Upstate

Summary

For those who have inhabited the North Country in the last two centuries, rocks and minerals have been valuable resources. Like the virgin timber that provided easily accessible building materials for settlers’ simple cottages and barns, native stone was here in rich variety, as well. There were quarries for sandstone in Potsdam and Burke, limestone in Jefferson County and the Champlain Valley, Lake Placid granite, Gouverneur marble, and Granville slate. Men with experience in cutting and building with stone came from places like Scotland, Italy, Poland, and Wales to live and work.