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Home > California > CA - Quarry Links & Photographs > Contra Costa County - List of Stone Quarries, Etc.
(* Please note this list does not include all of the sand or gravel quarries in Contra Costa County.)
Mine name: Canal Boulevard Quarry; Operator: Bauman Landscape; Address & County: 115 Brookside Dr., Richmond, CA 94801, Contra Costa County; Phone: (510) 231-1212; Latitude: 37.91, Longitude: -122.37, and Mine location number: Map No. 43; Mineral commodity: Stone
“Antioch Quarry. A small quarry is located about one mile south of the Southern Pacific Railroad depot at Antioch, in a bank of loosely cemented gravel, which is easily quarried and furnishes a very good macadam. It is worked intermittently as macadam is needed for the roads.”
“Harkinson Lime Deposit, in Sec. 16, T. 1 N., R. 1 E., M. D. M.; R. Harkinson, Antioch, owner. The deposit, which is about 7 miles southwest of Antioch, in Oil Cañon, has been developed by a tunnel. The rock is an amorphous, compact, bluish-gray fossiliferous limestone. Very little of the rock has been shipped.”
"Claim, mine, or group": Harkinson. This quarry was located at 1 N, 1 E, M. D. "In Oil Canyon, 7 miles southwest of Antioch. Compact, amorphous, bluish-gray, fossiliferous limestone. Small shipment (?). Idle (B 38:67.)."
"Claim, mine, or group": Coates. This quarry was located at 1N, 1E, M. D. "In Oil Canyon, 7 miles southwest of Antioch. Adjoins Harkinson deposit. Small production (?). R 12:380; B 38.66.)."
Brooks Island is is a small island located just off the Richmond Inner Harbor. It is now a part of the East Bay Regional Park system. According to the description on the East Bay Regional Park web site, “With the advent of European settlers, the island was used for grazing and quarrying.” You can view a photograph of part of the island on the Wildernet web site section on Brooks Island.
"Henry Cowell Lime Company's lime quarries lie 3 miles south of Concord, in the foothills on the northwest end of Mount Diablo. The rock is a travertine, which outcrops over a considerable area in the vicinity of the quarries. It varies in character, a large part of it being a very compact drab-colored stone, very faintly banded. In places it is bluish colored, and brecciated. Part of the stone is a snow white, porous, light tufa, which is irregularly mixed through the other rock. The compact rock, because of its high specific gravity, is thought to be aragonite.
"There are two quarry openings. The one now in operation is an irregular, funnel-shaped opening, about 50 feet deep and covering probably about half an acre at the top. The other quarry is on the point of the hill, about one eighth of a mile south of west from the first mentioned and 50 feet or more above it, and has a face of 50 feet of limestone. The only covering over this stone at either opening is a thin layer of dark-brown adobe. The stone is cut by numerous seams and cracks, which cause it to come from the quarry in such small dimensions that there is very little of it that needs further breaking for the limekiln.
"The stone is hauled by wagon from the quarry to the kiln on the railroad at Concord, where it is burned ready for shipment. At present (August, 1904) some unburned stone is being shipped."
| Ill. No. 25. Limestone Quarry of Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company, Concord, Contra Costa County. |  |
"Henry Cowell Lime & Cement Company. The cement plant is at Cowell, about 5 miles south of east from Concord and the travertine and clay used are quarried along the Mount Diablo fault nearby. Although the deposits of travertine on the part of Lime Ridge covered in the adjacent Concord quadrangle were not mentioned favorably in the San Francisco folio (Lawson, A. C. 14) the beds of this mineral worked by the Cowell interests have supported the cement plant for a long time.
(*Andrew Cowper Lawson, Description of the San Francisco District: Tamalpais, San Francisco, Concord, San Mateo and Hayward Quadrangles, U. S. Geological Survey Geological Atlas, San Francisco folio (no. 193), 24 pp., maps, 1914.)
