Spanish Mining of the Quarry

Spanish Mining of the Quarry. . , Work in the Quarry , Work in the quarry began in 1671. Native American workers had the first backbreaking task of removing the topsoils and vegetation. Once the surface of the coquina stone was exposed, Spanish stonecutters chipped deep grooves into the stone in a block-shaped pattern. Wedges were placed in these grooves, and long crowbars snapped the blocks of stone free. Quarry workers also included Spanish convicts, British captives, and, in later years, African slaves., Tools of the Trade , Crowbars, picks, and stonecutter’s axes handcrafted by blacksmiths were among the tools used in the quarry. Ox-pulled carts transported the blocks of stone over land. Dugout canoes, fashioned with planks as barges, ferried the blocks across the water. , Cutting the Stone , Coquina stone is cream-beige in color when first quarried. Saturated with water, it breaks easily. As the rock dries out, it turns gray and hardens. Quarry workers hewed the blocks into shape while the stone was wet. The blocks were then stockpiled and allowed to dry for up to a year before being used in construction.