The Quarry Exhibit was developed to tell the story of an industry that played a significant part in the history of Stone Mountain.
Throughout the years, 7,645,700 cubic feet of granite were removed from the mountain. This is equal to enough one-foot-long paving stones to stretch from the North Pole to the South Pole (12,444 miles)!
Illustrating the monumental contributions of the quarrymen and their work, the Quarry Exhibit was designed to describe the process of granite quarrying at Stone Mountain and the changes in technology over time.
We hope to bring the quarrymen and the history of quarrying to life as visitors explore our outdoor museum!
Stone Mountain has an extraordinary volume of exposed granite. This granite was desirable because it did not have to be extracted from quarries deep within the earth; the men cut and hauled the stone right off the surface of the mountain. The quarries here were the first to be established in Georgia.
The demand for granite was initially for gravestones, but soon the business here became a larger organized industry catering to the demands for building and paving stones. As you can see, Stone Mountain granite was preferred as structural stone because of its uniform color, composition, and high density.
The granite was shipped all over the world. Its destinations include Fort Knox Bullion Depository, the Panama Canal, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, in the foundation of the Lincoln Memorial, and many United States Post Offices. Virtually every state has a building that was built from Stone Mountain granite.
