
- “Granite(e) Mine (lower left) Portland Gold Mining Co. Shaft No. 2 (center horizon). View of the Granite Mine and tramway near Victor (Teller County), Colorado. A miner pushes a mine ore car on the tramway. The shafthouse of a Portland Mine is in the distance.” (1895)
- “Granite mine. View shows buildings of the Granite mine, Poverty Gulch, Teller County, Colorado.” (between 1880 and 1910?)
- Hauling marble 9300 ft above sea level – Marble, Colorado (1908 or 1909?)
- “Main Street, Marble, Colo. Frame commercial buildings flank dirt street in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado. One in the foreground has an exterior stairway; mountains are in the background.” (between 1900 and 1908?)
- “Miners pose near an ore car at the entrance to a stone quarry tunnel in Colorado.”(between 1890 and 1910)
- “Miners pose near a wagon loaded with marble slabs and guy derrick at the Kerr Stone Company marble quarry near Howard, Fremont County, Colorado. A quarry building and tent are nearby. Light snow covers the ground.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Miners pose near the Rawlins Grey Sandstone Quarry near Rawlins, Wyoming. One man poses on a slab of sandstone that is hoisted by a stiff leg derrick. A quarry building is nearby.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Miners pose near a building at the Kerr Stone Company quarry near Howard, Freemont County, Colorado. A rock slab that reads: “The Kerr Stone Co. PO Box 1027 Denver, Colo. 18.0 3.0 3.0″ is near a pump.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Miners pose near the tramway and entrance to a stone quarry tunnel in Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Rawlins grey sandstone quarries: the Kerr Marble and Stone Company. Miners pose in a sandstone quarry near Rawlins, Wyoming. The machinery includes a stiff leg derrick with crane, tripod drill, and boiler on a rail track. A quarry building is nearby.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View from probably the Pikeview Quarry near Cascade, El Paso County, Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View of a stone mill and tramway near a stone quarry in Colorado Stone.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View of the end of a quarry tramway from probably the Pikeview Quarry near Cascade, El Paso County, Colorado. The tracks of the Midland Terminal Railway (MT) are nearby.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View of a tunnel entrance at probably the Pikeview Quarry near Cascade, El Paso County, Colorado. Light snow covers the ground.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View of the Kerr Stone Company marble quarry near Howard (Fremont County), Colorado. A portable fire box boiler is suspended by a hand powered guy derrick nearby.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View of the Kerr Stone Company marble quarry near Howard (Fremont County), Colorado. Hand powered guy derricks and a building are nearby. Light snow covers the ground.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View, from a distance, of a stone quarry operation in Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Miners work in the Kerr Stone Company marble quarry near Howard (Fremont County), Colorado. Hand powered guy derricks, a building, and water tank are nearby. Light snow covers the ground.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Miners work with pneumatic drills in a rock quarry, possibly in Colorado. A crane with a lock snatch block is prepared to hoist a piece of rock.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “Stone quarry near Morrison, Colorado.” Men in suspenders and hats pose near Morrison, Jefferson County, Colorado, at a stone quarry. A man holds reins of a horse pulling a scoop; piles of rock are nearby. Steep, stratified sandstone is in the background.” (January 30, 1893.)
- “Strauss Quarry, surface workings of the quarry at Marble, Colorado. View of Strauss Quarry shows a revolving derrick and a horizontal drilling machine fed by compressed air lines, near Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado.” (1909)
Photographs Regarding Yule Marble Quarries
(American Memories Collection)
The following links are from the American Memory Historical Collections for the National Digital Library, Library of Congress. By using their on-site search engine and using search words such as “quarry” or “quarries” plus “colorado,” (Combining the two words is important as the collection covers locations outside of the state of Colorado.) The following photographs are related to the Yule Marble quarries. You could add the search word “Yule” to narrow the search down to photographs related to these quarries. I found I was unable to retain the links that the search generated, so I have listed the photographs I found in the search using the above words so that you can use the Search to locate these same photographs. Peggy B. Perazzo
- A core of solid statuary marble: 11 ft long, 2 3/4 in diameter, taken by diamond drill from a depth of 235 ft below the surface, showing the vastness of the deposit Quarries at Marble, Colo. (between 1910 and 1920?)
