The first commercial quarrying in Lawrence County started in 1860, and the quarrying process involved blasting a one year supply of limestone at once, then hand sawing the stone and using horses and oxen to haul it to the mill.  In 1866 the first steam-powered saws were purchased, revolutionizing the industry.  After the 1871 Chicago fire, limestone soon became the building material of choice in the city of Chicago.  Its popularity spread.

In 1926 twenty-four smaller limestone companies, representing over 90% of the area stone industry, set about improving their posture in the business by merging to form the Indiana Limestone Company, Inc. which resulted in the large corporate ownership of twenty-one quarries, thirty-six mills, and over 6,000 acres of land.  The years from 1928-1932 proved to be a boom period, during which some of the major contracts were the Nebraska Capitol, Indiana War Memorial, Palmolive Building in Chicago, Dept. of Commerce in D.C. (the largest order ever received), Internal Revenue in D.C., State Capitol of WVA, Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, Empire State Bldg, and U.S. Post Office in Pittsburgh.

The Depression years hit the industry hard, but by 1940 Congress agreed to use Indiana limestone for the new Pentagon Bldg.  Other project followed, such as additions to Tribune Square in Chicago, Washington Cathedral, U.S. Court House, Washington Cathedral Addition, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, General Office Bldg Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati; TN State Capitol restoration and repair, the Crescent in Dallas, City-County Bldg in Indianapolis, and the Ronald Reagan Bldg, among others.  The limestone industry has come a long way since 1860.  Gone are the yearly blasting, hand sawing, and horse/oxen transport.  Modern technology and computers are the norm today as the industry continues to prosper.

The county has many beautiful quarries with crystal blue water, but none is accessible today for the public visitation.  Below are pictures taken by Bedford OnLine during a special tour offered to the public on July 3rd by Indiana Limestone Company as a feature of the local 2001 Limestone Heritage Festival.  Transported by bus, visitors were treated to views of the Empire Quarry, from which the stone was taken for the Empire State Building.  The Indiana Limestone Company, Inc. block yard has the largest limestone block storage site in the world.  The tour through the mill highlighted the planing, sawing, and carving processes.