Quarry Happenings

  The Sandstone History Center is closed for the season.  If you wish to take a tour you'll have to do by appointment since we don't have enough volunteers to be open through the winter.  I'll be posting a monthly newsletter soon! So stay tuned!

  SANDSTONE BLASTED FROM BLUFF Mammoth blocks of sandstone were blasted from the ledge with black powder.  Toivo Luoma and other drillers cut rows of holes, with twenty- foot drills, run by air compressors, powered in the early years by steam, later by hydropower.  The drill operators were supposed to wear masks, but even their faces covered they could not escape breathing the clouds of stone dust that blew out of the holes as they operated the drills.  Black powder was poured into the bottom of each hole, measuring about two inches in diameter.  Next, a quarry man connected all the holes wither copper wires and filled  the holes  with sand.  Someone gave a signal and everyone would take cover behind the rock crusher or a bluff.  A jolt of electricity ignited all the powder at once shaking the  whole town with man-made earthquake in the quarry.  In 1898 the Pine County Courier reported that sandstone block was moved more than four feet from its ancient resting place...(with) 6 3/4 kegs

DINKY SWITCH ENGINE The quarry's engine, called the dinky switch engine, was constantly moving sandstone around the  quarry.  It pulled flat cars loaded with mill blocks to the saw mill. It hauled loads of scrap rock to the rock crusher and made many trips every day hauling undesirable rock to the dump south of the railroad bridge.  When the sandstone was to be shipped, the switch engine moved flat cars with building stone, gondola cars loaded with paving blocks, and cars filled with crushed rock to  the edge of the quarry to be picked up by  Great Northern Railroad engines.   

  September 26 was our very first movie night on the lawn of the Sandstone High School also known as the (Rock).  Approximately40 people attended the event along with a few politicians.  The developer got a 4 million dollar grant for restoring the school and turning it into 31 apartments.  The Sandstone Credit Union donated popcorn, Sandstone fire department had one of there fire and rescue trucks and parked in the street.  Which was blocked off.  And the History Center sold snacks and drinks for the movie. SANDSTONE OKTOBERFEST October 5th Saturday SPONSORED BY SANDSTONE HISTORY CENTER>>> BEER STEIN DISPLAY WIN A TROPHY FOR THE BEST  BEER STEIN DISPLAY CONTEST: 11:00- 11:45 register your beer stein or steins for display contest LOCATION: Band shelter by Lambert's Train Park 11:45-12:00 Everyone welcome to VOTE for your favorite beer stein 12:15 WINNER announced and TROPHY PRESENTED   12:15 PICK UP YOUR BEER STEIN, a coupon for one free liquid refreshment will be given to

BOOM A boom (cable) with logs fastened to it helped prevent logs from going over the dam.  The boom ran diagonally across the river.  The trapped large logs, called dead heads, were used for lumber, the smaller ones for firewood.  

  ROCK CRUSHER AND STORAGE BINS Men smashed the refuse stone that accumulated throughout the quarry into about 20-inch chunks using 18-pound hammers.  Small railroad dump cars carried the scrap rock from blasts along with spalls (chips) from the stone and paving cutters to the stone crusher.  The stone was dumped into the  oval-shaped, steel-lined crusher that was mainly underground.  There a huge revolving  egg-shaped, air powered steel crusher  about six feet in diameter and 10 feet high  smashed the rock against the steel walls.  As the rock broke into smaller pieces, it fell into a deep pit under the crusher where a conveyor belt elevated the stone to the top of the storage building.  The conveyor dumped the rock according to size.  The rock fell through the screens into six huge bins (10x20x10 feet each).  The classified rock was stored in the bins.  Standard size of the crushed was two and one half  inches; it weighed 2200 pounds per cubic yard.  The rubble, used for small founda

 We are doing are very first outdoor movie on the lawn of the historic sandstone high school also know as the rock! Come check it out!

  DERRICKS The early derricks in the quarry were made of wood and run by horse and steam power.  American Hoist and Derrick Co. of St Paul built and installed many of the approximately 100-foot derricks.  A few of the later derricks installed were steel.  Each mast had about eight guy wires running in all directions secured in the rock anchor and stabilized it.  Some guy wires were anchored on the other side of the river.  The hinged beams attached to the masts that lifted and guided the mill blocks were called booms.

