Stinesville 1854 and 2012

[Ron Marquardt]

In 1854 a gentleman from Stinesville named John McHenry bought two shares of New Albany and Salem Railroad stock.  The stock certificate was sent to me by Ron Baldwin of Bloomington.  Ron also sent information about where he thought Mr. McHenry might be buried west of Stinesville, a small cemetary with six graves, only three of which had gravestones.

I found the cemetary last winter, but didn't have my camera with me.  Last week Jim Davis was visiting, and we returned to the cemetary and took pictures.  Mr. McHenry's gravestone was in
five pieces, perhaps knocked down by blasting in the new quarry recently opened nearby, but the lettering was still clear.  I have attached copies of the stock certificate, and photographs of the gravestone, with, of course, Mr. Davis.

I really enjoy this type of historic research where we can physically connect the past with the present.  / Ron

PS, as information to all concerned, particularly Tim, I did use Photoshop to clean up the old and worn copy of the stock certificate, , but nothing was changed except for the ratty looking border.

[Robert Gibson]

$100 for 2 shares was a lot of money in 1854.

[Ron Marquardt]

Yes it was Bob, and I'll bet that fancy gravestone was a lot of money in 1875 too.  / Ron

[Joe Land]

His gravestone appears to be made of limestone? I wonder if he owned one of the limestone operations near Stinesville.

[Ron Marquardt]

I wondered about that Joe, but he was already a "man of means" in 1854 when the NA&S built through Stinesville, and I don't know if there were any quarry operations the before the railroad arrived.  It would be interesting to find out more about him.  / Ron

PS, a limestone book I have, and can't lay my hands on right now, claimed that the "the birth of the limestone industry" occurred in Stinesville, the first quarry apparently opening there, but I can't remember what year.

[Joe Land]

Read that before the railroad limestone was moved by wagons and carts. That was in general, not necessarily Stinesville area. 

[Ken Weller]

See wording on this marker - a bit hard to read perhaps.

[George Lortz]

I read somewhere that the Limestone quarry in Greencastle was one of the first, if not the first, in Indiana.  However, the stone from this quarry may not have been high enough quality for building construction.  It possibly was used more for gravel and the cement industry.

The quarry had railroad tracks that connected to the NYC, but, I believe, the Monon had access to the quarry through these same tracks.  I have never found any information about the operation of this quarry and the railroad's involvement in it.

The quarry is now owned by DePauw, which received it as a gift from a British company that wound up owning it through a series of corporate acquisitions.  It is being used as a nature preserve, exercise area and for educational purposes.

George L. 

[Ron Marquardt]

Attached please find cover and Page 8 of the book "A Short History of Indiana Limestone" by Bill McDonald.  I bought my copy at the Monroe County Historical Society, and I highly recommend it.
According to this, the first quarry was one mile south of Stinesville in 1827.  / Ron

[Ken Weller]

Attached is a map of the "Stinesville District" in 1907, showing quarrys & etc.