"An analysis of a sample of the Cowell travertine taken by E. C. Eckel indicated 95.7 percent CaCO3, 1.4 percent silica, 0.92 percent alumina, and 0.76 percent magnesia. Several of the superficial deposits, 20 feet or more in thickness have been worked by electric shovel. The cement plant has a capacity of 4800 barrels a day. Operation of this plant was ended in 1946.
"This travertine has been derived by springs from the calcareous sandstone of the Tejon (Eocene)."
(Also see: Cowell, Contra Costa County, California - the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company Cement Mill (Lime and Limestone) below.)
"Claim, mine, or group": "Cowell (Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Co.); Henry Cowell Lime Co.; Spreckels Sugar Company. "Owner name, address": Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Co., 2 Market St., San Francisco" These quarries were located at 8, 9, 17, 20, 1N, 1W, M. D. (projected) "Discontinuous masses of travertine crop out over a considerable area on Lime Ridge. Stone is white, buff or pale blue in color. Used in pre-1900 era for manufacture of lime. Quarried 1908-46 for manufacture of cement. Idle. (B 38:66; R 17:55; 23:15; 43:220; 47:567; 574.)."
"The Mount Diablo quarries near Pacheco were the site of the first lime-making in California after the American occupation. This began in the spring of 1851 (Logan 1947) although no records of production previous to 1903 are available. The Henry Cowell Lime Company reported lime production from 1903 until 1915, excepting 1906 and 1908. The limestone was originally hauled from the quarries on Lime Ridge 3 miles southeast of Concord to Concord where the kiln was located. Later, four standard continuous kilns were installed immediately below the quarry.
"The Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company erected a cement mill at Cowell about 3 miles southeast of Concord in 1907. This dry-process plant went into production in 1908 using as raw material the travertine and clay deposits from the west slope of Lime Ridge immediately south of the plant. Cement was produced continuously from 1908 to 1946 except for a temporary shutdown in 1942, owing to strike conditions. Loss of railroad facilities to the U. S. Navy and the approaching depletion of the limestone deposits caused permanent closing of the plant in 1946. Rated production capacity was 4800 barrels of cement per day and between 200 and 250 people were employed at the plant. In 1952 all the mill equipment was sold at auction. The principal building is currently used as a warehouse (1958)."
| Photo 1. Cowell limestone quarry. |  |
"Stege Quarry; Hutchinson & Co., corner of Fourteenth and Franklin streets, Oakland, owner. It is 8 miles north of Oakland. A gravity tram, 5290 feet long, brings the rock from the quarry face to the crusher. The rock is a metamorphosed sandstone, and is used for macadam and concrete purposes."
| Ill. No. 138. Stege Quarry, Contra Costa County. Hutchinson & Co., of Oakland, owner. |  |
"Claim, mine, or group": Unnamed. "Owner name, address": L. R. & M. Ginochio (?), 123 Beede Way, Antioch. This quarry was located at 7, 1N, 1W, M. D. "Three pits on west side of Lime Ridge. Extend from Treat Lane northwestward for ¾ mile.)."
"The Spreckels Sugar Company quarried travertine from pits located south of the Cowell quarries for many years previous to 1915. This stone was shipped to the sugar refinery at Crockett and to the Selby smelter. At the latter plant it was used as a flux for smelting gold, silver and lead ores. This property was purchased by the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company in 1916."
"Claim, mine, or group": "Cowell (Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Co.; Henry Cowell Lime Co.; Spreckels Sugar Company." "Owner name, address": Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Co., 2 Market St., San Francisco." These quarries were located at 8, 9, 17, 20, 1N, 1W, M. D. (proj) "Discontinuous masses of travertine crop out over a considerable area on Lime Ridge. Stone is white, buff or pale blue in color. Used in pre-1900 era for manufacture of lime. Quarried 1908-46 for manufacture of cement. Idle. (B 38:66; R 17:55; 23:15; 43:220; 47:567; 574.)."
"Fitzgerald Quarry, on Haven street, Martinez. The rock is a soft, friable sandstone and sandy shale, and is sold by the load for macadam purposes."
