The Brownstone Times
Port Wing, WI
Brownstone blocks on Hermit Island
Brownstone Blues: Forgotten
Resource of Wisconsin
By: Sue Peerior
Over 480 million years ago, a rock
formation took place in what is now north
eastern Wisconsin. This formation was
created by mixing iron oxide, quartz,
feldspar, and silica together. The iron oxide
is what gave brownstone its reddish brown
color.
The Apostle Islands were the main
location for brownstone. Companies started
moving brownstone out of the Islands as
early as 1868. Bass Island was the first
island to have a brownstone quarry, with
other quarries appearing on Stockton Island
and Hermit Island after 1889. The
brownstone quarries were the most
important industry in Chequamegon Bay.
Brownstone from the bay was shipped by
railroad to St. Paul, Minneapolis, Chicago,
Detroit, and Milwaukee. There are many
buildings in Bayfield, Washburn, and
Ashland that are made of brownstone.
After the Great Fire in Chicago in
1871, the importance of brownstone grew.
Chicago was a city of wooden buildings, so
the fire destroyed most of the city.
Today, 2015
Brownstone wouldn’t burn like wood, so it
made buildings fireproof.
Brownstone quarries were also in
Port Wing on the Iron River. Quarrying in
Port Wing began in 1889. Brownstone was
sent to Duluth to be finished before shipping
to customers. The brownstone from Port
Wing was used in the Wisconsin Building at
the Chicago’s World Fair and can also be
found in several homes all over the country.
Even the Department of Interior Building in
Washington D.C. has Port Wing
brownstone. Port Wing brownstone can be
found around Port Wing as well. The
basement of Port Wing School, the
foundation of Lutheran Parsonage and the
O.T. Bagstad warehouse are made of
brownstone.
Brownstone blocks in Port Wing
Brownstone quarries stopped when
the economy crashed and people stopped
building new buildings. When people did
start building again, they started using
concrete and steel. Brownstone was no
longer popular and the quarrying ended.
Entrance of Port Wing School