Quarrying the Stone

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, stone quarrying here was highly labor intensive, relying on simple machines and animal power to cut and ship stone. A master-mason, usually a European skilled in all aspects of stone work, oversaw the operation, while stone cutters and stone carvers extracted and rough-cut the stone into desired sizes. Blacksmiths continually made and sharpened cutting tools, wedges, chisels, trimming hammers, sledge hammers, picks, mattocks, and axes, and their work left tool marks still visible in the quarry faces today. Many common laborers also worked at the site, and slaves were hired out by their owners, who collected their wages. Workers received housing and food, including "...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. Quarrying began by removing vegetation from the top of the stone and picking away a vertical stone face to create a working area. Two vertical side trenches were then cut 20 feet apart, each twenty inches wide, with a rear trench added to form a rectangular section. Grooves were chiseled along the stone face, wedges were inserted to free a block from the larger stone mass, and the block was then hoisted out with a simple derrick and pulley system, placed on a skid, and hauled by oxen to the wharf.

Aquia Harbour, Virginia · United States