Quarry Districts Along The Monon

Quarry Districts Along The Monon

Indiana has out-produced all of the other states in limestone production. The major areas are in south-central part of the state. The Indiana limestone belt encompasses a large part of Monroe and Lawrence counties, and the limestone belt extends 23 miles from Bloomington to Bedford in central Indiana. Indiana limestone has been quarried since 1880 and "has probably been used more widely than any stone in the world." Indiana limestone is know by several names: Indiana Limestone, Indiana Oolitic Limestone, Bedford Oolitic Limestone, and Bedford Rock. The stone is a buff, gray, and variegated colors.

History of Limestone

Over 300 million years ago, an inland sea covered most of the Midwest. This sea teemed with billions of microscopic creatures, shell fish, and other denizens of the deep. When they died their calcium-rich carcasses settled into the mud at the bottom.

After a while, (say 40-60 million years or so later) the sea dried up, the mud and sea creatures fossilized. Eventually (that would be another 40-50 million years) the mud and sea creatures were covered over by the earth. During the recent ice age (in geological terms the last ice age is recent) huge glaciers slid south over Southwestern Indiana exposing a small area of ancient bedrock between Bloomington and Bedford, Indiana.

For more information on the Indiana Limestone and Quarry Districts, visit, Stone Quarries And Beyond . This web site has great information on many of the operations in the State Of Indiana. Peggy and George Perrazzo have put together a nice reference point. They have graciously allowed me to use much of the personal collection on this page, to which I say, "Thank You."

Disclaimer, Please Take Note:

This is in no way a complete accounting of the quarries and their operations in and around the Monon Railroad or the communities it served. I am no expert in the field of limestone and quarries. This is meerly a look at some of the companies that once, and in many instances, still are doing buiness. I will do my best to make certain that the information is accurate, based on the information or research I have at my disposal. If you can better identify the pictures or information, please contact the Webmaster .

Stinesville Area

Richard Gilbert opened the first limestone quarry of Indiana in 1827. The quarry was located three quarters of a mile south of Stinesville on the banks of Jack’s Defeat Creek. Limestone from the quarry was used to construct the court houses in Lafayette, Lebanon, and Terre Haute. It was also used to create the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Indianapolis.

Adams Area

McNeely Stone Company, Inc, Circa 1979. Left: Looking at what remains of the McNeely Quarry. Right: McNeely Stone Company, Inc. Cutters Building. In need of some windows and a curtain or two.

November 1979. This house was once occupied by the President of the McNeely Stone Company, Inc. What are the odds he was named McNeely?

Another shot of the Cutters Building at McNeeley.

The ByBee Stone Company, 1979. Left: ByBee Stone Company buildings. The main office was the building to the left side of the picture. Right: Detail of a limestone urn with the company name carved into it. ByBee Stone Company is still in business and provided much of the stone used to rebuild the Pentagon after the 9-11 attacks. Visit their official web site: By Bee Stone Company, Inc.

Another look at the Cutters Building at the ByBee Stone Company, circa 1979.

Looking inside the Cutters Building at the ByBee Stone Company.

Bloomington Area

Hunters Area

The shots below are at Reed Quarries, taken by Lance Mindheim. This quarry was served by the branch splitting off the mainline at Hunters. These pictures were all taken July of 1976 after the L&N/SCL/Family Lines takeover.

Independent Stone Company & Railroad

Independent Limestone Quarry, Bloomington, Indiana. Circa 1984. Left: Looking into the quarry. Right: Looking at one of the quarry walls and building on the rim.

Another look at the Independent Stone Company Quarry at Bloomington, circa 1984.

Left: Another Independent Stone Company quarry, circa 1977. Looks as if this one has been played out. Right: Part of the Independent Stone branch railroad line that served some of the independent quarries.

Left: Ex-Monon wood caboose that once served as the yard office at the Independent Stone Quarry. Right: Monon and Illnois Central Gulf Railroad crossing along the independent branch.

Indian Hill Stone Company

The Indian Hill Stone Company. Left and Right: To looks at the old Indian Hill Company, circa 1977.

Oolitic Area

Oolitic Indiana, circa 1955. Looking into one of the many limestone quarries in the area. Note Monon stone gondola and big steam powered channelers.

Aerial photograph of the Oolitic Quarry. A view of one of the older Limestone Quarries near Oolitic, Indiana. These quarries provided the building limestone used in such buildings as The Washington Cathedral, British Embassy, The Mayo Clinic, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Rockefeller Center.

