Quarrying The Stone - Government Island
N 38° 27.002 W 077° 22.819
18S E 292284 N 4258432
A sign at the remnant of a quarry on historic Government Island on Aquia Creek in Stafford, VA. explains the techniques and tools used during turn of the 19th century operations.
Waymark Code: WMAX5E
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/06/2011
Views: 5
In the 1790s to the early 1800s. a quarry on
Government Island
in Stafford, Virginia supplied the sandstone that helped build the nation's capital including the U.S. Capitol and the White House.
A sign at a section of the quarry reads:
Quarrying the StoneQuarrying stone during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was very labor intensive. Stone quarried here was cut and shipped with the use of simple machines and animal power. Various workers were needed to extract the stone. A master-mason, usually a European who was a master in all aspects of stone work, would oversee the entire quarrying operation. Skilled workers included stone cutters and stone carvers who extracted and rough-cut the stone into desired sizes. Blacksmiths were constantly needed to make and sharpen the cutting tools, wedges, chisels, trimming hammers, sledge hammers, picks, mattocks and axes. Tool marks are still visible in the quarry faces today.
Many common laborers, or unskilled laborers, worked at the site. Slaves were hired out by their owners who collected the slaves' wages. Workers received housing and food, which included "...one pound good pork or one pound and a half of beef and one pound flour per day..." along with a half pint of whiskey (Commissioners Letter, April 10, 1792).
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How the Stone was Quarried: First, all vegetation was removed from the top of the stone. Once the stone was exposed, a vertical stone face was picked away, creating a working area. Two vertical channels or side trenches were made 20-feet apart. These trenches were twenty inches wide - barely large enough for a man to squeeze through. A rear trench was made, creating a rectangular section. Grooves were chiseled along the stone face where wedges were inserted to remove a block from the larger stone mass. Once a block of stone was cut, it was hoisted out with a simple derrick and pulley system, placed on a skid, and hauled by oxen to the wharf.
The sign also shows a drawing of quarrying operations and an illustration of the common quarrying tools.
A natural surface trail loops around Government Island. It is open daily to the public. There is no admission. Access and parking can be found at 191 Coal Landing Rd in Stafford.