"Franklyn Sandstone Quarry, in Sec. 24, T. 2 N., R. 3 W.; Wilson-Lyon Construction Company, 220 Market street, San Francisco, owner; William Haley, superintendent. It is 3 ½ miles southwest of Martinez, in Franklyn Cañon, just east of Franklyn station, on the Santa Fe Railway. The stone is fine-grained, light blue in color, and is very soft when green, but upon exposure it seasons well and makes a very firm building stone. It occurs in beds about 26 feet thick and dipping in a general northerly direction at an angle of 45 degrees. At the present the quarry face is nearly 100 feet from crest to bottom. The Santa Fe Railroad Company has run a switch to the quarry and the cars are loaded by means of an electric hoist and derrick. The waste rock is used for ballast and rubble. Any size dimension stone is obtainable but considerable waste is entailed in taking out large pieces. This stone was used in two new buildings in Martinez, and in the new schoolhouse in Redwood City. Twelve men are employed in the quarry."
| Ill. No. 55. Franklyn Sandstone Quarry, Contra Costa County. Wilson-Lyon Construction Company. |  |
This quarry was located at 24 (?) 2N, 3W, M. D. "Inactive. Sandstone quarried in 1890's from Martinez formation for use as building stone (Aubury 06:126)."
"Martinez Quarry; Mrs. S. E. Rankin, Martinez, owner. About three fourths of a mile south of west of Martinez, in a small ravine in the rear of the residence. The quarry was last worked about fifteen years ago, when some stone was taken out for use in the buildings of the Napa Asylum. The stone is rather fine-grained and buff-colored. It is soft when green, but hardens upon seasoning, and occurs in beds which dip at a high angle in a general southwest direction. These beds range from 1 to 8 feet in thickness, and are somewhat broken up, probably from careless blasting. Only a small quarry face was opened and not enough development work has been done to prove the quantity of stone available, but the outcrop which extends across the cañon would indicate a considerable body."
This quarry was located at 2N, 2W, M. D. "Inactive. Located three-fourths of a mile southwest of Martinez. Martinez sandstone used in Napa State Hospital in 1890's (Aubury 06:126)."
This quarry was located at 2N, 3W, M. D. "Inactive. Located on line of Southern Pacific RR between Martinez and Port Costa; sandstone used at Port Costa in 1890's (Crawford 94:398.)."
"Col. Coates, in Sec. 15, T. 1 N., R. 1 E., M. D. M. Limestone occurs on the property of Col. Coates, in Oil Cañon. The outcrop is similar and adjoins the deposit belonging to Mr. Harkinson."
"Christen Quarry (formerly the Avery Ranch); Joseph M. Christen, owner. This small quarry lies one quarter of a mile west of Pacheco. The rock is a soft, friable sandstone, formerly used for macadamizing the roads about Pacheco. The quarry has been practically idle of late years, because the rock is too soft to make a good road material."
"The Mount Diablo quarries near Pacheco were the site of the first lime-making in California after the American occupation. This began in the spring of 1851 (Logan 1947) although no records of production previous to 1903 are available. The Henry Cowell Lime Company reported lime production from 1903 until 1915, excepting 1906 and 1908. The limestone was originally hauled from the quarries on Lime Ridge 3 miles southeast of Concord to Concord where the kiln was located. Later, four standard continuous kilns were installed immediately below the quarry.
"The Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company erected a cement mill at Cowell about 3 miles southeast of Concord in 1907. This dry-process plant went into production in 1908 using as raw material the travertine and clay deposits from the west slope of Lime Ridge immediately south of the plant. Cement was produced continuously from 1908 to 1946 except for a temporary shutdown in 1942, owing to strike conditions. Loss of railroad facilities to the U. S. Navy and the approaching depletion of the limestone deposits caused permanent closing of the plant in 1946. Rated production capacity was 4800 barrels of cement per day and between 200 and 250 people were employed at the plant. In 1952 all the mill equipment was sold at auction. The principal building is currently used as a warehouse (1958).
