The Limestone Quarry at Crown Point

According to a local historian, the limestone quarry dates to roughly 1868. It was known as the Fletcher Marble Quarry, a commercial venture by Friend Fletcher (a Vermont entrepreneur who had interests in other Port Henry iron making and lumbering operations) and several other investors, who thought they had discovered a vein of “Black Marble” like that found in Shoreham, Vermont—highly prized for its use in fireplaces. As part of the quarry development, the rock jetty that still juts into the lake was constructed so that the quarried stone could be loaded on canal boats and lake vessels. Although the limestone was black when freshly quarried, on exposure to air, the limestone quickly faded to grey-white and the company went out of business.

Black limestone was described as “common here” by Swedish naturalist Peter Kalm on his visit to Crown Point in 1749.  He noted that it was used for floors in the soldiers’ houses around the French fort.