  WHISTLE The whistle was in one of the stack pipes on the saw mill.  It blew in the morning to mark the beginning of the work day.  At noon and 1p.m. for the beginning and end of lunch break, and late afternoon to signal the end of day.  When the last whistle blew, the workers dropped their tools and hurried out of the quarry. BLACKSMITH SHOP Usually ten blacksmiths worked in the blacksmith shop.  John Gjertson was the head blacksmith for many years supervising the blacksmiths as they sharpened tools, made picks hammers, chain link and wedges for splitting rocks.  Alfred Orstad was one of many blacksmiths who spent long hours sharpening the six-foot and 20-foot drills that dulled quickly boring through the hard sandstone.  Al VanDerWerf was one of many young men whose first job was to carry the 20-foot drills and other tools from the blacksmith shop to the top of the hill.  He protected his shoulder from the cutting edge of the heavy drills with a gunny sack

SAW MILL Flatbed railroad cars carried large mill blocks of sandstone from all over the quarry to the saw mill where derricks lifted the blocks onto smaller railroad cars that ran right into the mill.  Saws suspnded from the ceiling cut the sandstone right on the flatbed cars.  Stone for sidewalk slabs, paving and other non-building uses were cut by steel saws.  Diamond saws cut the finer stone destined to be used for building blocks and trim.  The saws were not the standard type with jagged edges.  Each saw was a long straight band of steel about 12 feet long, six inches high and three-fourth of an inch wide.  George Brickman worked in the saw mill for many years.  He and the saw mill crew operated the saws, run by air compressors, that cut by wearing the sandstone away as they moved back and forth across the stone.  Water constantly ran on the saw and stone to keep the saws cool and wash away the sand.  Six steel saws, about five feet wide, could each make up ten cuts in a mill block

HOIST HOUSE The first building on the right side of the bridge was one of 25 hoist houses in the quarry housing machinery that provided power to the derricks.  The huge sandstone mill blocks were lifted and moved with cable that ran from the boom on the derrick to the hoist.  The cable wound around a huge drum.  In the late 1890s one horse harnessed to a drum walked round and round providing power to the lift and move the mill blocks.  Hydropower from the dam tat ran an air compressor soon replaced the horse.  Later electric motors and gas powered engines ran the hoist operated by Axel Larson, Axel Anderson, Victor Gjertson, Elmer Nelson and other hoist operators who moved levers to turn the drum that lifted, lowered or guided the boom carrying the sandstone mill blocks.  DAM This dam was called the old dam after the new dam was built down river in 1905.  The dam provided power for the huge saw mills that cut the stone and drills that bored through the sandstone. ENGINE HOUSE The sands

  Powder House  The powder house, south of the wagon bridge, was the storage building for black powder, used to blast massive rectangular blocks of sandstone away from the bluffs.  It also stored dynamite to break up rock for the stone crusher.  Andy Pajala was in charge of much of the blasting.  Victor Gjertson also worked with the volatile black powder. 

1910: Kettle River Company consolidated quarry, creosote, and stonecutting companies; Population- 1818; Sandstone soccer team was state champion; Sandstone Spring Water Companies requested creosote plant relocate to stop polluting water; Most productive year ever at quarry 1911: Moving pictures shown at Larson's Opera House twice a week; School fumigated due to scarlet fever; Sandstone Spring Water Company built reservoir; 453 enrolled in school; W.C.T.U. held annual district convention at Larson's Opera Hall; River Power Company added subsidiary companies - Kettle River Power Company, William Penn Cut Stone Company; and quarries in sandstone, Superior and Port Wing; Sandstone Spring Water Company was victim of campaign to make public believe remain "wet"  

 The First Diesel Engine passed through Sandstone around 1940

  1912: Adolf Larson became Minnesota State Represenative; Quarryman's State Bank sold 18 steamship tickets to quarrymen returning to England for winter; Sandstone Socialists local met with Hinkley Socialists; John Forstrom and J.M. Ingraham opened automobile repair shops; Sandstone Spring Water Company closed plant here because of contamination from creosote plant

Asklund's Tailor Shop was filled with samples of materials and posters of the latest fashions.  Moll ( later Peterson) operated the huge tailor iron and assisted Asklund's in the Tailor Shop.  

