Known as “The Nation’s Building Stone,” Indiana Limestone is a sedimentary stone formed more than 300 million years ago. Its consistent color and grades, along with workability, make it premier choice for many monuments and buildings since the early 19th century.
Indiana Limestone quarries have been in operation since the mid 1800’s. Originally much of the demand for Indiana Limestone was for the local Indiana markets. However, as the network of railroads become more extensive, Indiana Limestone become more widely available. Fires in Chicago in 1871 and in Boston in 1872 created a very large demand for Indiana Limestone. Of all the building materials it was apparent that limestone showed the least fire damage. In addition, Indiana limestone won awards of merit at the Philadelphia and the New Orleans Centennial Expositions in 1876. With the increase in demand, the Indiana limestone belt area saw the number of quarries and fabricators nearly double in the late 1800’s.
Many iconic buildings and landmarks incorporate Indiana Limestone including the Lincoln Memorial, US Holocaust Museum, rebuilding of the Pentagon, National Cathedral, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Biltmore Estate and numerous State Capitals throughout the country.
The Indiana Limestone stone belt is located in southern central Indiana, in between Bloomington and Bedford. The stone used here is quarried and transported from the stone belt to be fabricated by our company.
- Indiana Limestone is one of the handful of products produced on a continuous basis and has stayed in demand in architecture for over 160 years. Materials come and go, but Indiana Limestone’s continuing success story is very unique.
- Indiana Limestone's presence in a building signals thoughtful architecture, a client concern for image and the importance of conservation.
- Indiana Limestone is the least energy intensive material in common use. It saves billions of BTU’s annually over brick, concrete, glass, and steel.
- Indiana Limestone holds no noticeable amounts of grain and no traceable amounts of silica.
- Indiana Limestone is a free stone. The term means that it essentially shows the same strength in all directions regardless of grain direction.
- Indiana Limestone has been used in every style of American architecture since the early 19th century.
- Indiana Limestone maintains a narrow color range. A warm white buff and a cool white gray represent the entire production range.
- Indiana Limestone is weather resistant and requires little or no maintenance to retain the light, neutral color tone.
- Indiana Limestone can machined and/or cut in any direction, since there are no weak cleavage planes. This is due to it's uniformed deposition of sediment particles.