BEULAH MARBLE QUARRY photos

 Born in Highland County, Ohio, he he had a ranch near Red Creek Springs. He married his wife, Louise (Lu) Davis in 1879 in Urbana, Illinois. They had four children, and one on the way when Merritt was killed in the marble quarry.  His wife moved to Florence afer his death, and later re-married.  Merrit Arledge (born 10-15-1856) was killed at the Beulah Marble Quarry very early on in operations on March 22, 1894.  He is buried in an unmarked grave at the Beulah Cemetery (a marble gravestone is in the works by the Beulah Historical Society).  Merrit was killed after a derrick broke.

"Because our grandfather, Merrit Alva Arledge was killed in a marble quarry in 1894 we had very little information on our Arledge ancestors and heritage. In 1984, we discovered his family bible, and thus began our exciting excursion into our past. 

Notes taken while talking to Aunt Esther [Louise's youngest daughter] in 1987 while she was in a nursing home in Greeley. She died in April 1988.

Grandmother Louise Davis Arledge married Edward A. Leigh in Forrence . According to 1900 census records he was born April 1870 in Kansas.  [Their daughter ] Ester Leigh was born in Florence Co in March 1899.  

Grandma (Louise) moved to Florence after her first husband, Merrit Alva Arledge was killed at the Beulah Quarry on March 22, 1894.

The quarry owners gave her $3,000 to live on after the death. As there was no work for her in Beulah, she moved to Florecenc where there was an oil field. She got a job as a chambermaid in a boarding house, and later had her own boarding house at 624 W. Main Street in Florence. This is where she met Edward Leigh whom she later married."

Louise and Merrit Arledge's first daughter, Dottie M. Arledge was born at Red Creek Springs, CO 12-4-1882; she died of scarlet fever on 3-14-1887 and was buried in Westcliffe, CO. Ester said that Dottie had been to Westcliffe and had told Grandma that if she died that was where she wanted to be buried.

When Grandpa Arledge (Merrit) died in March of 1894, Grandma was pregnant. A son, Merit Quinn Arledge was born to her on 9-11-1894. He was crippled and died when he was 2 years old (said to be buried in the 'pauper's section of the Florence Cemetery')."

 Perhaps one of Pueblo County’s most prominent and least known historical claims to fame is the Beulah Marble Quarry, which was the source for the spectacular red hued and elaborately patterned marble lining the interior of the Colorado State Capitol.

The quarries were operated from 1894 to 1900, producing a rare marble from the only known deposit of its type in the U.S.

The Beulah Marble story starts and ends with the Colorado state capitol. “Fine quality marble” at Beulah was first mentioned in the print in 1890 but was not of commercial interest until January of 1894 when the exterior work on the state capitol was completed and work began on the interior.

The Colorado Legislature mandated that all capitol construction materials come from within the state, and the capitol management committee requested polished samples of Colorado marble be submitted in competition for a $300,000 (roughly $22 million today) contract for the interior marble.

Samples were submitted from Beulah, Canon City, Cotopaxi and Marble, and two quarries were opened in Beulah.

Bids were opened in early February 1894, but Colorado marble suppliers had the highest bids, with significantly lower bids from outof- state firms. The capitol managers insisted on using the higher priced Colorado marble as the state was hit hard economically by the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and the Panic of 1893, with many of the state’s silver mines closing and leaving many miners unemployed.

D.J. Kelly of the Denver Onyx and Marble company was given the contract for the lavatory wainscoting so that plumbing installation could begin, and Kelly incorporated the Beulah Marble Company in March of 1894. Governor Routt, the first and seventh governor of Colorado, and Otto Mears, the famed Colorado toll and railroad builder, visited the Beulah quarries, and were impressed.

The Beulah Marble Company was awarded the contract for all the interior marble, and commercial production directly followed.

Most of the marble was quarried by hand using handdrilling methods, blasting powder, and lifted out by winches and derricks. A 1894 Chieftain article describing early quarry development mentioned that a “channeler,” a steam-powered cutting machine, had been purchased for use at the quarry, but until recently no evidence existed that it had ever been used for extraction until a historic photo was found that shows the channeler in place next to the quarry derrick.

