America’s Historic Stone Quarry
Government Island Listed on the National Register of Historic Places 191 Coal Landing Road Stafford, Virginia 22554
Trace the roots of these famous buildings to the sandstone cliffs of Stafford, Virginia. Tour the site where stone was hand-quarried for use in constructing the White House and the U.S. Capitol. The Foundations of our Nation’s Capital
Pillars of American History
Originally occupied by American Indians, Government Island was purchased by George Brent and became a sandstone quarry in 1694. Known as “Brent‟s Island” for almost a century, its stone was used throughout Colonial America for architectural trim, foundations and grave markers. George Washington and George Mason were two of the quarry‟s most prominent clients.
This quarry‟s fine-grained stone, known as Aquia („uh kwhy yah) sandstone or “freestone,” was a highly desirable building material due to its white color, fine-grained quality, and the ease with which it could be carved without splitting. The quarry‟s location along Aquia Creek, a major tributary of the Potomac River, was only a few hours by boat from the nation‟s new capital. For these reasons, the Federal government purchased the island in 1791 to supply stone for prominent public buildings in Washington, D.C.
When the Federal government purchased the island in 1791, the historical term “Public Quarry” came in to use, and extensive quantities of stone were used to construct, in particular, the President‟s House (the White House) and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Today, this 17 acre park includes evidence of the methods used to remove the stone that built our nation‟s capital. Government Island is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
The island was used periodically by the Federal government between 1792-1825 but, most actively, from 1792-1800 when the White House and the original portion of the U.S. Capitol were constructed. After the War in 1812, the quarry was again the source of material used to reconstruct damaged and destroyed buildings in Washington. The quarry was reopened for the last time in 1825 to extract stone used to make columns for the east side of the U.S. Capitol. Public quarrying operations ceased after the 1820‟s. The Federal government's extensive This column capital shows use of Government Island helped to the detailed carving of the further develop quarrying as a major Aquia Sandstone. industry in Stafford County during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This and several other Stafford quarries thrived, utilizing slave laborers, free laborers, stone cutters, and blacksmiths. Though the quarry sites have remained nearly untouched for over 200 years, the workers‟ pick marks remain forever carved in the faces of the stone cliffs.
Stafford, Virginia