Spotted Pipestone Quarry

American Indians still quarry pipestone here as they have for generations. From quarry pits like the one below, American Indians from many tribes remove the raw stone basic to their culture. The quartzite rubble piled behind this quarry reflects the centuries of their hand-tooled labor. In this area north of the creek, American Indians first discovered pipestone. The 12-14" layer of pipestone that runs north-south for more than a mile occasionally has spots caused by the partial leaching of the mineral hematite. Much of the stone from this site contains these speckles, giving it the name "spotted" pipestone quarry. Quarrying still takes place with hand tools, usually in the fall. Some descendants of thee Dakota Sioux, photographed at Pipestone in 1893, continue to work the quarries.

Minnesota · United States