, CALIFORNIA
The stone quarries on the list below are from various books. For the books
published after 1922, I only have permission to post the entries on our web
site; so if you wish more information, feel free to contact me directly.
(Please note that gravel and sand quarries will usually not be listed. Some
of the quarries are listed in multiple locations due to the location in the
entry. There may be other Mariposa County stone quarries that are not on
the list below.)
1. Bagby (1 ½ miles from), Mariposa County, California – Welsh and Forney
Limestone Deposit (Limestone) (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.)
“Welsh and Forney deposit is 1 ½ miles from Bagby and within 1 mile of the
line of Yosemite Valley Railroad which has, however, stopped freight
service...George WELSH and J. W. FORNEY, Bagby, were the last known owners.”
2. Bear Valley, Mariposa County, California – Schist Quarrying (From
“Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother Lode
Country, Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of
Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.)
“The little hamlet of Bear Valley, first named Simpsonville, is the site of
a once important town in which John C. FREMONT made his home. Several old
stone buildings are still in use (circa 1948). All are made of schist
slabs, set in lime mortar and plastered over with stucco...A local source
for the stone building material is indicated by evidences of quarrying in
schist outcrops within the town....”
3. Briceburg (near), Mariposa County, California – Briceburg Limestone
Quarry (From Geology of Northern California, Bulletin 190, Edgar H. BAILEY,
Editor, United States Geological Survey, California Division of Mines and
Geology, Ferry Building, San Francisco. 1966, “Economic Mineral Deposits of
the Sierra Nevada,” by William B. CLARK (Limestone and Limestone Products,
p. 212.)
“The production of limestone and limestone products is now (circa 1966) the
largest segment of the mineral industry in the Sierra Nevada, amounting to
10’s of millions of dollars a year. Crystalline limestone and dolomite, the
basic source rocks, occur as lenses in various types of metamorphic rocks
and granitic rock...The largest masses are in the Sonora-Columbia area of
Tuolumne County, but extensive deposits are in Plumas, El Dorado, Amador,
Calaveras, Mariposa, Kern, and Tulare Counties. The principal districts
producing commercial limestone at present (circa 1966) area at Cool,
Shingle Springs, and Diamond Springs, El Dorado County, where most of it is
used in beet sugar refining or the manufacture of lime; San Andreas,
Calaveras County, where it is quarried for cement by the Calaveras Cement
Co.; Columbia and Sonora, Tuolumne County, where terrazzo stone and lime
are made, and Tehachapi, Kern County, the site of the Monolith Cement Co.
operation. At one time limestone was quarried near Briceburg Mariposa
County, for use in a cement plant in Merced County....”
4. Briceburg (1 mile from), Mariposa County, California – O’Brien Limestone
Deposit (Limestone) (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.)
“O’Brien limestone deposit is in N ½ NE ¼ sec. 11, T. 4 S., R. 18 E., M.D.,
about 1 mile from Briceburg, a point on the Merced-Yosemite Valley highway,
and 50 miles from Merced. Miss Ethel R. O’BRIEN, 1534 Clay Street, San
Francisco, and others, are the owners. The 80 acres of land is patented and
rises about 800 feet above the highway on the southeast side of Merced
River, which is about a mile distant. A road connects the deposit with the
highway.
“No production has been made from the deposit and it has not been developed
sufficiently to prove tonnage....”
“Two-thirds of deposit is said to be of the mottled limestone (no. 3.)”
(The other two colors listed in the chart, which is not presented here, are
white and black.)
Photo caption: (pg. 210) Plate 28- A. Part of Outcrop – O’Brien limestone
deposit near Briceburg, Mariposa County. Photo by courtesy of Ethel R. O’Brien.
5. Cotton Creek, Mariposa County, California – Cotton Creek Limestone
Deposit (Limestone) (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.)
“Cotton Creek deposit is a small body of limestone in the Mariposa
(Jurassic) slate in sec. 18, T. 4 S., R. 16 E., M.D., just north of Cotton
Creek.”
6. Coulterville (east of), Mariposa County, California – Bower Cave
Limestone Deposits (Limestone) (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.)
