STOP 3 was at Marble, CO.  From Somerset, the highway follows the North Fork of the Gunnison River and climbs to the summit of McClure Pass (Elevation 8,755 feet).

At the base of the road up to the active quarry stands a memorial to Stacy Evans Dunn who is credited with the rebirth of the idle quarries in 1988, and forming the Colorado Yule Marble Company.  CLICK HERE for a closeup of the plaque.

It took several minutes to traverse the steep road up to the present active surface quarrying operation.

Our Guide, Kimberly Perrin, the Marble History Museum Director, tells

Kimberly and her husband, Gary Bascom, owner of the marble sculpture

shop, both worked in the marble quarry operations at one time.

Mike Kaas remembers when the only way for the public to get a glimpse of the three historic underground quarry openings was a hiking trail along the adjacent creek.

(Above) Kimberly displays pictures taken in the underground quarries which were developed from the surface into the outcrop of the marble formation.  CLICK HERE for a photograph of the quarry openings which were called Windows.

The mine road continues upward to the area of the Windows.

The MAHers head back down the hill to the ruins of the old Marble Finishing Mill, now on the National Historic Register of Historic Places.

This very large block was quarried as a replacement for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which has developed cracks.  The decision was made to not replace the original.  If it is ever reversed, this block of marble is ready.

(Left) Left behind when the mill closed, this factory reject section of a fluted column is a reminder of the skills of the workers in the mill.  Could it have originally been intended for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC?

(Above) Top quality marble blocks are being loaded for their trip to the new Marble Finishing Mill in Delta, CO.  In the early days, the marble was shipped out from Marble on the Crystal River Railroad to Carbondale.

STOP 4 was at Redstone, a National Historic District in the beautiful Crystal River Valley.  Redstone was developed by John Osgood as a source of coal and coke for his steel mill, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) in Pueblo, CO. Upon arrival at the Redstone Coke Ovens, we were greeted by Deb Strom who had made the tour arrangements at Redstone.

Two large Longwall Mining Roof Support Shields create a frame for the

Miners Memorial commemorating those who lost their lives mining coal

in the Coal Basin located 4 miles west of the memorial.

The second plaque (Below, right) names each of those miners who died.

View of the north half of the west facing side of the restored Redstone Coke Ovens.  One can be sure that the spectacular clear sky at the time of the tour was not anything like the conditions when the ovens were in operation.

View of the south half of the west facing side of the Redstone Coke Ovens. Originally there were 249 coke ovens of which 90 remain for preservation. The coke was shipped to John Osgood’s Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) steel mill in Pueblo, CO.

The MHAers gather at the east facing side of the Redstone Coke Ovens.  Our Guide, Ron Sorter, was actively involved in the decades-long process to save the ovens, get them landmarked, and obtain title to the land.

Standing in front of a fully restored coke oven, Ron describes their operation. He was primarily responsible for raising the money to restore the ovens and managed the preservation process.

The interior of a partially destroyed coke oven still contains the refractory brick lining.

West Elk Loop interpretive signs tell the story of John Osgood’s

 coal mines,coke ovens, and model company town, Redstone.

Our tour was running late and ended at the coke ovens.  Some of the

MHAers stayed overnight at the Redstone Inn and did a DIY tour of the town.

The Redstone Inn welcomes guests at Osgood’s original accommodation for bachelor coke oven workers.

One of the restored workers homes on Redstone Boulevard in Osgood’s “show model” village at Redstone.