The Stones of Smith College's Neilson Library

We would like to acknowledge that the Neilson Library was built on Nonotuck land. We would also like to acknowledge the neighboring Indigenous nations: the Nipmuc and the Wampanoag to the East, the Mohegan and Pequot to the South, the Mohican to the West, and the Abenaki to the North.

The recently renovated William Alan Neilson Library is an exemplary blend of historical and contemporary. Neilson was first constructed in 1909 with funding from Andrew Carnegie, and much of the facade that is seen today is original to the building. Renovations and expansions  took place in 1937 and a decade later the library was renamed to William A. Neilson Library to honor Smith’s third president. Prior to the most recent work, the last major renovation was completed in 1982. 

Construction for the current renovation project began in 2017. For all of the Smith College community’s excitement surrounding these renovations, there has been minimal discussion on the origin of the materials used in new Neilson’s construction or the sedimentary materials that make up a majority of the building’s facade. While much of the history of the original building materials is unknown, the recency of the current construction has provided access to a tremendous amount of information about the stones used in the renovation project. Primarily drawing upon information from recent material data submittals, we have assembled a narrative of the geologic and geographic histories of Neilson’s stones spanning oceans and epochs.

The stone facades of Neilson’s two ‘jewel boxes’ are made from Indiana limestone. The Indiana limestone was deposited during the Carboniferous or Mississippian time period, around 330 million years ago (Ma), when a shallow ocean covered a significant portion of the US Midwest. Limestone is commonly formed in warm shallow marine environments, as those conditions are ideal for calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation. The Indiana limestone is composed of fossil fragments (Powell). A few of the most common organisms preserved in this limestone are foraminifera and bryozoans, two marine filter-feeding organisms, as well as gastropods (snails). The limestone from southern Indiana, geologically known as the Salem limestone, is a very popular building material across the US (Hasenmueller). It has been used in White House and Lincoln Memorial repairs and 27 state capitol buildings (Williams). 

On-campus the Indiana Limestone can also be found in the arches of College Hall, the columns of Bass Hall, and patterns along the facade of Seelye. If you have the chance, walk over to the columns in front of Bass Hall. Notice the similarities and differences between this and the Neilson stone.

The onset of large-scale quarrying of the Indiana Limestone formation began in 1827 with the opening of the Richard Gilbert Quarry (Powell). The limestone used on Neilson’s facade was manufactured by another business, the Bybee Stone Company of Ellettsville, Indiana (Bybee Stone Company). The initial extraction took place just southwest of Bloomington, Indiana by the Independent Limestone Company, one of the foremost quarries in the area founded in 1927 (Independent Limestone Company). The limestone traveled nearly 970 miles to reach Neilson Library.

The stone commercially termed Tennessee Marble is used in the rondelles that decorate the outside of the Nielson library. Tennessee Marble is used in many notable structures and buildings, including the lion sculptures that sit outside the main New York Public Library building and the floor of the Nation Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. (D.C. Fossils, NY Public Library). Though called marble, the rock is actually limestone from the Holston Formation. While it is visually similar to marble, the limestone was not subjected to sufficient heat or pressure to be considered marble. The rock was deposited during the Ordovician period (488 Ma) in a shallow marine environment. During this time, modern-day Tennessee was situated closer to the equator, creating the warm, shallow conditions for limestone formation (Powell). The Holston Formation is rich with fossils, such as bryozoans, a type of aquatic filter feeder that assisted with sediment compaction in modern and ancient reefs (Roger).

The first marble quarries in Tennessee were established in 1852, and became a major local industry after gaining railroad access in 1855 (Knowles). The marble was a popular building material and was also used in architectural decoration (Tennessee Marble Company). By the 1920s the marble industry was declining due to the popularity of concrete, World War I and the Great Depression. The New Deal, which sought to create jobs through infrastructure projects, encouraged the use of local materials, so the Tennessee marble industry did see a spike in activity (Knowles). However, this declined into the 1950s with only 5 marble companies operating in the area. The Tennessee Marble Company was established in 1993 and is the only major marble company currently active (Tennessee Marble Company). The marble medallions crafted for Neilson Library use Cedar Tavernelle marble from the Brown Quarry in Friendsville, Tennessee. The quarry has been in use since 1890, though the Tennessee Marble Company first began using it in the early 1990s. The company employs twenty-six people for their quarry and manufacturing work (Gawet). The marble traveled about 890 miles to its final destination on the Neilson facade.

Bricks are formed using the molding and firing of clay and are some of the most common building materials used today and in the past (The Brick Industry Association). Before 1885 bricks were made by hand, but during the industrial revolution, the advent of brick-making machinery dramatically increased the rate of production. In the 1900s, the ease of manufacturing made bricks a cheaper building option than stone (Brick Architecture). The Stiles and Hart Brick Company, established in 1893, is the only brick manufacturer in Massachusetts. Currently operating out of Bridgewater MA, they offer a number of colors and custom shapes of brick (Stiles and Hart Brick Company). The various minerals in the brick contribute to the final color, the most dominant being the iron. Bricks are glazed or coated with sand particle slurries to give the surface texture similar to that of sandstone (The Brick Industry Association).