  The Myhree Brothers Blacksmith Shop was run by (left to right) Peter Myhree and Brady Myhree around 1915.  One of the two men on the right is Grant Ingram

1908: New wagon bridge completed; John Hawley opens grocery store in Northern Hotel building; Kettle River Company incorporated; Sandstone Telephone Company phone book listed 138 telephones; Village ordered   animals running loose to be put in village pound; Gus Moll narrowly  escaped being bitten in the face by a copperhead while working in the quarry; Kettle River Power Company completed new dam, capacity of 1000 horse power, downstream from old dam, Rotting train bridge repaired with steel 1909: Sandstone State Bank became the First National Bank of Sandstone; Englis Spring Water Company of Minneapolis purchased spring from Village of Sandstone, Later changed name to Sandstone Spring Water Company, Sandstone water bottled under copyright name of Minnepura Spring Water ; William Penn  Company purchased cut-stone operation in quarry ( Kettle River Quarries Company owned large share of Penn Company); New Larson Brothers Opera House opened; Voters made temperance group

  H.P. WEBB & CO. one of Sandstones successful businesses, entered this float in Sandstones Fourth of July Parade in 1904.  Webb established a grocery, hardware and furniture store in Sandstone in the late 1890s in Sandstone commercial building on the northeast corner of Main Street and Fourth Street and two adjacent buildings.   The Sandstone State Bank moved into the corner building in 1906 shortly after it was established by Webb and his partners.  H.P.  Webb & Co. operated the hardware and furniture store located just east of the bank until it burned in 1923.  He was also the undertaker and ran that business In connection with the furniture store located north of the bank

  Walter Scott (left) opened a general store at 406 Commercial Avenue shortly after the 1894 fire.  Before moving to Sandstone, Scott worked as a clerk at the Brennan Lumber Company in Hinckley.  Adolf Larson (center) was one of several young men who worked at Walter C. Scott & Co. and established a business of their own in Sandstone.  Street lamps, such as the one in this turn of the century photos, were lit by the village marshal every night.

1908: New wagon bridge completed; John Hawley opens grocery store in Northern Hotel Building; Kettle River Power Company incorporated; Sandstone Telephone Company phone book listed 138 telephones; Village ordered all animals running loose to be put in village pound; Gus Moll narrowly escaped being bitten in the face by a copperhead while working in the quarry; Kettle River Power Company completed new dam, capacity of 1000 horse power, downstream from old dam; Rotting train bridge repaired with steel 1909: Sandstone State Bank became the First National Bank of Sandstone; Englis Spring Water Company of Minneapolis purchased spring from Village of Sandstone, later changed name to Sandstone Spring Water Company, Sandstone water bottled under copyrighted name of Minnepura Spring Water; William Penn Company purchased cut-stone operation in quarry Kettle River Quaries Company owned large share of Penn Company; New Larson Brothers Opera House opened; Voters made Sandstone a dry town after stro

There will be a book sale during Quarry Days to support the friends of the Sandstone Library!  Funds raised go towards the library programs and needs.   Location: 106 Main St. Sandstone Hours For Book Sale: Friday August 9th from 12 pm 4 pm  and Saturday August 10th from 9 am to 1 pm. A wide variety of books plus our popular shopping bags await you!  NOTE:  BOOK DONATIONS ARE ACCEPTED YEAR ROUND AT THE LIBRARY.  Books should be gently used, free of dirt and oder.  No reference or text books Accepted. FRIENDS SILENT AUCTION: Celebrate Friends of the library week October 20-26 by participating in our annual auction.  Auction items are being accepted NOW.  Bidding begins September 1 and ends at 5pm on October 24.  Start your Christmas shopping early while supporting our local library programs.  It's a win-win!

