Stone Mountain Granite and its History

Written by Connor Clinton, Science Communication Student at the University of Sheffield

This North American Granite originates from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In the first of his catalogues, John Watson described the mountain as having the largest mass of granite suitable for construction in the world. Quarrying at the mountain ended in 1978, but the stone is still very much present in American cities and buildings across the world.

Quarries at Stone Mountain were first dug in the 1830s, with the industry experiencing a boom when a railroad to the quarry site was constructed in the following decade. In 1887 the mountain was purchased by the Venables brothers, William and Samuel, who donated the specimen of Stone Mountain granite in Watson’s collection. It was under their ownership that quarrying operations at Stone Mountain reached peak production. Aside from commercial success, their ownership also saw the mountain used for Ku Klux Klan ceremonies. It was here, at the summit of the mountain, that the Klan was revived for its second era in the U.S. in 1915. The area’s legacy of white supremacy can still be seen today on the northern face of the mountain in the form of a prominent memorial to three Confederate generals carved 120 metres above the ground. 

The rock quarried at the mountain is muscovite granite, an unusually uniform stone that is highly resistant to weathering. These properties made it one of the most sought-after building stones of its time. Stone Mountain granite was used to build the Lincoln Memorial, the eastern steps of the U.S. Capitol, and the locks of the Panama Canal. The same granite was used in Tokyo, Japan, forming part of the Imperial Hotel, and Havana, Cuba,  where it was used in the construction of the Cuban Capitol Building.