“Bower Cave deposits are two good-sized lenses of limestone extending
southeast for a total distance of about 2 miles from Bower Cave, a small
cavern in limestone on the North Fork of Merced River in sec. 19, T. 2 S.,
R. 18 E., about 10 miles east of Coulterville.”
7. Coulterville, Mariposa County, California – Schist and Soapstone
Quarrying (From “Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt:
The Mother Lode Country, Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California
Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.)
“Among the most interesting of the buildings in Coulterville are the ruins
of a stone hotel. It is constructed of flat laid schist slabs (Fig.
28)...Adjacent to this group is a schist quarry, the source of part of the
building material...Several brick buildings may be seen as well as a few
made of schist slabs....”
8. El Portal (southwest of), Mariposa County, California – F. A. Bondshu,
J. F. Harris, C. P. Pratt and J. W. Pratt - Marble Deposit (Marble)
(Excerpt from “Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines and Mineral
Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist’s
Report – Biennial Period 1913-1914,” Part IV. “The Counties of Fresno,
Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,” by F. L.
LOWELL, Field Assistant (field work in July, 1914), California State Mining
Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 427-634.)
“There is a very fine marble located in Sec. 2, T. 4 S., R. 19 E., M.D.M.,
6 miles southwest of El Portal on the road to Hites Cove and on the south
fork of the Merced River. It is owned by F. A. BONDSHU, J. F. HARRIS, C. P.
PRATT and J. W. PRATT of Mariposa. The limestone is about 3000 feet wide
and stands 600 feet from the river. The marble is white with dark streaks
through it and takes a fine polish.”
Photo caption: (pg. 601) Croppings of white marble on the south fork of the
Merced River near Hites Cove, Mariposa County, California.
9. Exchequer, Mariposa County, California – Yosemite Stone Quarry (Diorite)
(Excerpt from “Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines and Mineral
Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist’s
Report – Biennial Period 1913-1914,” Part IV. “The Counties of Fresno,
Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,” by F. L.
LOWELL, Field Assistant (field work in July, 1914), California State Mining
Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 427-634.)
“Yosemite Stone Quarry. This property consists of 40 acres of patented land
owned by the Ransome-Crummey Company of Oakland and located on the Merced
River at Exchequer on the Yosemite Valley Railroad. The rock is a fine
grained diorite and the dike is about 500 feet wide between the walls of
slate. The equipment consists of an air compressor and 5 machine drills, a
blacksmith shop, gravity tram, two 5-ton cars, 5 Gates gyratory crushers,
elevating buckets, 10 motors, one 100-ton ore bin, a large crane, office,
and superintendent’s house. Power is supplied by the San Joaquin Light and
Power Company and 20 men are employed at the present time.”
Photo caption: (pg. 603) Ransome-Crummey rock crusher at Exchequer, on the
Merced River and Yosemite Valley railroad, Mariposa County, California.
10. French Mills, Mariposa County, California – Schist Quarrying (From
“Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother Lode
Country, Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of
Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.)
“A mile and a half south of Coulterville and three-quarters of a mile west
of highway 49, are the ruins of the mine buildings and houses of the old
site of French Mills. At present (circa 1948), the remains consist of a
boiler house…, a series of retaining walls…, and several stone foundations,
all constructed of schist slabs set in mud mortar and stucco covered. The
source of this building material can be seen in the extensive quarrying of
local outcrops.”
Photo caption: (pg. 103) Fig. 26. Schist quarry, French Mills....
11. Greely Mountain, Mariposa County, California – Soapstone Quarrying
(From “Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother
Lode Country, Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of
Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.)
“Among the most interesting of the buildings in Coulterville are the ruins
of a stone hotel. It is constructed of flat laid schist slabs (Fig. 28) but
the front is covered with neatly dressed blocks of soapstone (Fig. 32). The
soapstone facing blocks are said to have been quarried on the GORDON Place
at Greely Mountain....”
12. Hornitos, Mariposa County, California – Schist Quarry (From “Geologic
Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother Lode Country,
Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of Mines, San
Francisco, California, 1949.)
“...The schist for the several stone-mud buildings was quarried in the
center of town (Hornitos) (Fig. 13)....”
Photo caption: (pg. 99) Fig. 13. Schist quarry in Hornitos....
13. Jasper Point, Mariposa County, California – Yosemite Rock Quarry
(Quartzite) (Excerpt from “Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines and
Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State
Mineralogist’s Report – Biennial Period 1913-1914,” Part IV. “The Counties
of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,”
by F. L. LOWELL, Field Assistant (field work in July, 1914), California
State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 427-634.)