"The Spreckels Sugar Company quarried travertine from pits located south of the Cowell quarries for many years previous to 1915. This stone was shipped to the sugar refinery at Crockett and to the Selby smelter. At the latter plant it was used as a flux for smelting gold, silver and lead ores. This property was purchased by the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company in 1916.
"The Mount Diablo Lime Marl Company produced travertine from 1924 to 1927 which was crushed for agricultural use. These operations were probably centered on Lime Ridge in section 7 where there are three discontinuous small shallow pits.
"The principal limestone deposits are located on the west slope of Lime Ridge, a northwesterly spur of Mount Diablo. They extend over a linear distance of nearly 3 miles, from section 7, to section 20, T. 1 N., R. 1 E., M. D., projected. Most of the production came from deposits southeast of the highway in section 17.
"The limestone deposits are surficial masses of travertine of Quaternary age which originated from calcareous springs issuing along a fracture in the underlying sedimentary rocks of the Tejon formation (Eocene). Vertical dips in the Tejon rocks along the highway were noted in this vicinity. Although the travertine crops out on the surface at many points along Lime Ridge, the deposits are more frequently obscured by a thin mantle of dark brown soil, calcareous tufa, marl or chalky clay, 5 to 15 feet thick.
"The central core of the travertine is pale blue in color, grading outward to a buff-colored stone. The weathered surface is whitish gray and the outer surface of the buff stone is frequently lined with a selvage of white chalk. Textural gradiations can also be seen from a central core of hard, fine-grained travertine outward into calcareous tufa and marl. The solid travertine exhibits faint banding and swirling. Differential weathering along the bands has given rise in many places to a porous texture. The travertine has been slightly fractured subsequent to deposition; the fractures have been filled with secondary calcite.
"The travertine has been mined from an innumerable series of shallow cuts, pits and benches which frequently merge from one into another. Many bench-cuts range from 5 to 50 feet high and are a quarter of a mile long. The largest pit is located about a mile south of the cement mill. It has a face about 200 feet high above the water level in the pit and extends for about half a mile laterally. Small tonnages of good minus 12-inch stone are distributed irregularly in piles along the hummocky floor.
"A smaller pit immediately to the south explores a face of travertine about 25 by 25 feet in size which grades outward into calcareous tufa. Apparently the miners attempted to follow and mine the central high grade cores of travertine and when these passed into tufa the pit was abandoned. Although these travertine deposits were not originally regarded with great favor in some quarters, they produced cement rock in sufficient quantity to run the cement plant continuously for almost 40 years...."
"Slater Quarry; A. E. Slater, owner. This quarry lies about one quarter of a mile south of Pacheco. The rock is a very soft, friable sandstone, used for macadam."
"Port Costa Cut. The Southern Pacific Railroad Company is operating a steam shovel at the foot of the steep hillside at the side of its tracks at Port Costa. The material is used for ballast. It is a friable clay shale and shaly sandstone."
San Pablo, Contra Costa County, California - the San Pablo Quarry Company - Anson Stiles Blake Business Records, 1897-1938, by Anson Stiles Blake, San Pablo Quarry Company, Blake and Bilger Company, Blake Brothers Company, San Francisco Quarries Company. (Available at the California Historical Society in San Francisco, California.)
"Claim, mine, or group": Mt. Diablo Lime Marl Co. This quarry was located at 7 (?), 1N, 1E, M. D. "Produced crushed limestone for agricultural use from deposit 5 miles northeast of Walnut Creek, 1924-27. (R 27:15.)."
"Mount Diablo lime marl deposit is on Lime Ridge about 5 miles northeast of Walnut Creek. From 1924-27 inclusive the Mount Diablo Lime Marl Company operated a plant there for grinding and screening the material which was sold for agricultural use. There has been no record of activity since."
"The Mount Diablo Lime Marl Company produced travertine from 1924 to 1927 which was crushed for agricultural use. These operations were probably centered on Lime Ridge in section 7 where there are three discontinuous small shallow pits."
"Claim, mine, or group": L. C. Hopper. "Leased Mt. Diablo Lime Marl Co. deposit and plant in September 1926. (R 27:16.)."
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