Stone City

History

Stone City was founded in 1850 along the banks of the Wapsipinicon River. Early settlers discovered dolomite and limestone at the location. In its earliest history Stone City was known as the Anamosa Quarries. Later the area became known as the Stone City Quarries. In the late 1800s, Henry Dearborn, John Green, and John Ronen each opened limestone quarries in the area. As the railroad system expanded westward, distribution of limestone to bordering states increased. Stone City limestone became the primary building material for railroad bridges, bridge piers, and foundations for major buildings. Each year from 1859 to 1895, more than 150,000 railroad car shipments of limestone were sent from Stone City. As the quarry business flourished, a city of stone emerged as hundreds of people settled in the area. Overlooking the town, Green built his twelve-room mansion containing seven Italian marble fireplaces, hand-painted murals, two baths, and a conservatory. Once the house was complete, Green erected more of the city – a railway station, a post office, schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, water tower, and several houses, all made of stone. In 1905 Portland cement began to be produced in Waterloo, Iowa. The use of Portland cement in place of quarried stone had an adverse effect on the economy of the Stone City and one by one the quarries began to shut down. During the next half century, nature reclaimed most of the quarries. Columbia Hall was purchased in the 1930s and torn down in 1938 to use the stone elsewhere. In 1963 the Green Mansion was tragically damaged by fire and torn down in the 1990s. Stone City was once the location of an art colony. In 1932, Grant Wood, Edward Rowan, and Adrian Dornbush established Stone City Art Colony. With little more than $100 and a…

Geography

Stone City is located at (42.105427, -91.350196). According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of .

Largest nearby schools

• Strawberry Hill
  Elementary · Anamosa · 442 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Anamosa High School
  High · Anamosa · 397 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Anamosa Middle School
  Middle · Anamosa · 344 students · 11.9:1 ratio