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Show WINTER 2013 UHQ pp 4-90_UHQ Stories/pp.4-68 12/5/12 9:38 AM Page 54 uTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETy uTAH HISTORICAL QuARTERLy soon after Manti, and construction of the fort This stone of oolite limestone began in 1854, as the establishment of stone was carved for the Washington quarries in the nearby exposures of stone east Monument. and northeast of Ephraim followed soon after settlement. Names of quarry operators are a clear indication of their Scandinavian heritage. In Ephraim, the Sanpete White Stone Company’s initial owners were P.C. Peterson Sr., Anthon H. Lund, Dr. Charles Jensen, and Henry Lund. Later P.C. Petersen Jr. was a part owner and manager and Heber Poulson was foreman. There was no shortage of talent as the White Stone Company employed seventy-two men a day. Other quarries were owned and operated by Lauritz, Otto, and A. C. Nielson, Jacob Peterson, Joseph Thorpe, M. P. Madsen, Peter Mortensen, Jorgen Jorgenson, and Soren P. Jensen. The 1860 U. S. Census for Ephraim lists stonemasons and cutters from far flung places. Collins E. Flanders was from New Hampshire, Parlen McFarlen and William Bubble hailed from Canada, Nels Christian and Andrew Hanson had come from Denmark. Additional stonecutters included Peter L. Breinholt, Alfred Bailey Sr., John C. Johnson Sr., Lars Christensen, Niels Jensen, and Niels Spendrup. These craftsmen built many homes and other buildings of oolite limestone. For example, the Ephraim City Building was constructed of machine-cut oolite limestone, and the Ephraim United Order Cooperative Store was constructed in 1872 of oolite limestone.15 15 54 Centennial Book Committee, William G. Barton, ed., Ephraim’s First 100 Years (Ephraim, 1954), 69. |
