From quarry stone to sharpening wheels
Grindstones were working tools used to sharpen metal edges. Making them required workers to cut suitable sandstone and shape it into wheels that could withstand regular use. The photographs bring that labor into view, showing why the quarries were central to the town's economy.
Lake Huron provided the route to customers outside the Thumb. A long wooden pier connected the shore with vessels that carried finished stone to other ports. The relationship between quarry and dock helps explain why this industry developed at a small lakeside settlement.
When the market changed
Manufactured abrasives eventually gave customers alternatives to natural sandstone. As demand shifted, the quarry business declined and the town's industrial role shrank. Remaining grindstones and historic photographs preserve a record of the workers and shipping facilities behind an unusual Michigan export.
