Sunday, September 25, 2011

Pine Lake Masonry: Part II

By the early 1940s the red stone of the '30s was replaced by granite (at least I think it's granite) quarried at nearby Stone Mountain.

Unlike the red rocks, where were rounded from being in a stream, these were rectangular, cut to a similar size.


Drill marks (for blasting?) are visible on many of the stones:


They line many of the city streets...


And the stone barbecue grills at the lake were build from them.


Piles of them can be found around the city. Here's a gully full of them:


There are plenty in Snapfinger Creek:


And many chimneys, walls, and foundations are made from them.




Quite a few houses on the south (Rockbridge) side of  the lake use the earlier red stone. I've not seen any on the north side. There's plenty of the Stone Mountain granite on both sides of the lake.

Rock is no longer being quarried at Stone Mountain, and hasn't been for many years. I'm not sure when the stone became unavailable, but most of the houses that use it look as if they date from the 1940s.

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