- “At work in the quarry. Miners work with pneumatic drills on a rail track at a rock quarry near Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado.” (between 1910 and 1930)
- “Block of marble being loaded. View of a large block of marble being loaded onto a flatbed rail car, Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado.” (1912)
- “Building for storage of Colorado – Yule Marble Co’s supplies for quarry, mill, etc: Marble, Colo., April. This storage building in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, is next to tracks of the Crystal River & San Juan Railroad. A cylindrical, wooden water tank is adjacent; the end of the structure is scaffolded. Tracks and snow are in the foreground, slopes are in the background.” (1907)
- “Circular saw at finishing mill of Colorado-Yule Marble Co. Marble, Colo. Men work in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, at the Colorado-Yule Marble Company finishing mill. Two squat on the sawtable by a block of stone, another operates levers. Interior wooden beams cross overhead by the circular sawblade; hoses, ropes and gears are in the background.” (1913)
- “Colo. Yule Marble Co. plant, Marble, Colo. Bird’s eye view of Colorado Yule Company marble processing plant, Marble, Colorado; shows shipping and receiving area, Crystal River and San Juan Railroad siding and track by mill with box cars, caboose, and open flat cars; housing (wooden frame buildings) in Aspen grove on hillside; facility closed in 1941.” 1913?
- “Colo. Yule Marble Co. Quarries, Marble Colo. Interior view of a marble quarry at the Colorado-Yule Marble Company Quarries in Marble, Colorado; shows three channeling machines with channeling tracks on ledge and wooden timbers attached to a metal wheel (perhaps hoisting equipment).” (1913?)
- “Colo. Yule Marble Co. quarries, Marble, Colo. Exterior view of mine buildings, adits, and quarries of Colorado Yule Marble Company, Marble, Colorado; large crane anchored by cables to quarry wall, mine tram tracks, wooden barrels atop roof, tram pulley system, wooden steps or ladder alongside quarry; marble scraps or refuse below wooden frame building; facility closed in 1941.” (1913?)
- “Colo. Yule Marble Co. quarries, Marble, Colo. View towards Colorado Yule Marble Company quarries from tramway below entrances, Marble, Colorado; wooden steps (stairway with railing) leads to upper adits and buildings; crane is anchored to quarry walls with pulley system below on tramway track; refuse or discard piles of marble are below wooden frame mine buildings; facility closed in 1941.” (1913?)
- “Colorado-Yule Marble finishing mill. Men work in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, at the Colorado – Yule Marble finishing plant. Wearing aprons, sweater and hats, they hold scrapers and sponges, and tend a block of stone supported by wooden beams. Windows line the upper interior walls of the shed, and others work in the background.” (between 1908 and 1920?)
- “Entrance Colo. Yule Marble Co. Quarries, Marble Colo. View of the entrance to the Colorado-Yule Marble Company Quarry located in Marble, Colorado; shows railroad track at center with flatcar, a standing man is dwarfed by a wooden boom, spools of cable labeled “Eschen.” Wedges are driven into marble wall with propped wooden ladders.” (1913?)
- “Finishing of Cleveland Column. View of a marble column on a lathe in the Colorado-Yule Marble Company’s mill near Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado.” (between 1900 and 1910)
- In the workshop, Colorado-Yule Marble Company, Marble, Colorado (between 1910 and 1917?)
- “In the workshop, Colorado-Yule Marble Company, Marble, Colorado. work in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, in the Colorado – Yule Marble Company’s mill “B”. Carts of stone are on central tracks, flanked by worktables. The workers have buckets of water and handtools; lightbulbs hang from interior overhead beams, and a stove is to the side. Drive belts, pulleys and flywheels are in the background; signs read: “No Admittance Apply at Office,” and “No Smoking.” (between 1910 and 1917?)
- “In the workshop, Colorado-Yule Marble Company, Marble, Colorado. Men work in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, in the Colorado- Yule Marble Company’s mill “B”. Carts of stone are on central tracks, flanked by worktables. The workers have buckets of water and handtools; lightbulbs hang from interior overhead beams, and a stove is to the side. Drive belts, pulleys and flywheels are in the background; signs read: “No Admittance Apply at Office,” and “No Smoking.” (between 1910 and 1917?)
- “Hauling marble 9300 ft. above sea level. Near Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, the Best steam tractor pulls wagons loaded with fresh quarried stone, crossing a log bridge over the Crystal River. Cal Adams drives the conveyance; mountains are in the background.” (1908 or 1909?)
- “Marble. Men move slabs of marble along a trolley line and with a crane in the long storage and sorting yard of the Colorado Yule Marble Company Quarry, Marble, Colorado. The mill where the stone is cut and polished is adjacent.” (between 1910 and 1915)
- “Marble mill, Marble, Colo. View shows the Marble mill belonging to the Colorado Yule Marble Company in Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado. Company housing lines a street in the background.” (between 1900 and 1910?)
- “Marble, Colorado. A miner uses a pneumatic tripod drill at the Colorado Yule Marble quarry near Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1900)
- “Marble, Colorado. Miners work with pneumatic drills on rail tracks at the Colorado Yule Marble quarry near Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado” (between 1890 and 1900)
- “Marble loading facilities and electric tramway terminal at Yule Marble Co. quarry above Marble, Colorado. Men of the Yule Marble Company load numbered marble blocks on flatbed rail cars of the Treasury Mountain Railroad above Marble, Pitkin County, Colorado. A steep wood stairway leads to quarry on face of Ragged Mountain.” (1912?)
