FRONT COVERClusters of quartz crystals, especially rose, white, smokyand amethyst varieties were used to decorate this wall inthe Grotto of the Redemption at West Bend in Palo Alto

County. This view also includes blue-green copperminerals, red jasper, pyrite (“fool’s gold”), mounds ofwhite chalcedony, sea shells, and small geodes. The

Grotto was hand-built of an extraordinary array of high-quality specimens brought to the Iowa countryside by

Father Paul Dobberstein between 1912 and 1954.

Photo by Paul VanDorpe

Geological Survey Bureau109 Trowbridge Hall

Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1319www.igsb.uiowa.edu

Educational Materials: EM-29 (2001)

Iowa Department of Natural RIowa Department of Natural RIowa Department of Natural RIowa Department of Natural RIowa Department of Natural Resourcesesourcesesourcesesourcesesources

Iowa is richly endowed with a variety of rock

resources suitable for building construction,

and their utility is particularly well displayed in

the early architectural heritage of our state. Al-

though building stone is still actively quarried at a

few places in Iowa, notably at Stone City in Jones

County, quarrying was more widespread during the

1800s and early 1900s, before the advent of cement

block and poured concrete construction. Wherever

rock resources were conveniently located near

growing communities and farms, quarry workers

labored to extract blocks of rock for building pur-

poses, especially for foundations. The blocks were

“dimensioned” into desired sizes by using hammer

and chisel, leaving marks that often are still visible

on historic stone buildings across Iowa. Some

quarry operations used rock saws and other me-

chanical devices to make precision block cuts or to

create stone lintels, trusses, or decorative pieces.

Masons used these stone materials to construct

houses, churches, stores, public buildings, and

bridge piers, which are lasting monuments to their

skills.

Various rock types have been used in Iowa for

construction purposes. Limestone and dolomite

have been extensively quarried for building stone.

Although most sandstones are not very durable,

some that are cemented by iron minerals provide a

lasting and attractive building stone, as seen in the

Amana colonies. Other rock materials are important

locally, including field stones derived from glacial

deposits. Even quartzite, coal, and geodes have

been used. The Geological Survey Bureau has

played an important historic role in locating and

describing the varieties of stone available for build-

ing and other uses in Iowa.

GGGGGEOLOGICEOLOGICEOLOGICEOLOGICEOLOGIC S S S S SOUROUROUROUROURCESCESCESCESCES OFOFOFOFOF

HISTORIC STONEARCHITECTURE

IN IOWA

Photo courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa – Iowa City

COAL PALACE, OTTUMWA

The Coal Palace, constructed in 1890, was a uniqueand imaginative example of geologic materials usedas building stone in Iowa. Completely veneeredwith blocks of coal, it was built to honor areaminers and to publicize the coal resources ofsouthern Iowa. These coal deposits are thecarbonized remains of plants that flourished intropical coastal lowlands that were present hereabout 300 million years ago (Pennsylvanian age).

The lavish palace-like building displayed a lofty 200-foot tower, with a dance floor near the top. Incontrast to its dark exterior, the interior was bright,with vast rooms decorated with colorful displaysmade of wheat, oats, corn, sorghum and cattails,including a wall-sized portrait of Chief Wapello.There was a large auditorium for concerts, plays andspeeches, and even a 30-foot tall waterfall. Areconstructed coal mine was featured beneath thestructure. The Coal Palace was dismantledfollowing the 1891 exposition season.

HISTORIC MONTAUK, CLERMONT

This beautiful Italianate mansion of brick andlimestone was built in 1874 for William Larrabee,

Iowa’s 12th governor. Montauk isan example of building stone usedfor foundations, lintels, and

cornices in otherwisebrick construction.Many buildings from the1800s and early 1900spossess stone found-ations. Later construc-tions are characterizedby foundations of ce-ment block or concrete.

IOWA LAKESIDELABORATORY,WEST OKOBOJILAKE

Glacial depositsacross Iowa containabundant bouldersand cobbles ofigneous andmetamorphic origintransported viaglaciers from Minne-

sota. These easily accessible field stones have been utilizedespecially for house and barn foundations. The fine example ofboulder construction shown here is found at Iowa LakesideLaboratory, a state university field station for natural historyclasses and research.