“Yosemite Rock Quarry. This quarry consists of 80 acres owned by the Merced
Stone Company and leased by the E. B. & A. L. Stone Company, Rialto
Building, San Francisco. The quarry and plant are located on the Merced
River at Jasper Point in Sec. 19, T. 3 S., R. 16 E., M.D.M. The rock is an
altered quartzite, very hard and of a jaspery nature. The equipment
consists of a steam shovel, compressor and air drills, three gyratory
crushers, screens, bucket conveyors, bins, electric monitors, power line
and transformer house. Power is obtained from the San Joaquin Light and
Power Company. The capacity of the plant is 750 tons per ten hours and the
rock is sold at from 20 to 30 cents per ton on the cars of the Yosemite
Valley Railroad. Only a few men were at work when the property was visited.”
Photo caption: (pg. 602) Merced Stone Company’s rock quarry at Jasper Point
on the Merced River and the Yosemite Valley Railroad, Mariposa County,
California.
14. Jenkins Hill, Mariposa County, California – Emory Limestone Quarry
(Limestone) (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.)
“Emory quarry is at Jenkins Hill on the north side of Merced River in secs.
7 and 8, T. 3 S., R. 19 E., M.D. For 17 years it was the source of
limestone for Yosemite Portland Cement Corporation which operated a plant 2
miles from Merced from 1927-44, when operation ended and the cement plant
was removed.
“The limestone quarry floor is 800 feet above the railroad tracks. The
outcrop rose several hundred feet higher and extended for half a mile....
“The cement plant was described in detail in “Rock Products,” June 11, 1927.”
15. Mariposa, Mariposa County, California – the Mormon Bar Granite Quarry
(From “Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother
Lode Country, Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of
Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.)
“...The jail (Fig. 7) which sits on the hill at the southern end of town
(Mariposa) is made of dressed granite blocks from Mormon Bar two miles
south of Mariposa. This granite is significant as it comes from the
intrusion which terminates the Mother Load on the south…”
Photo caption: (pg. 97) Fig. 7. Jail, Mariposa....
Mariposa, Mariposa County, California – the Mormon Bar Granite Quarry
The Mormon Bar Granite Quarry was located south of Mariposa. According to
local sources, there is no longer any evidence that there was a quarry on
the site.
16. Mariposa, Mariposa County, California – Soapstone Quarried (From
“Geologic Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother Lode
Country, Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of
Mines, San Francisco, California, 1949.)
“...Of the old stone buildings, the most accessible is the present (circa
1948) Butterfly Grocery whose exposed inner walls are built of soapstone
set in mud mortar. Source of the soapstone is the hillslopes immediately
east of the town....”
17. Mariposa County, California – Cunningham Slate Quarry (Slate) (Excerpt
from “Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines and Mineral Resources of
Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist’s Report – Biennial
Period 1913-1914,” Part IV. “The Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera,
Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,” by F. L. LOWELL, Field
Assistant (field work in July, 1914), California State Mining Bureau, San
Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 427-634.)
“Cunningham Slate Quarry. Consists of slate land located in Secs. 6, 7, 8,
and 17, T. 7 S., R. 17 E., M.D.M., and owned by the Cunningham Corporation
of Planada, Merced County. The quarry was leased from Cunningham by D. J.
GONYER for fifteen years. The quarry is developed and a good quality of
roofing slate produced. It is not working at present (circa 1914).”
18. Mariposa County, California – W. M. FREW – Limestone Deposit
(Limestone) (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.)
“W. M. FREW, Ben Hur Post Office, has reported having a large deposit of
high-grade limestone. No details are available.”
19. Mariposa County, California – Limestone Outcrop on the Mariposa Grant
(Limestone) (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.)
“A mile northeast of Mount Bullion, on the Mariposa Grant, there is a small
outcrop of limestone in a lens of Calaveras rocks.”
20. Mariposa County, California – Marble Point Marble Deposit (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.)
“Marble Point deposit is in sec. 2, T. 4 S., R. 19 E., M.D., on the South
Fork of Merced River. This has been mentioned by Lowell (16a)* as a ‘very
fine marble’ and has been located as mineral but so far as known is
undeveloped. It is 2 ½ miles south of the Yosemite Valley highway. The
marble is white with dark veining and takes a high polish. The outcrop is
reported to be 3000 feet wide, and rises 600 feet from the river. At Hite
Cove, 2 miles northwest on the same stream, H. W. TURNER...."