The brick seen on Neilson’s facade traveled about 120 miles, from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to reach campus.

Commonly known for its use in blackboards, slate is a favorable roofing material due to its durability, appearance and fire resistance (Williams). The gray slate used in the Neilson Library is from the southeastern area of Vermont where 3 slate formations are quarried. The St. Catherine Formation is from the early Cambrian period (541 Ma) and the Poultney and Indian River Formations are from the Ordovician period (488 Ma) (Shumaker). Slate is formed by metamorphism when shale, a sedimentary rock, is subjected to relatively low temperatures and pressures. One of the most recognizable features of slate is its ability to split into thin sheets along cleavage lines, or lines of natural weakness (Williams). This creates the thin tiles used for roofing without compromising the strength or the appearance of the rock (Greenstone Slate Company).

The earliest slate quarries in the Northeast were established in the Colonial Era but were small operations (Greenstone Slate Company). Before the advent of railroads the use of slate was limited due to issues of transportation (Poultney Historical Society). During the World War I and Great Depression of 1929 most slate quarries shut down and workers either joined the military or moved to work in factories (Greenstone Slate Company). After World War II the Greenstone Slate Company acquired the old quarry locations in Vermont, but the slate industry never reached its previous popularity. Today the slate industry focuses on restoration of 19th century roofs that are beginning to degrade. The slate found on Neilson Library’s roof traveled approximately 115 miles to reach campus.

Cement and concrete, though often used interchangeably, refer to two different building materials. Cement is a fine powder which provides strength to concrete which is a combination of aggregates (crushed stone) and paste (cement and water).  Portland cement, the variety used in the library, is the most common form of cement used and is made by placing materials such as limestone, clay, and iron ore and placing in a rotating kiln. Once heated to a high enough temperature, the materials form a small ball referred to as a “clinker” which is then finely ground to form cement. (The Portland Cement Association). The major components of Portland cement are lime and silica, but it also includes aluminum and iron oxide.  

The cement used throughout Neilson was manufactured by the Lafarge Company located in Ravena, New York. This plant has been in operation since 1962. While the company claims to have “air pollution controls in place to make it one of the most environmentally friendly plants in the world” (LafargeHolcim), the company has recently been dealing with two controversies, requiring them to pay $850,000 in civil penalty and $212,000 to support local projects to mitigate air and water pollution.  

If the cement traveled directly from the Lafarge plant to Neilson, it would have taken a journey of only 92 miles, making it one of the most locally sourced materials studied. However, this does not take into account the intermediate plants and, most importantly, the sources of extraction for the limestone and clay that are used in the manufacturing process.

The granite columns and pathway outside of the Neilson Library are from local granite quarries. The columns, which are a section of the old facade, are from Connecticut and the new pathway material is from East Otis, MA (Birney, Williams Stone Company). Granite is formed when magma cools slowly underground. Quartz, feldspar, and mica are the most common minerals in granite (King). Granite can be pink, and speckled white and grey, and other colors depending on its mineral composition. The granite used in the pathway outside of Neilson is a white-gray variation, and the columns are pink. Granite is commonly used in countertops, stairs, flooring, and various other architectural elements (King, Williams Stone Company).

Local New England Granite quarries were most popular through the 1800s. Like other stones of the time, the advent and construction of the railroads meant business growth for the industry. After the Civil War, the granite quarries saw increased business since granite was often used on commemorative monuments. In the late 1800s, statues and gravestones were often commissioned out of granite over marble due to higher durability (Wood). In the 1990s, China was more frequently the source for granite due to the low costs, even including shipping. The Williams Stone Company was established in 1947. They are a proud employee and family-owned business (Williams Stone Company).  

The granite used in Neilson was locally sourced, with roots in both Connecticut (93 miles away) and Massachusetts (33 miles away).

The original facade of the Neilson library was constructed from Portland Formation sandstone and bricks. Sandstone is formed from sand-sized grains that are eroded from older rocks in the area and transported in flowing water until deposition. The grains are typically made of minerals like quartz, feldspars, and mica. This particular sandstone gets its identifiable red color from iron oxides, the same process that makes rust. The local quarries in Massachusetts and Connecticut are no longer in business so the most recent addition to the facade was sourced from China (Williams). The Chinese sandstone that was used in the most recent renovation is from the Zhaojiadian Formation and was deposited in the Cretaceous (145 Ma). The Portland Formation was deposited during the early Jurassic period around 200 Ma (Powell). During this time, the supercontinent Pangaea broke up and the landmasses transitioned into their current layout. This tectonic activity helped facilitate the movement of sediment in the area (Williams). 

