Temples and other structures built in Utah in the nineteenth century required massive amounts of large blocks of limestone, granite, and other stone. Utah’s 19th Century Stone Quarries documents where that stone came from and the lives of many of the stone masons and quarrymen who worked it. The author is a geologist and professor at the University of Utah and is the great-grandson of one of the major figures in the book, Edward L. Parry.
The book has chapters on the stone deposits near Willard, Beaver, Ephraim, and St. George, and in Salt Lake Valley, Cache Valley, and Price Canyon. The different types of stone quarried from each site are given historical context, and where the stone was used is discussed. Also noted are the methods for quarrying and shaping stone. A number of maps and photographs help illustrate the text.
Though a small book of just over 150 pages, Utah’s 19th Century Stone Quarries covers an aspect of Utah history not usually mentioned in histories of temples and temple builders.
