8/7/2019 Slippery Gazzette Article 02/2011
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VOLUME 17, ISSUE 195 T HE BEACON OF THE STONE INDUSTRY
FEBRUARY2011
www . s l ippe r y rockga z e t t e .n e t
OZARK QUARRY MOVES WITH THE TIMES
OZARK QUARRY MOVES WITH THE TIMES
Left: The elegant Basin Park Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR, is
an impressive example of the beautiful dimensional limestone
used for masonry construction during the heyday of 19th
century production at the quarry.
Above and inset: Drill holes and the marks of feathers and
wedges can still be seen on quarry faces and these CrescentHotel
blocks. The newer technique of using Dexpan cleanly
splits off blocks without blasting and wastes less stone.
Owner
Lowell Johnson stands in front of a recently worked ledge.
Continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUEWe showcase the beautiful andhistorical limestone
products of
Ozark Southern Stone Quarry in
Arkansas
American-made Stone Racks are
reviewed in a special feature on
Tennessee manufacturer Astec
Underground
New tool and product reviews
Aaron Crowley writes about the
Four Core Competencies
The Stone Detective goes CSI to
solve a real puzzler
by Liz McGeachyPHOTOS BY SHELLEY SUMMERS
AJESTIC STONE HOTELS,
LIFE IN AN 1800S QUARRY
CAMP, AND JESSE JAMES
RIFLE ALL COME INTO THE
STORIES LOWELL JOHNSON
TELLS ABOUT THE 140-YEAR-OLD QUARRY HE
AND HIS WIFE OWN IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
JOHNSONAPPRECIATES THE RICH HISTORY SUR-
ROUNDING THE OZARK SOUTHERN STONE
QUARRY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HES TAKING
THE BUSINESS INTO A MODERN, GREENER
FUTURE BY USING MORE ECO-FRIENDLY QUAR-
RY PRACTICES.
People have been harvesting limestonefrom this quarry located
near the little town
of Elk Ranch ten miles east of Eureka
Springs since around 1870, when a Civil
War officer began quarrying there. It was
originally deeded in 1883 as the Beaver
Stone Company, owned by Benjamin J.
Rosewater. Later the name was changed to
the Eureka Stone Company and the quarry
moved into its heyday, employing nearly 400
people in the late 1800s and early 1900s and
supplying much of the area with dimensional
building stone.
Theres the Crescent Hotel in Eureka
Springs, built in 1886, Johnson said. You
can still see the chisel marks that the gentle-
men chiseled to make the squares. And the
Basin Park Hotel, and the courthouse down-
town even some of the sidewalks. Actually
about 75 percent of the town is made from
stone from this quarry.
The quarry has several types of limestone
a variegated premium stone that is light and
dark grey color with occasional orange dots, a
sky blue stone usually used for veneer, and a
Southern Blend of several colors. But the
Cream of the Crop is the Navajo Cream
stone, which has been sought after by masons
and others since the late 1800s. The stone is
so dense and hard, a sample was placed in the
Smithsonian Institution.
A 1906 study out of the University of
Arkansas found that it had a crush rate of
nearly 22,000 pounds per square inch,
Johnson said. The study called it some of the
best limestone in the nation. Only about three
percent of the limestone in the country can
match that rate.The strength of the stone made it a popular
choice for buildings like the Crescent Hotel.
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