North End West in Sioux Falls in Minnehaha County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Quartzite Paving Stones

Photographed by Ruth VanSteenwyk, March 30, 2019

1. Quartzite Paving Stones Marker (side one)

Inscription.
(side one) In 1888, a year after the development of a great deposit of quartzite near Sioux Falls, newly opened quarries delivered stone to pave Philips Avenue, the city's first hard-surfaced street. Paving stones were a vast improvement over dirt streets with mud wallows.

A booming quarrying industry furnished paving stones for Sioux Falls, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and other cities. Skillful stonecutters recruited from England, Scotland, and Wales cut thousands of paving blocks from the 1.7-billion-year-old Precambrian rock.

(side two) Streets and alleys were paved with stone well into the 20th century. Between 1892 and 1916, 17 contracts were awarded to pave 50 blocks of local streets. Within a few years, the stones were paved over or torn up. Complaints arose about noise and about horses floundering when the stones became wet.

Two nearby residents, Joe Kirby and John Randolph, privately contracted for this stretch of paving stones. Today it shows how streets paved with stone were built in early Sioux Falls.

Erected 1999 by the Minnehaha County Historical Society and City of Sioux Falls and in

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honor of Ashley Blake.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1888.

Location. 43° 33.077′ N, 96° 44.042′ W. Marker is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in Minnehaha County. It is in North End West. It is at the intersection of West 6th Street and North Duluth Avenue, on the right when traveling west on West 6th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 400 N Duluth Avenue, Sioux Falls SD 57104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East River.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

on the prairies,

and on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Cathedral Historic District / Paving Stone Alley (within shouting distance of this marker); Two Cemeteries

Quartzite Paving Stones Marker (side two) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ruth VanSteenwyk, March 30, 2019

2. Quartzite Paving Stones Marker (side two)

(about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Kaufmann House Mystery (about 600 feet away); 215 N Duluth Avenue (about 700 feet away); Congregation Sons of Israel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Martin Luther King (approx. 0.2 miles away); U.S. Senator R.F. Pettigrew (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Prehistoric Prayer Rock (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sioux Falls.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Prehistoric Prayer Rock (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Quartzite Paving Stones. (Submitted on April 10, 2019, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota.)

Quartzite Paving Stones Marker, from the east image. Click for full size.

March 26, 2022

3. Quartzite Paving Stones Marker, from the east

Quartzite Paving Stones Marker, from the west image. Click for full size.

March 26, 2022

4. Quartzite Paving Stones Marker, from the west

Quartzite Paving Stones image. Click for full size.

March 26, 2022

5. Quartzite Paving Stones

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 10, 2019, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. This page has been viewed 525 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 10, 2019, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 30, 2022. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.