Structures and Monuments in Which California Stone was Used

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Structures and Monuments in Which
California Stone was Used

Finished Product from California Stone in California (Continued)

Napa, Napa County, California – the Behlow Block (From The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)

Sandstone from the Napa Sandstone Quarry, located "...5 ½ miles west of Napa, in Park Cañon, on the Brown Valley road." was used in the construction of the Behlow Block in Napa.

Napa (near), Napa County, California – “Big Trancas” Bridge (From Report XIV of the State Mineralogist – Mines and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist’s Report – Biennial Period 1913-1914, Part II. “The Counties of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo,” by Walter W. Bradley, Field Assistant (field work in September, 1913), California State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1916, pp. 173-370.)

“Big Trancas” and “Little Trancas” bridges near Napa, Napa County, were constructed from the light, yellowish to gray, trachytic tuff quarried from the Wing Quarry (Newman) located on the Berryessa road about 6 miles northeast of Napa.

“…The ‘Little Trancas’ (Milliken Creek, U.S.G.S.) and the ‘Big Trancas’ Napa River, U.S.G.S.) bridges north of Napa City were constructed of stone from the Wing quarry, the latter of which was just being finished when visited in September 1913 (see photos Nos. 35 and 43). This bridge required 75,000 cubic feet of stone, and the average cost was stated to be 27 cents per cubic foot as laid in cement mortar.”

“Bibl.: R. XIII, p. 640; Bull. 38, p. 158.”

Photo No. 35. “Little Trancas” bridge near Napa, Napa County. Stone from Wing Quarry, 1908.

Photo No. 43. “Big Trancas” bridge near Napa, Napa County. Stone from Wing Quarry, 1913.

Napa (near), Napa County, California – “Little Trancas” Bridge

(“Little Trancas” Bridge – See: Napa (near), Napa County, California – “Big Trancas” Bridge above.)
Napa, Napa County, California - Napa Cemeteries - Cemetery Stones (From The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)

The light gray sandstone quarried from Maxwell Cañon, Napa County, was used for cemetery stones in Napa cemeteries.
Napa, Napa County, California – the Napa County Criminal Courthouse Exterior & Fountain (photographs & history) The following information is from “Where in Napa Valley?” by Marsha Dorgan and Mike Treleven, Napa Register Staff Writers, February 25, 2008, on the Napa Valley Register web site.

According to this article, Sierra White granite* was used for the exterior of the fountain which is located next to the Napa County criminal courthouse in downtown Napa. Sierra White granite was also used for the exterior of the courthouse. (* Sierra White granite is quarried at Raymond in Madera County, California, by Cold Spring Granite of Minnesota.)
Napa, Napa County, California – Napa Insane Asylum – the Branch Insane Asylum (The following excerpt is from The Contra Costa Gazette, Martinez, Contra Costa County, California, Saturday, August 1, 1874, transcribed by Dee Sardoch and presented on the Norcal email list January 31, 2012.)

Shipping The Rock –

“A schooner load of the rock now being got out from Tucker’s quarry, for the Branch Insane Asylum building at Napa, is now lying at Bray’s landing for shipment. The rock is a fine, firm, soft-blue colored sandstone, and is designed for the stone work of an octagon tower that forms a prominent feature of the architectural design of the building. It is got out in large blocks, some of which must be of more than a ton weight.”

(Note: “Tucker’s quarry” (above) refers to Captain John Tucker’s sandstone quarry in Martinez, Contra Costa County, California. Peggy B. Perazzo.)
- Napa, Napa County, California - the Napa Insane Asylum - Marble Columns for Entrance (From The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)
  
  The marble columns for the entrance way to the Napa Insane Asylum were quarried at what was known circa 1906 as the Holmes Lime Company's Quarry in Placer County, California, by a man named Pritchard.
Napa County, California, Napa Junction / American Canyon - Standard Portland Cement Co. / Basalt Rock Co. Ruins Photographic Tour. We visited these ruins and photographed them with permisson in late May 2011 (These ruins are located on private property. You should obtain permission before entering the property.) This property is slated to become the new American Canyon Town Center.
Napa, Napa County, California - Napa State Hospital - Sandstone Buildings (From "Mines and Mineral Resources of Contra Costa County, California," California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 54, No. 4, State of California, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, October, 1958, pp. 501-583.) (Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)

"Stone used in the buildings in the city of Martinez and in the Napa State Hospital was obtained from two quarries near Martinez; the Franklin sandstone quarry, located 3 ½ miles southwest of Martinez in Franklin Canyon and the Martinez quarry located three quarters of a mile southwest of that city.The stone is blue-gray; it is soft when quarried but hardens upon exposure."
Napa (north of), Napa County, California - the Northern Bridge over the Napa River north of the City of Napa (Excerpt from Geology and Mineral Deposits of an Area North of San Francisco Bay, California: Vacaville, Antioch, Mount Vaca, Carquinez, Mare Island, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Point Reyes Quadrangles, Bulletin 149, by Charles E. Weaver, California State Division of Mines, September 1949.)

“The hardened tuffs and banded rhyolites which occur on both sides of the Miyakma Mountains have been used for local construction. Their hardness, strength, and texture vary, but carefully selected material can be quarried in large uniform blocks. This type of rock has been used in building the northern bridge over Napa River north of the city of Napa and also the bridge over Milliken Creek....”
Napa County, California - the Bridge over Milliken Creek of Tuffs/Banded Rhyolites (Excerpt from Geology and Mineral Deposits of an Area North of San Francisco Bay, California: Vacaville, Antioch, Mount Vaca, Carquinez, Mare Island, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Point Reyes Quadrangles, Bulletin 149, by Charles E. Weaver, California State Division of Mines, September 1949.)

“The hardened tuffs and banded rhyolites which occur on both sides of the Miyakma Mountains have been used for local construction. Their hardness, strength, and texture vary, but carefully selected material can be quarried in large uniform blocks. This type of rock has been used in building the northern bridge over Napa River north of the city of Napa and also the bridge over Milliken Creek....”
Napa County, California - Local Bridges of Sandstone in and near Wooden Valley (From The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)

Some local bridges built prior to 1906 in the vicinity of Wooden Valley were constructed with the light buff-fine-grained sandstone taken from the Gardner Sandstone Quarry, which was located 12 miles northeast of Napa in the Wooden Valley. The sandstone was "taken from small outcroppings only, and no regular quarry face has been opened."
Napa Junction / American Canyon, Napa County, California - Standard Portland Cement Co. / Basalt Rock Co. Ruins – Photographic Tour. We visited these ruins and photographed them with permission in late May 2011. This property is slated to become the new American Canyon Town Center.

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