Geological history. I dig it. This is a rather unique marker. It's not the usual painted steel, it's literally carved out of the stuff that they're marking: Pink granite.
The marker reads, "1979. This 866 foot dome of solid pink granite covering 180 acres contains the largest quarry of its king in the United States. This mountain, like all granite formations, was once melted rock similar to lava. As the molten rock cooled thousands of feet below the Earth surface, it hardened into large crystals of quartz, feldspar and several dark colored minerals."
"Whenever strength, durability and beauty of finish is required, granite is a favored building stone."
"The mountain was part of a grant made to Texas colonist William Slaughter. The site became famous commercially when a dispute arose in the 1880s of a type of stone to be used in the Capitol in Austin [50 miles southeast]. The issue was settled in 1885 when Governor John Ireland resisted demands to use non-native limestone."
"Following this decision, a special track was built to haul the granite to the rail line in Burnet. The stone was generously donated to the State by quarry owners G.W. Lacy, N.L. Norton and W.H. Westfall."
"Today, granite from this quarry here is shipped to all parts of Teas, the U.S. and foreign countries for use in monuments, shafts, jetties and buildings. It has been used in the Galveston sea wall and in new state buildings near the Capitol in Austin."
[Review 17400 overall - 415 in Texas - 918 of 2022.] read more