No history of the
opening or development of the stone quarries at Sandstone has ever
been written. Space here forbids anything but a meager outline.
The first opening
was made on the river bank about two hundred feet south of the
present quarry office, August 22, 1885. At that time the river bank,
the bluffs and in fact the whole region was thickly covered with
timber and a heavy growth of underbrush. This opening was made by
the writer, no other person being then interested in the enterprise.
The crew consisted of Daniel Ryan, foreman, John McCoy, Michael
McNamara, and John Randal, quarrymen, Orville C. Cox, blacksmith,
Michael Logue, cook, and Joseph Thomas, Henry Mapes and James
Campbell, lumber jacks, for cutting brush. This crew remained for
ten days, two or three days of which were too rainy for work. The
first picture of the quarry was taken some weeks later showing
however the only opening made and its condition, when the crew was
discharged. The stone at the upper right corner, was the first cut
in the quarry. During the progress of this work four loads of stone
were hauled by team to Hinckley and shipped to St. Paul. Col. R. A.
Smith having the honor of hauling the first load and Leavitt Reynolds
the second. One large block was sawed by Lauer Bros., and the
remainder cut by Matt Breen at his sheds on Court square, St. Paul,
and all exhibited at the state fair, where they attracted much
attention.
For the purpose of
introducing the stone the quarry was opened during the following
winter, giving employment to about thirty men, and 232 car loads were
quarried, hauled to Sandstone Junction, and from there shipped to St.
Paul, Minneapolis and Stillwater, during the summer of 1886.
Meantime the Kettle river railroad was constructed from the quarry to
the St. Paul & Duluth track and shipments of stone commenced
December 1, 1886.
About November 1,
1885, John P. Knowles became a partner with the writer in the
enterprise and so remained until the quarry was finally sold. In
December, 1886, the Kettle River Sandstone company was incorporated
with a capital stock of $200,000, the stock of which was owned by the
writer, John P. Knowles, Fred A. Hodge, James Hurley, and W. H.
Grant, Jr. This company never operated the quarry, but soon after
leased it to Ring & Tobin, who erected a four gang sawmill and
operated the quarry extensively until it was closed on account of the
panic in 1893. During 1887, 1888, and 1889, the quarry was worked on
a large scale, often giving employment to more than four hundred men.
The great fire of September 1, 1894 having destroyed the mill and
all other property in the quarry except the office and powder house,
The Minnesota Sandstone company succeeded to all other interests.
The present capital stock of the company is $100,000. It gives
steady employment to three hundred and fifty men, and last year
shipped two hundred and ninety car loads of stone. The shipments for
the first six months of the present year have been one thousand seven
hundred car loads.
Sandstone's
Gift Souvenir...c. 1899