Oolitic Quarries. Part of the Bedford Stone Quarries Company, Inc. Left: Oolitic Quarry #1. Right: Oolitic Quarry #2.

Murdock Area

Near Murdock. Furst-Kerber Mill #2. According to the date on the building, this mill was opened in 1911.

Left and Right: Old quarries on the former Murdock Branch line. Long since shut down and silent, circa 1984.

Left: Old stone tower in abandoned quarry. Right: Furst-Kerber Mill #2. Old stone pile. Both pictures circa 1984.

More On The Murdock Branch Line

Bedford Area

Bedford Area. Left: Indiana Limestone Company. This pictures shows the quarry where The Empire State Building once lay. In prehistoric majesty before its 207,000 cubic feet of limestone (18,630 tons) were quarried and shipped to Manhattan. The great hole is now abandoned. Rain water collects in it; moisture seeps in through its ledges and it is forgotten.

Left And Right: Empire Quarry, Indiana Limestone Company Inc. These pictures are from 2001, from which the stone was taken for the Empire State Building in New York City.

Hoosier Quarry 1 & 2

Owned by the Bedford Stone Quarries Company, Inc. The quarries of the Company, consisting of "Hoosier 1 and 2," "Oolitic 1 and 2," "Louisville and Bedford," and "Buff Ridge," are situated about five miles northwest of Bedford, in what is geographically known as "Buff Ridge," a district about one mile wide and about three miles long.

Right: Quarry scene from the Hoosier Quarry #1 at Bedford, Indiana.

Above: D Quarry picture Hoosier Cut Stone Company, Bedord, Indiana. Left Below: Hoosier Quarry Number 1, Bedford, Indiana. Date Unknown. Right Below: Hoosier Quarry Number 2 photo, date unknown.

Old stone mill located on the former Monon B&B branch, circa 1984

Bedford Belt Railroad

Access to the Bedford Stone Quarries was handled through the Bedford Belt Railway, a line owned by the Bedford Stone Quarries Company, Inc. It was about twelve miles in length, and connected with all railroads entering Bedford. The Bedford Belt Railway at one time had three large "Mogul" engines for hauling freight to Bedford from the Quarries, and two smaller engines to do the necessary switching and operate a passenger line between Bedford, Limestone and the Quarries.

The completion of the Bedford Belt Railway, connecting all of the Quarries at Bedford with all of the railroads entering there, together with present facilities for obtaining a sufficient number of cars at all times to transport the output, enabled the Bedford Stone Quarries Company to take contracts of any magnitude and to insure prompt delivery.

Here is some additional information, courtesy of Tim Swan, Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society Members, who has done comsiderable research into this region. "About the Bedford Belt Railroad, according to The Milwaukee Railroader, the Milwaukee Road Historical Society's magazine, the Bedford Belt was taken over by the South Indiana Railway (SIRy) in 1898. SIRy was ireorganized as the Chicago, Terre Haute, and Southeastern (CTSE) in 1910 and was in turn absorbed by the MILW in 1921. Everybody in this area continued calling the Oolitic line the Bedford Belt. To access Oolitic, the Belt crossed over the Monon mainline on a small wood trestle between mileposts 244 and 245. The Monon spur from the Murdock wye accessed essentially the same area but from the east instead of the southeast. I've never seen any evidence that the Belt connected with the Monon at Oolitic. Since both line's had a myriad of quarry spurs they must have been very close together in many places. In the 1890-1920 period, SIRy and the Monon were bitter rivals, each allied with competing stone cartels."

Bedford Belt Railroad. The railroad that moved countless tons of stone in, around and out of the quarries around Bedford, Indiana. Left: Pictured is a Belt Railroad train crossing a trestle on the Belt Line. Right: Locomotive negotiating its way through a steep rock cut. Below Left: Columns loaded on flat cars wait to be shipped. Below Right: Limestone train making its way through the streets of Bedford, Indiana. Date unknown.

Largest stone ever shipped from the Bedford Quarries. Bedford Stone Quarries Co., Bedford, Ind., Weight 100,000 Lbs. Stone was 12 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 3 inches by 6 feet 3 inches. Quite a load.

Monon Quarry Pictures

Two Monon steam locomitives are posed on the tracks serving the quarries around Bedford. Exact date is unknown.

Crew of steam locomotive pose for a photo on the PM&B Quarry lead. Exact date unknown.

J. F. Bennett photographed the Monon extensively. Left: Monon locomotive moving cars loaded with cut stone. Date not listed. Right: Another view of a Monon steam locomotive working in the limestone district of Southern Indiana. Date also not listed.