On-campus the red sandstone can be found in the arches of College Hall, the window trim of Burton Hall, and the large pillars of John M. Greene Hall. Notice the similar red color and the rough texture.

Large-scale quarrying operations of the Portland Formation did not begin until 1715 and by the middle of the century, demand for intricate gravestones built from the stone led to more invasive extraction of the formation (Boyle). The use of Portland brownstone peaked between 1890-1896, followed by a decrease in popularity at the turn of the 20th century. A brief upsurge in use occurred during the 1930s, but in 1936 high rain levels caused the Connecticut River to flood, filling the quarries. While for the most part, the quarries are no longer in use, The Department of the Interior designated the quarries a National Historic Landmark in 2000. The original redstone traveled only about 61 miles from Connecticut making it a very locally sourced material, but for the recent renovation, the stone came from China, making it the most distantly sourced stone.

Through these material stories, we hope to connect the Smith College community with the history of various stone products in the Neilson Library. This narrative is far from complete. We’ve shared the names of company founders, we’ve approximated routes from quarry to factory to Smith, and we’ve chronicled the natural forces that have for millennia produced the raw materials used in the construction of our built environment. But we’ve told nothing of the quarry workers cutting stone, the truck drivers whose paths criss-cross across states, and the shipping crews whose journeys bridge continents. The full narrative of Neilson Library is incomplete without mention of these workers whose labor is embedded in the very stones of its walls. 

We hope that this project inspires more questions, and we invite future students and curious minds to dig further: Who are these laborers whose work brought Neilson to life? What stories do they have to tell? Why did we source redstone from across the world but brick from across the state? How do we balance the environmental impacts of construction with the aesthetic and historic desires for “authentic” preservation? We ask that the next time you walk by Neilson Library, you take the time to learn more about the stories behind its materials.

Please feel free to continue exploring these sites and histories through the web map below!

We would like to thank Smith College Geosciences Professor Bosiljka Glumac and Professor John Brady for their support and the original inspiration for this project. This project would not have been possible without the valuable information from Charlie Conant from Smith College Facilities Management and Jon Caris from Smith's Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL). We are grateful also to Monica Gawet from the Tennessee Marble Company for providing us with further details about the marble quarry and its history. Finally, thank you to Landscape Studies Professor Reid Bertone-Johnson and Tracy Tien from the SAL for your GIS expertise and guidance.

The routes illustrated in this Story Map were generated using the OpenRouteService R package and Simple Features for R. Quarry and factory coordinates were identified using Google Maps, as well as from material submittals provided by Charlie Conant and from communications with Monica Gawet. Code, reference data, and supplementary methods are available on  GitHub .

Birney Vickery, Margaret, 2007. Smith College An Architectural Tour.

Boyle, Doe. 2008. Connecticut Explored. “The Quarry That Built Boston and New York City”.

Brick Architecture The History of Bricks and Brickmaking.  Link 

The Brick Industry Association, 2006. Manufacturing of Brick.  Link 

Bybee Stone Company.  Link 

Cuffey, Roger. 2011. Bryozoa.  Link 

D.C. Fossils. Fossils in the Architecture of Washington D.C. Ordovician (and Mississippian, The National Gallery of Art, West Wing).  Link 

Greenstone Slate Company About the Greenstone Slate Company.  Link 

Greenstone Slate Company From Quarry to Roof.  Link 

Hasenmueller, Nancy. 2021. Salem Limestone Indiana University Bloomington.  Link 

Hendricks, Jonathan, R. The Geological Time Scale. Paleontological Research Institute.  Link 

Independent Limestone Company.  Link 

King, Hobart M. Granite.  Link 

Knowles, Susan. East Tennesse Marble Industry.  Link 

Knowles, Susan. Marble City.  Link 

LafargeHolcim. Lafarge Ravena Cement Plant Fact Sheet.  Link 

New York Public Library. The Library Lions.  Link 

The Portland Cement Association. Cement and Concrete Basics.  Link 

Poultney Historical Society Vermont’s Slate Industry.  Link 

Powell, Wayne. 2004. Indiana Limestone.  Link 

Powell, Wayne. 2005. Portland Brownstone.  Link 

Powell, Wayne. 2005. Tennessee Marble.  Link 

Shumaker, Robert. 1967 Bedrock of the Pawlet Quadrangle, Vermont.  Link 

Stiles and Hart Brick Company. About Us.  Link 

Tennessee Marble Company. TN Marble History.  Link 

Vermont State Agency of Natural Resources: Department of Environment Conservation. Slate.  Link 

Williams, David. 2009. Stories in Stone Travels Through Urban Geology.

Williams Stone Company. Granite Colors.  Link 

Wood, Paul. 2009. The early 1800s marked the rise of the American granite industry.  Link