1905: Quarry workers monument erected in cemetery; Creosote plant built by Kettle River Quarries Company; Hydropower used by Sandstone Land Co. for electric plant; School overcrowded with 400 students; Population-1589; Methodist Church built; Commercial Club organized 1906: Sandstone community donated $200 for San Francisco fire relief; Great Northern Railroad round trip fare to Twin Cities was $2.60, Also one-half fare rates to Minnesota State Fair; School truant officer appointed; Electric bell and chemistry lab added to school; Typhoid fever, diphtheria and cholera reported; School Sandstone and Finlayson; English Spring Water Company shipped 10,000 gallons of Sandstone spring water per week for drinking fountains; Sandstone State Bank established 1907: Anna Frulk opened millinery and dry goods shop; Engineer killed in quarry switch engines accident; Village passed ordinance requiring license for billiardnand pool rooms; Quarryman's State Bank installed burglar alarm; Wrestling

  1898: Two freight trains crashed head on in Eastern Railway yards in Sandstone, both engines badly damaged; Minnesota Sandstone Company turned out 75,000 paving blocks a month; Eastern Railway built 24x48 foot ice house near tracks between depot and boiler house; Quarry strike settled; Log drives delayed due to low river levels; Sandstone Fire Department organized; Lighting struck Presbyterian Church steeple. 1899:Alexander Bull, son of Ole Bull, played his father's violin at Opera Hall; Independent Order of Odd Fellow's building completed on corner of Third Street and Main Street with store below and hall upstairs; Village marshal salary set at $25 a month; Quarry employed 500 men; Catholic Church bazaar raised $1,100 for cunstruction of new church; 100 trees planted on west side of Main Street; 1000 telephone poles installed between villages of Sandstone, Pine City, Banning and Finlayson  1900: Diphtheria epidemic; New Catholic Church built on Commercial Avenue; Sandstone T

1896:Quarryman's Bank Opened; Walter in Kettle River rose 15 feet, flood washed away wagon bridge and damages dam, logs jammed up from Hells Gate to railroad bridge, village water supply bad; Settlers from abroad and other states flocked to Sandstone to find work in quarry, railroad and lumber industries; Business lots sold for $500 to $1000; James J Hill shipped water from Sandstone to his home in St Paul; 18 new business places built. 1897: School library has 100 books; Pine County Courier accepted wood as subscription payment; First threshing machine in area, owned by H.G. Tyler of Finlayson, passed through village ; Rising Kettle River threw quarry wheel out of plumb; Localquaries busier than any other in Midwest; Village orders businesses to built sidewalks; More tracks and switches laid in quarry; Citizens urged village council to regulate houses of ill repute and saloons.  

  1893: Bank of Sandstone closed temporarily due to heavy withdrawals, reopened in a few weeks; Catholic Church bought old school building; Explosion of can of black powder injured four men during Fourth of July celebration; Panic of 1893 caused financial disaster for Ring and Tobin, creditors closed quarry. 1894:Fire destroyed Sandstone, Hinckley, Mission Creek, Miller, Partridge Pokegama and 600 hundred square acres of forest, over 60 Sandstone residents die; Governor's Fire Relief Commission agents disappeared food, materials and money for survival and rebuilding; James J Hill decided to move Eastern Railway division point from Hinckley to Sandstone; James J Hill built Sandstone Commercial building on corner of Main Street and Fourth Street (still in use today); Minnesota Trust Company opened quarry on limited basis. 1885:Minnesota Sandstone Company organized to reopen quarry; Episcopal Memorial and Presbyterian Churches built on Commercial Avenue; population grew to 1058 (300 i

1889: Village of Sandstone incorporated; Eastern Railway of Minnesota completed, connecting Sandstone with the Twin Cities and Twin Ports; Mathew Bullis be came Eastern Railway depot agent;   Hinckley General Hospital opened Sandstone Branch; Sons of Temperance had 19 members; Enough "clear as crystal" ice taken out of Kettle River to last all summer; George Meader made trip to Hinckley on government road in record time of 50 minutes; Presbyterian Church built; Water reservoir completed . 1890: Ring and Tobin quarry employed 120 men; Micheal Ring elected Village council president; 19 business buildings on Merchants Hill; 21 students in school; Eastern Railway completed depot near St Paul and Duluth Railroad Crossing. 1891:Bank of Sandstone sold about three steamship tickets a day to residents to Bring foreign relatives to Sandstone; 63 students enrolled in school; Area forest fire burned for four days until it rained; Eileen Crowley, principal of Sandstone Public School died

  The early derricks in the quarry were made of wood and run by horse and steam power.  American Hoist and Derrick Co. of St Paul built and installed many of the approximately 100-foot derricks.  A few of the later derricks installed were steel.  Each mast had about eight guy wires running in all directions secured in the rock to anchor and stabilize it.  Some guys wires were anchored on the other side of the river.  The hinged beams attached to the masts that lifted and guided the mill blocks were called booms. The sandstone History Center began a project to restore and preserve the last guy derrick mast in Robinson Park during Sandstone's Centennial Year.

