06/29/2023
Stonewall, ca. 1930s & Now
This is part of the tour Quarry Park: Exploring Stonewall's Industrial Past.
1. 450 Million Years in the Making
This photo shows three limestone kilns towering over the quarry. Today, these structures and the deformed landscape provide a hint as to what the land was used for over a century ago, when it was a hub of activity - sounds ranging from the scraping of shovels to the whirring of industrial equipment were commonplace.
This park helps to tell a story that should be known to all who visit Stonewall and especially the generations of people who call it home: these quarries, for generations, were the economic lifeblood of the community and are the primary reason the town was founded.
Our story begins with the earth itself, and the rich deposits of red limestone that lie beneath your feet. Those rocks have their own fascinating tale stretching back some 450 million years.
It might be difficult to imagine, but if you were standing here 450 million years ago, you'd be on the edge of a great ocean. This was the Ordovician Period, and the climate was much warmer then; the sea level was as much as 125 metres higher than it is today. That ancient ocean teemed with bizarre forms of life: armoured fish with monstrous toothless jaws, giant bug-like trilobites that scuttled across the seabed, and strange colonies of worm-like corals.
In the earth's past, ecosystems have persevered for tens of millions of years, a span of time so long it is difficult for the human mind to grasp. Over that whole time, millions of generations of life lived and died and carpeted the floor with their organic remains. Over time they combined with silicates and were compacted under the weight of later generations of life. Eventually they were pressed deep into the earth where they were heated up and broken down into fine grains. Eventually those grains solidified
into limestone.
Variations of this process are how many sedimentary rocks and minerals are formed. Looking at geology today can tell us much about the ecosystems that existed on that spot eons ago. Coal is formed from the compressed remains of forests. Oil comes from the bacteria-sized plants and animals--algae and zooplankton--that lived in oceans.
However, the formation of limestone is a little bit different: it is primarily made from calcium carbonate; the material that oysters, clams, mussels, and corals use to make their shells, as well as the bones of sea creatures.
The shellfish-beds at the edge of the ocean 450 million years ago, combined with clay, created all the red limestone you see around you today. The limestone around Stonewall still contains the fossilized skeletons of some of these creatures. These were considered noteworthy enough to merit a site visit by the International Congress of Geologists in 1913, who travelled from a conference in Toronto to view them and were reportedly very impressed.
The first Indigenous people probably came to this place around 14,000 years ago, a much, much smaller span of time that is still so far in the past that it is difficult for the human mind to grasp. They found a ridge of limestone that rose above the surrounding countryside. Numerous trails on and around the ridge show how frequently Indigenous peoples passed through this area. When Europeans came to this place some 150 years ago, the Indigenous told them they called the ridge "Thunder Hill."
Take the full tour at https://onthisspot.ca/cities/stonewall/quarry
Stonewall: Turning a Century, Plate 42 & On This Spot
