Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Our Past Is Present October 24, 2018


October 24 2018
            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
            Today’s story is about the early days of the limestone industry in our community and the information comes from an article written by Gaylynn Childs, retired Executive Director of the Geary County Historical Society.
            “One of Junction City’s selling points in the beginning years was the existence of an abundance of quality limestone for building purposes.  The stone could be found in the outcroppings, sometimes called rim-rock.  The best stone for sawing purposes was found beneath the surface of the soil down to a depth of 12 to 15 feet.
            The stone was workable when it was first taken from the ground then hardened with exposure to the air and elements.  Major O.J. Hopkins, who had earlier served at Fort Riley, settled in Junction City after the Civil War and in 1866, initiated the commercial process of sawing the limestone.  It is possible that he got the idea from Daniel Mitchell, who was an early settler and experimented with the use of a hand saw to saw this stone while constructing his house.  Hopkins apparently witnessed this experiment and later initiated correspondence with the operators of eastern quarries to learn more about quarrying methods.
            He got  Junction City founder, James McClure and others interested in forming a company to undertake the sawing of local limestone.  This venture became one of the largest industries in the early history of Junction City, employing 60 men and turning out about $1,500 worth of stone per month.  The company used the McFarland quarry, which was probably the earliest quarry in the area. 
            In 1867, primarily through the efforts of George W. Martin, editor of the “Junction City Union” newspaper, the Junction City Stone Sawing Company secured a contract to furnish all the stone needed in the construction of the east wing of the State Capitol building in Topeka.
            And… that is today’s story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

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