Just a reminder that we have an event at the Sandstone Library on August 3rd @ 10AM.  Please come join us  

 The Kettle River Railroad Bridge was built by Eastern Railway in 1888

  Sandstone Hotel, built in 1887, was the center of early Sandstone's social life.  From 1886-1894 Sandstone's business district was located in "Old Town" in the area of the Sandstone area Hospital and Nursing Home approximately bordered by Minnesota Avenue, Grant Avenue, First Street and Court Avenue. 

  Walter J Keith was born on August 17,1867 in Minneapolis Minnesota.  Walter was the son to Dr. Goarge Hacket Keith and Henrietta Pearson Jewett.  Walter had three siblings, Maybel Cahill Keith, Max Leroy Keith and Goarge Herbert Keith Sr.  Walter's education took place in the public schools of Minneapolis.  He began an active career as the Minneapolis post office clerk, later becoming the United States Customs inspector, department entered in 1889.  Walter was the president of Keith's co. Architects.  He was also the president and co-owner of the Plaza in Minneapolis which was established in 1903.  Walter was the founder of Keith's Magazine on Home Building.  And was also the author of the Historic Architecture for Home Builder.                                          A little bit about what Walter did Keith's Magazine on Home Builder was very popular for the American Craftsman Design era, it was published from the centered through the 1930s.  Keith's was an auth

The Sandstone School, built with local sandstone in 1901, (above) was struck by lightning on September 20, 1909 (below) and completely gutted by fire.

  PETERSON-SANDWICK'S Store, which occupied the northwest corner of Fourth Street Court Avenue for 87 years, was built by Peter Peterson in 1896. Pedestrians crossed the rough primitive streets on the plank crosswalks to avoid mud or dust.

  THE REINHOLDSON SALOON, on the corner of Main Street and Third street, was well stocked with liquor and provided plenty of spittoons for its tobacco-chewing patrons.   This building was home to Maggie's Colonial Cafe in its later years.

  THE NEW DAM, built in 1905, is still called the new dam to distinguish it from the old dam located upstream.  The dam provided power for Sandstone and surrounding area for almost 60 years.  In the early years, it was the sole source of Sandstone 's electrical power.

  THE SWITCH ENGINES of the Quarry pulled cars loaded with huge sandstone blocks to the sawmill or paving cutters.  The switch engine also hauled sandstone blocks for building, paving blocks, slabs and crushed to the Minnesota Eastern Railway Tracks to be shipped.  The men are Fritz Gabrielson, Charels Gustafson (who was my great great grandpa) and Hudson. IN THE SAWMILL, sandstone blocks were cut for sidewalk slabs and building blocks.

  The model 1070 was ionic of Keith's Architecture.  Keith's Co. offered two-story and half story plans.  But Walter used the photograph of a smaller home through.  The pictured above is of the two-story plan.  There are windows in the bed chambers of the second floor.  This version came to Walter's portfolio of practical homes from the 1920s.  This plan was very similar to the Sears Roebucks floor model No. 124 home kit, which was sold in 1911-1918.  Sears bought popular architect plans of the day, but so far, they found no documenting or relationship evidence between the firms.

  Sandstone Junction was located at the junction of Pine County Highway 61 and County Road 27.  The junction was located at the four-mile marker. Kettle River Railroad connected to St. Paul and Duluth Railroad,  this train was called OLD SKALLY.  The Kettle River Railroad carried quarried sandstone, passengers and supplies to and from the quarry and the settlement that later became the Village Of Sandstone.

