Lois Borland Collection: Series 2: Aberdeen Quarry Records

Collection 1, Series 2. 2 document cases (.75 linear ft.) Finding Aid Prepared By Abraham Clinger February 2005

The Aberdeen Quarry is located six miles west of Gunnison on South Beaver Creek. It was in full operation from August 1, 1889 until April of 1892. A special type of granite was quarried from Aberdeen, know for its unique hardness and smooth features. F. G. Zugelder took the first sample of granite in the spring of 1888 and, along with L. F. Zugelder, W. R. Walter, and T. U. Walter, set the location for the quarry in April 16, 1889. In early February of 1889 William Geddes, future contractor in operation of the quarry, visited the potential site.¹

After some debate regarding the use of sandstone for the capitol building in Denver, it was decided to search Colorado for an alternative material. Governor Job A. Cooper selected a special commission for the job; Otto Mears and John L. Routt were among the commissions members. In May of 1889, the Governor visited Gunnison during a tour of quarries in the area. One month after the visit to Gunnison, the South Beaver Creek granite was selected for use in the construction of the capitol building. The decision to use granite rather than sandstone in the construction of the capitol building is thought to have increased the overall cost by more than $400,000.²

The Denver and Rio Grande began construction of a branch to the quarry in June with more than 150 men on the job; all of this was at the expense of the D&RG. Before constructed commenced, a right of way had to be opened through several local ranches. This was accomplished with little trouble, and the project was set to be finished by the end of July.³

The operations of the quarry were underway by the beginning of August and the quarry was named Aberdeen after another quarry in Scotland. The first load of granite was shipped to Denver on August 14. From that point on, between fifty and sixty men worked the quarry shipping twenty carloads every week to keep one hundred fifty stonecutters busy in Denver. Some of the slabs required for the capitol building weighed as much as fifteen tons. The quarry quickly began to materialize as buildings were put up and menial matters were sorted out. The Gunnison days were long and cold as men worked ten hours every day of the week. When workers were refused fewer working hours they began looking for a way to organize.⁴

The quarry organized a branch of the Quarrymen’s National Union of America (Q.N.U.) in April 4, 1891.⁵ This just less than one year after the Quarrymen’s National Union was created in Barre, Vermont.⁶ The Quarrymen’s National Union was based in Quincy Massachusetts, and by 1891 had more than sixty branches in many areas of the U.S. Aberdeen and Park Siding were the only branches in Colorado.⁷ Three members of the Q.N.U. arrived in Aberdeen in March of 1891; Peter Olsen was among these and latter became the local Secretary at Aberdeen. They quickly persuaded the workers of Aberdeen to see the benefits of unionization.⁸

On April 4, 1891 the quarrymen of Aberdeen organized Branch no. 46 of the Q.N.U. Alex McDonald was named President and William Thompson was named Secretary. More than twenty of the thirty six men at Aberdeen in April joined that night. Many others joined before the quarry was closed. During their second meeting, May 9, 1891, workers voted unanimously to insist on shorter hours with equal pay. They were supported by another branch of the Q.N.U. in Park Siding, Colorado as well as by John J. Byron, National Union Secretary in Quincy, Massachusetts. After demands were not met, the quarrymen began a strike on June 1. An attempt was made to the fill the positions with non-union labor. After a short period of time, managers realized that the scab labor would be insufficient and met the demands of the union.⁹

Although demands were met, Aberdeen did not last much longer and really only survived to finish supplying granite for the capitol building. The number of employees was up to about sixty by December 1891 but began to fall from there. April 1, 1892 was the last meeting of Branch no. 46 of the Q.N.U. Only seventeen employees remained by this time and even fewer would endure through the end of the capitol project in June.¹⁰ The quarry was open on a limited basis for some time after this.¹¹

Provenance Note

This collection was preserved through the efforts of Wallace Moore and Dr. Lois Borland. Wallace Moore was the last Secretary of the Q.N.U. at Aberdeen.¹² He was also one of only five Gunnison citizens to be employed at the quarry during this time as well as one of the few employees to stay until work was finished for the capitol building.¹³ He passed the collection to Dr. Lois Borland, previous professor of English at Western State College and notable author of local history. Dr. Lois Borland is responsible for donating this collection, as part of a larger collection, to Leslie Savage Library.

Footnotes:

¹Lois Borland and Wallace Moore, “Quarrying the Granite for the State Capitol,” The Colorado Magazine 24 (1947): 49, 58.,

²Ibid., 49-50.

³Ibid., 50-51

⁴Ibid., 50-53.

⁵Ibid., 53

⁶Rex C. Myers, “No One Stayed,” The Mining History Journal 9 (2002): 57.

⁷Monthly Membership Report; Quarrymen’s National Union of the United States of America; Branch 446, Aberdeen, Colorado, Aberdeen Quarry Collection, Folder 16, Western State College Archives, Gunnison Colorado.

⁸Meyers, 57.

⁹Ibid., 57-60.

¹⁰

¹¹Ann D. Zugelder, “Slow-Down at Aberdeen Quarry,” in The Aberdeen Quarry, Edited by Ann D. Zugelder. Gunnison, Colorado, 1.

¹²Borland, 55.

¹³Myers, 60-61.

The Aberdeen Quarry records consist of one linear foot and date from March 1891 – March 1947. The bulk of the collection is made up of records from the short life of the union and a few articles, both newspaper and academic, pertaining to Aberdeen Quarry. Among the union files are financial records, bylaws and minutes for meetings, applications for membership, a contract closing a strike and correspondence. The focus of these records seems to be on the strike that occurred on June 1, 1891. The articles, notable “Quarrying the Granite for the State Capitol” by Lois Borland, provide a useful and comprehensive history of the quarry operations. This collection would be most useful to those who are interested in western mining operations, Colorado history, or labor history in general. The personal correspondence provides an interesting glimpse into labor and unions of the time.