Ken Formanek

Photo courtesy of Sioux City Public Museum

NEW MELLERAY ABBEY,DUBUQUE CO.

Many beautiful stone churches canbe seen across Iowa, and the New

Melleray Abbey near Dubuque is an example of therich heritage of religious construction found in ourstate. This Trappist monastery was constructed bymonks beginning in 1868 and continuing into the1950s. It is composed principally of Silurian-agedolomite blocks from the monastery’s quarry, withedge-blocks and windows of “Anamosa stone.”Some intermediate construction is of Indianalimestone.

Photographic Services, The University of Iowa

IOWA MEN’S REFORMATORY,ANAMOSA

The Men’s Reformatory, con-structed in several stages between1872 and 1936, is one of the mostimposing stone buildings in Iowa.It is composed of dimensionedblocks of “Anamosa stone” quarried byconvict labor at the neighboring “peni-tentiary quarries.” This stone, with itsdistinctive laminated appearance, is an attractive anddurable Silurian-age dolomite still quarried for buildingstone at nearby Stone City.

SIOUX CITY PUBLIC MUSEUM

The Sioux City Museum is housedin the Romanesque-style Piercemansion built in the early 1890s.It is made of durable purplishSioux Quartzite (Precambrianage), the oldest bedrock exposedin Iowa. Quartzite quarries arelocated near Sioux Falls andnearby areas of Minnesota andnorthwestern Iowa. Manyoutstanding buildings are con-structed from this enduring stonein the tri-state region andelsewhere.

OLD CAPITOL, IOWA CITY

Stately limestone block construction characterizesIowa’s former territorial capitol and first statecapitol, whose corner-stone dates to 1840. Theimposing blocks ofDevonian-age limestonewere hand-quarried atIowa City and alongpresent-day CoralvilleLake in Johnson County.Occurrences of naturalbuilding stone in the areawere important in de-ciding the site of Iowa’scapital city.

Paul VanDorpe

SANDSTONE HOUSE, AMANA

This sandstone house, built in1857, is characteristic of thesimple and pleasing architecturalstyle found throughout the Amanacolonies. Residential and com-munity buildings in several of theAmana villages are built from thisdistinctive locally quarriedreddish-brown sandstone ofPennsylvanian age. Amana’ssandstone buildings datefrom the 1850s through1870s.

Paul VanDorpe

Robert McKay

GROTTO OF THE REDEMPTION,WEST BEND

The famous West Bend Grotto incorporates an in-credible variety of rock types elaborately encrustedover a concrete framework. Striking rocks, miner-als, crystals, ores, semiprecious stones, shells, andfossils came from many localities around theUnited States and elsewhere. Construction wasinitiated in 1912 under the direction of Father PaulDobberstein, whose vision and life-long dedication resulted in this re-

markable labyrinthof grotto structures.

Lynet

te S

eigl

ey

STATE CAPITOL,DES MOINES

The state capitolbuilding in DesMoines, con-structed from1872-1884 is aspectacular example of late 19th-century stone construction.The granite base was secured from Buchanan County bouldersand quarries in Minnesota. Limestone blocks comprising thefoundation and lower levels were quarried in Johnson andMadison counties. Most of the exterior was constructed ofsandstone blocks from quarries in Missouri. Additional stone,both local and imported, was used in the interior, includinga number of decorative marbles.

FORT ATKINSON STATE PRESERVE

Fort Atkinson was constructed between1840 and 1842 as a frontier military postin northeast Iowa to enforce a treatyprotecting the area’s Winnebagos fromother Indians. Limestone slabs derivedfrom the fort’s quarry were usedfor the barracks’ foundationsand other buildings. The mainbuildings were limestone-walled constructions. Restoredbuildings as well as stone ruinsare seen today within this statepreserve.

Ken Formanek

Photo courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa – Iowa City

Ken

Form

anek

Stev

e H

all

Jean Prior

Paul VanDorpe

Lynette Seigley