  Thomas Dodson:1565-1590 James Dodson:1585 Deceased WIFE  Elizabeth Rice:1585-1622: Daughter- Sara Dodson:1606-1648 John Everden:1610-1660 WIFE Sara Dodson:1606-1648 Daughter-Honorable Anthony Everden:1624-1687 Richard Bryante:1590-Deceased WIFE Elizabeth Allen 1580-Deceased-Daughter Sara Bryante:1621-1648 Honorable Anthony Everden:1624-1687 Marriage 1642 Sara Bryante:1621--1648 Daughter Elizabeth Everden:1643-1698 Samual Hartwell II:1666-1744 MARRIAGE1692-Abigail Stearns:1670-1709 CHILDREN: Samual Nathen Hartwell III:1693-1760, Abigail Hartwell:1695-1727, Joseph Hartwell:1698-1786, Mary Todd Hartwell:1700-1776, Isaac Hartwell:1703-1786, Ephraim Hartwell Sr:1707-1793, Lydia Hartwell:1709-1739 John Feild II:1644-1698 Marriage 1670 Susanna Adams:1643-1698: CHILDREN-John Feild III:1671-1757, Elizabeth Feild:1673-1727, Richard Feild Sr:1677-1725, Lydia Hanna Feild:1679-1743, Daniel Feild:1681-1746, Ruth Feild:1683-1723, Hanna Feild:1685-1746 Daniel Waldo:1657-1737 WIFE Susanna Adams:1660-

  Walter J Keith was born on August 17,1867 in Minneapolis Minnesota.  His father Dr. Goarge Hacket Keith who was 42 and his mother Hanrietta Pearson Jewett was 24.  Walter married Nella Yerxa on June 4,1888 in Hennepin Minnesota.  Walter and Nella were proud parents to Chester woodfor Keith, Roland Jewett Keith, Evelyn Jewett Keith and Priscilla Keith.  They lived in Pasadana Los Angeles, California in 1930.  Walter then died in Los Angeles on April 5th,1951 at Glendale Los Angeles, California. This is still a workin progress.  But this is what I've found so far.  Much more could be added to it.  I'm trying to make it so all event's go in order.   Please leave comments if you have any questions regarding the HISTORY CENTER OR PROJECTS.  I'm happy to answer them.

I have been working on researching this architect Walter J Keith for the past month I would say.  I have been getting lots of information.  And have found a family tree, date of births and death dates.  I'm hoping to find a living relative.  But not a whole lot of luck with that.  However, I have been able to find a biography of Walter which is pretty interesting.  I've also been working on rewriting his house plans he wrote.  It's been a challenge figuring out what some of the pages say.  The first page of the plans look like they have been burned and water damaged.  I'll be sharing the biography and more updates soon.  So stay tuned!

HISTORY CENTER HOURS- FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 10-1 LOCATION-SANDSTONE  Please stop in and sign our visitor book and take a look around at our displays.  Lots of history    

Saturday, August 10th TOUR: JIM LARSON HOST  There will be one combined tour including Sandstone City Historic places AND Robinson Quarry Park. This tour will include some walking in the park. TRANSPORTATION: Will be at the Alley between the History Center and Kettle River Grafix  Time: 2:00 Cost: = $5 REQUIRED: PRE-REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT at the History Center. LIMITED SEATING.  

  Friday, August 9th CHALK SIDEWALK DRAWING EVENT:  3:30-5:00pm; All participants welcome. Sidewalk to the south side of the History Center.  Registration required at History Center site to get Chalk, "Space", and received a coupon when the drawing is completed. Participants receive, Upon completion of Their drawing, A coupon for a 1 free scoop of ice cream.  This coupon must be redeemed during Quarry Days at the Dairy Assn. truck. Theme: "Chris " Food Center 50th Anniversary. ART DEMONSTRATION: 4:30- 5:30, History Center; Adnan Shati , Local Artist , Will demonstrate his art.  He will choose the art medium.

Chester Gustafson special event presentation 1/2 AROUND THE HORN  Saturday August 3rd, 10:00 am Location: Library on Main Street Sponsored by the Sandstone History Center Historic and updated photos and information regarding the "other (west) side of tracks". POSSIBLE USE OF FOLLOWING FACTS Chester will provide info about: Historic Sandstone> Traffic Light Gasoline Tanks Chicken Factory Additional Forgotten History