- “Marble mining. View shows mining equipment precariously aligned on an exposed vein of marble at the quarries of the Colorado Yule Marble Company, Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado.” (between 1900 and 1930?)
- “Marble quarry of the Yule Marble Co. on Yule Creek: south of Marble, Colorado. View of Yule Marble quarry in Marble, Colorado; shows buildings, a crane, and terraced slopes.” (1907)
- “Marble – Strauss Quarry of Yule Marble Co. across the valley of Yule Creek from the Yule Quarry. View of men at the Strauss Quarry in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado; also shows equipment and a rotating crane.” (1912?)
- “Marble mining. View shows men working at the quarries of the Colorado Yule Marble Company, Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado.” (between 1900 and 1930?)
- “Men drill in the huge chunks of marble, probably at the Colorado Yule Marble Company quarry, Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado. Trolley tracks are used to move equipment and blocks of marble.” (between 1910 and 1912)
- “Men move slabs of marble along a trolley line and with a crane in the long storage and sorting yard of the Colorado Yule Marble Company Quarry, Marble, Colorado. The mill where the stone is cut and polished is adjacent.” (between 1910 and 1915)
- “One mile of rails, for siding, in foreground: Property of Colorado-Yule Marble Co., Marble, Colo. Men pose at the Colorado-Yule property in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado, by an engine and car of the Crystal River & San Juan Railroad. Lettered on car: “Way Car 01. Marble Line.” Rail is stacked in the foreground.” (April 1907)
- “Receiving [sic] and shipping yard, Colo. Yule Marble Co., Marble, Colo. View of shipping and receiving yard for Colorado Yule Marble Company, Marble, Colorado; shows marble mill processing plant with large slabs of marble stacked next to Crystal River and San Juan Railroad siding, open box car, conveyor track or belt system; Treasury Mountain is in background right; printed identification on blocks of marble include “No.2, 7×3-8x3x3,16126″ and No.4,6x5x2,1526?”; facility closed in 1941.” (1913?)
- “Sawing marble, Colo. Yule Marble Co. plant, Marble, Colo. Interior view of Colorado Yule Marble Company processing plant and mill, Marble, Colorado; shows slabs of marble ready for cutting, saw equipment and machinery, and processed or cut flat slabs of marble; facility closed in 1941.” (1913?)
- “View of a marble yard at a mill in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado.” (between 1890 and 1910)
- “View of men working at the quarries of the Colorado Yule Marble Company, Marble (Gunnison County), Colorado. Shows a boiler and hoisting equipment.” (between 1900 and 1930?)
- Yule Marble Quarries (between 1900 and 1920?) Some dressed marble at the Colorado Yule Marble quarries, Marble, Colo.
- Yule Marble finishing mill (between 1908 and 1920?)
- “Yule-Marble finishing mill. The Colorado-Yule Marble Company’s finishing mill in Marble, Gunnison County, Colorado under construction; lumber and company houses are nearby. Freight cars are on the tracks of the Crystal River & San Juan Railroad near the Crystal River. The town and Beaver Lake are in the background.” (between 1906 and 1909?)
- “Yule quarry, crane and power house facilities of the Yule Marble Co.: near the head of Yule Creek, south of Marble, Colorado. View of the Yule Marble quarry, in Marble, Colorado; shows a crane, buildings, cable and pulleys, a suspended block of stone, a gondola, and men working.” (1910?)
Stone Carvers, Stone Cutters, Sculptors, etc., in Colorado
- Images of Colorado Stone Carvers & Sculptors on Google Images.
- Martin Cooney, Sculptor & Banker Mason in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
- James Goss – Stone Sculptures of White Yule Marble from Colorado.
- Gary D. Grossman, Sculptor, G. Grossman’s Fine Art – Visit Gary Grossman’s web site to view photographs of California soapstone, Colorado alabaster, Kansas Tuxedo limestone, Kansas Cottonwood limestone, Virginia steatite, Wisconsin sandstone, Nova Scotia blue anhydrite, and Brazilian soapstone.
- John Earl Herschberger, the Man who Carved the Lions – Mr. Herschberger worked on the Mormon Battalion Monument Article by Dick Dixon, Colorado Central Magazine, January 1998.
- Dan Hinton, Stone Sculptor, Dan Hinton Art / Wind Wraith Design, Denver, Colorado.
- Steve Kestrel, Colorado Sculptor, in Redstone Canyon, Colorado.
- Francisco Sotomayor, Sculptor, Francisco’s Fine Art, Divide, Colorado.
- Larry Terrafranca, Stone Carvers Guild, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- Madeline Wiener, Stone Carver, Madeline Wiener Sculpture, Denver, Colorado.