(* F. L. LOWELL, “Mariposa County,” California Mining Bureau Report 14, pp.
569-604, illus., 1916.)
(** Henry Ward TURNER, “The Rocks of the Sierra Nevada,” U. S. Geological
survey 14th Annual Report, pt. 2, pp. 435-495, pls. xlviii-lix, 1894.)
21. Mariposa County, California – Guido Vignalo – Granite Deposit (Excerpt
from “Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines and Mineral Resources of
Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist’s Report – Biennial
Period 1913-1914,” Part IV. “The Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera,
Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,” by F. L. Lowell, Field
Assistant (field work in July, 1914), California State Mining Bureau, San
Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 427-634.)
“Granite abounds in large quantities in Mariposa County of the same variety
as the famous granite at Raymond in Madera County, but it is so far from
transportation that it is not able to compete at present (circa 1914) with
that more favorably situated. A granite property consisting of 50 acres of
patented land located in Sec. 20, T. 6 S., R. 19 E., M.D.M., was located in
1906 by Guido VIGNALO but was deeded to the State for taxes.
“It is 15 miles by wagon road from Raymond and the granite is the same as
that of the Raymond granite but is not be worked (circa 1914).”
22. Mariposa County, California – the Pacific Slate Company’s Quarry (From
“The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38,”
California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)
“Pacific Slate Company’s Quarry, in Sec. 6 T. 6 S., R. 16 E., M. D. M.;
Pacific Slate Company, owner; C. G. KOCHER, Merced, secretary. The quarry
was first opened about 1897 and operated intermittently for a time, but it
has been idle for the last three years. The slate is of good quality, with
a straight, even cleavage, and was used in roofing the county jail at
Merced. An 18-mile haul over rough roads is the main item of expense.”
Merced Falls (4 miles from), Mariposa County, California – Pacific Slate
Quarry (Slate) (Excerpt from “Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines
and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State
Mineralogist’s Report – Biennial Period 1913-1914,” Part IV. “The Counties
of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,”
by F. L. LOWELL, Field Assistant (field work in July, 1914), California
State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 427-634.)
“Pacific Slate Quarry. Consists of 50 acres of land located in Sec. 6, T. 6
S., R. 16 E., M.D.M., 4 miles from Merced Falls and owned by the Pacific
Slate Company of Merced, Merced County. The slate is quarried and cut into
slabs for roofing purposes mostly. None is being shipped at present, as
there is very little demand.”
Photo caption: (pg. 604) Roofing slate from quarry of Pacific Slate Company
in Sec. 6, T. 6 S., R. 16 E.
Photo caption: (pg. 604) Pacific Slate Company Slate Quarry.
23. Mariposa County, California – Yosemite Slate Quarry (Slate/Dimension
Stone) (active ca 1996) (From “Mines and Mineral Producers Active in
California (1996), 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.)
Mine name: Yosemite Slate Quarry; Operator: Mariposa
Flagstone/Yosemite...Mineral commodity: Dimension stone.
24. Mt. Ophir, Mariposa County, California – Schist Quarry (From “Geologic
Guidebook Along Highway 49 – Sierran Gold Belt: The Mother Lode Country,
Bulletin 141,” Olaf P. JENKINS, Chief, California Division of Mines, San
Francisco, California, 1949.)
“Now completely abandoned, Mt. Ophir is sometimes said to be the site of
California’s first mint…The foundations of the Mt. Ophir mint, about 30
feet square, may still be seen (circa 1948). Like the other ruins in Mt.
Ophir, they are made of quarried slabs of schist set in mud mortar...The
ruins of the Trabucco Store (Fig. 16) can be seen from the highway. It was
built about 1853. The inner walls of this building are faced with a lime
stucco. The local source of the building material can be seen in the open
quarry drift on the east side of the highway (Fig. 17). Next to the road on
the east are several stone house ruins (Fig. 18).”
[ the myth of the Mt. Ophir Mint...........
Photo caption: (pg. 100) Fig. 17. Schist quarry east of highway, Mt. Ophir....”
Transcribed by Peggy B. Perazzo
Stone Quarries and Beyond
MARIPOSA COUNTY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY