Stories in Stone: the Texas State Capitol 1882-1888
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STORIES IN STONE: THE TEXAS STATE CAPITOL 1882-1888 DANIEL SCOTT // UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE // MASTER OF SCIENCE HISTORIC PRESERVATION ‘20 // THESIS “Sharp of line, sensitive in texture, the huge mass is OVERVIEW even more impressive because of the rough quarry Stories in Stone: e Texas State Capitol 1882-1888 is a project that exhibits an nish. ere is a mountainlike grandeur and variety alternative methodology to investigating the multi-layered histories embedded in the built environment. is project analyzes the history of the capitol through its stone to the Capitol. Evening brings a purple cast to the construction and in doing so reveals critical but formerly marginalized stories. e earth-red surfaces; at daybreak the granite is the Limestone-Granite Controversy of 1884 proved to be a dening moment in the gold of the sun.”-Henry Russell Hitchcock Temples of Democracy 1976 history of the capitol and resonated through the quarries, laborers, politics, construction technology, and local communities in previously undocumented ways. e existing historiography of the capitol generally focuses on the political and broader labor histories with minimal attention aorded to the signicance of the stone. is project emphasizes the analysis of the material byproduct as the intersecting artifact to exhibit a history of the capitol from an alternative perspective. e rough quarry-nished red granite that forms the current exterior was not the initially proposed material by architect Elijah E. Meyers in his 1882 design drawings. Limestone located in southwest Austin, in what is now known as Oak Hill, was the material of choice for the rst few years of construction. However, shortly after construction began in 1883, the quality and quantity of limestone came into question. After much controversy and investigation, the material was subsequently changed to red granite sourced from Granite Mountain in nearby Marble Falls. e switch from limestone to granite created a ripple eect of modications to the both scope of the project and broader cultural landscape. More laborers, railroad, quarry infrastructure, and overall cost of construction had to be mitigated by the Capitol Building Commission and Capitol Syndicate contractors. e analysis of the dierent histories surrounding the stone and stonecutting techniques extends beyond textual documentation. My research has involved a myriad of methodological approaches that have ranged from transcribing countless laborers from Capitol payroll slips, to quarry site visits, personal interviews, and stonecutting workshops. e complex histories of the quarries and their community impact are situated alongside stories of skilled stonecutters, convict lease laborers, and their descendants. is project aims to provide the reader with a dierent historical interpretation of the built environment through material investigation. Southeast view of theTexas State Capitol (c. 1890). Image courtesy of Austin History Center Walter E. Long Collection View of the quarry at Granite Mountain (c. 1885). Image courtesy of e Austin History Center Walter E. Convict Laborers working at the stone dressing area at Granite Mountain (c. 1885). Image courtesy of Capitol construction stone setters, masons, and cutters setting a column on the west portico (c. 1886). Image Long Collection e Austin History Center Walter E. Long Collection courtesy of e Austin History Center Walter E. Long Collection QUARRIES LABORERS TECHNOLOGY e history of the Oatmanville and Granite Mountain quarries and their surrounding e construction of the Texas State Capitol employed contract, immigrant, and convict e quarrying and stone construction technology of the Texas statehouse required the communities construct a historic framework that exhibits contrasting growth and culture labor during construction from 1882-1888. Times were hard and economic conditions in contractors to adapt traditional quarrying and construction methods to increasing as a byproduct of the Limestone-Granite Controversy. Oatmanville Quarry, more commonly Texas during the Gilded Age were tumultuous. Laborers and stonecutters who traveled from technological development. In the early years of the operation the quarrymen used oxen to known as Convict Hill, has an identity and heritage is submerged and compartmentalized in a around the country were in dire need of work, and the construction of the Texas statehouse power the hoist and rotate the derricks for staging the stone in preparation for transportation. vast suburban landscape that fundamentally alters the perception of the quarry. Convict lore provided a sense of hope. Texas, like other southern states, was still socially, economically, As the project progressed the quarries incorporated more steam technology and very primitive surrounding the site nds itself reinterpreted on restaurant menus, local beer, and even and culturally recovering from the Civil War. Southern states developed massive labor lease pneumatics to aide in powering saws and drills for more ecient stone extraction. Stone paranormal investigation Youtube videos, whereas Granite Mountain’s history as stone used in systems that aided in reconstructing and reestablishing the south. e construction of the dressing and nishing utilized traditional stone carving chisels and were constantly exchanged the capitol resonates through the community and country to this day. Perpetual quarrying Texas State Capitol serves as a prime example. Key political, business, and social gures in with a blacksmith to keep the tools sharp and sturdy. Cast iron brackets, pins, and riveted operations by nationally recognized stone corporations have established a timeless brand around Texas aligned with the capitol syndicate to expedite and accommodate controversial connections aided in pinning and securing the stone to the limestone substructure. the sunset red granite. Proximity to Austin has also played a role in both towns’ history. decisions throughout the construction process. e Limestone-Granite Controversy paved Oatmanville falls victim to the suburbanization of Austin and grows from just ve hundred the way for the Labor Controversies surrounding the extensive use of convict, contract, and residents in 1973 to over 24,000 residents thirty years later, whereas Marble Falls has remained immigrant labor. Scottish stonecutters occupied the same space as paid contract laborers and a relatively quaint, charming town with a scenic setting and a steady slow population growth worked alongside black, white, and Mexican convicts at the quarry. e quarry and over time, growing by only six thousand residents in one hundred years. construction site served as a stage set for a unique social interaction that exposes more history regarding the stone used in the capitol building. Drilling marks on the face of the Both quarries have a multi-layered history that raise multiple questions regarding their growth stone exhibit the work of the convict laborers cleaving rock from the face of the quarry. over time in the shadow of the capitol contracts: Rough, rock-pitched face architectural block is bordered with margins displaying a How has the public reception and perception of stone quality permeated the branding around variety of stone tooling marks that personify the skilled stonecutter. either site? How can historic manufactured landscapes be preserved and interpreted in the face of e Texas State Capitol’s multi-layered meanings of power, culture, and politics, continued quarry operations or real estate growth? amongst a multitude of other interpretations, constitutes a series of human experiences that are embedded in the granite and limestone architecture. e traditional identity of quarry and stone cutting environments were transmuted into something totally dierent as a result of the introduction of multiple labor types, social classes, and demographics into the BURNET social fabric. is intersection of populations and skill types raises a few questions: Sketch of stone splitting process using Double-pulley guy derrick diagram. is style of How did the skilled stone cutters feel about teaching the convicts their trade? the “plug” and “feathers” method. derrick was used to hoist the large granite and How did convicts perceive the Scottish stone cutters? limestone blocks from the quarry face to the adjoining A & narrow-gauge rail lines at the quarry. N W R ai l ro ad Scottish stonecutters: 62 Rubble inll granite Oak windows GRANITE MTN. Innovative steam and radiator system at Oatmanville: 292 (100 convicts) Cast-iron beams Gustavino brick vault reproong Rough-pitched red granite Dressed limestone foundation at Granite Mountain: 612 (400 convicts) block d a o r l i a R Brick inll c a P o M CAPITOL on Capitol Grounds: 462 Foundation and water table wall LIMESTONE section diagram illustrating the OATMANVILLE = 100 PEOPLE assembly of various construction components. is was drawn from Contract stonecutters: 1,369 Ellijah Meyer’s original blueprints. 1894 USGS TOPOGRAPHIC MAP - Highlighting the connecting railroads, quarries, and Capitol Stonecutter diagram illustrating locations and types of laborer. ese were transcribed from Capitol CONCLUSION locations. e diagram also exhibits the quantities of stone excavated and transported to the Capitol payroll slips located at the Texas State Library and Archives into a searchable spreadsheet with over construction site. 5000 laborers and their various trades. e labor landscape surrounding the quarries and stone yards that built the capitol is an insightful