Tragedy struck the quarry shortly after commercial production began in March of 1894 when the derrick fell over while raising a 7-ton block of marble onto quarry worker Merritt Alva Arledge, killing him instantly. The victim left behind a pregnant wife and five children. He is buried in the Beulah cemetery.

The quarries produced steadily from 1894-1900. Owner Kelly ran into production problems at both his Beulah and Crystal River/ Yule quarries, significantly delaying capital completion by years. He was also subject to a scandal accusing him of substituting out of state marble in the capitol but charging the higher prices for Colorado-produced marble.

A major part of the production problem was transport, as all quarried stone had to be hauled by wagon 25 miles to the railhead in Pueblo for shipment to Denver for processing. Getting the marble out of the valley was a major obstacle due to the steep grades of Beulah Hill, with teams consisting of up to 12 mules required to make it up the grade.

The capitol interior marble work was finally finished years behind schedule at the end of 1900, with frustrated capitol managers calling the performance of the Denver Onyx and Marble Co. “completely unsatisfactory.” Two miles of elaborately finished Beulah Marble wainscoting 5-feet high were reportedly installed in the state capitol.

The Chieftain announced that the Beulah quarry would close in May of 1900, and no other reference to quarry production occurs after that date. Permanent closure most likely was due to the high production and transportation costs, the poor performance of Kelley’s company, and the depletion of easily mineable marble.

Attempts to market the marble continued, including exhibition of Beulah Marble at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, where it won a bronze medal and was reported to attract the attention of German marble dealers.

Kelley unsuccessfully tried to promote a railroad to Beulah and the quarries in 1899 shortly before they closed.

The quarries have been idle since 1900, and the only derrick used to lift the marble out of the quarry remains on site.

The property was set aside in 2017 to preserve it from future development and maintain the quarries as a historical site. Access is restricted to the public, but more information can be obtained from the Beulah Historical Society at beulahhistoricalsociety. org. Ken Balleweg is a Beulah native and a professional geologist with a B.Sc. in Geological Engineering and M.Sc. in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines. He has worked extensively in gold exploration throughout the western U..S, Mexico, and South America and is currently advancing exploration projects in Peru.

Ken Balleweg The quarries produced steadily from 1894-1900. Owner Kelly ran into production problems at both his Beulah and Crystal River/Yule quarries, significantly delaying capital completion by years. He was also subject to a scandal accusing him of substituting out of state marble in the capitol but charging the higher prices for Colorado-produced marble.

Perhaps Beulah’s most prominent historical claim to fame is the Beulah Marble Quarry, which was the source for the spectacular marble wainscoting lining the interior of the Colorado State Capitol. Recent research into newspaper arti­cles from 1890 through the 1900’s together with discoveries at the quarry have revealed a much more extensive quarry history than previously documented, including the presence of six quarries, two of which were run simultaneously by different companies, the utilization of steam cutting equip­ment, and litigation that eventually made it to the Colorado Supreme Court. New geologic studies have also determined the origin of the marble, which is much more rare and unique than most marble deposits.

The quarries are located 1.5 miles west of Beulah at the edge of a small canyon, and are largely invisible until reaching the quarry edge. Three main quarries supplied most of the production, but three smaller quarries with limited production have also been identified. The quarries are remarkably small when considering the amount of marble in the capitol and the large amount of waste rock generated. 

The Beulah Marble story starts and ends with the Colorado State Capitol. “Fine quality marble” at Beulah was first mentioned in the print in 1890, but was not of commercial interest until January of 1894 when the exterior work on the capitol was completed and work began on the interior. The Colorado legislature mandated that all capitol construction materials come from within the state, and the capitol management committee invited interested bidders to submit polished samples of Colorado marble in competition for a $300,000 (roughly $22 million today) contract for the interior marble. Samples were submitted from Beulah, Canon City, Cotopaxi, and Marble. Two quarries were opened in Beulah, one owned by David Kelley from Denver, the other by Benjamin Mattice of Pueblo.

Bids were opened in early February 1894, but Colorado marble suppliers had the highest, with significantly lower bids from out-of-state firms. The capitol managers insisted on using the higher priced Colorado marble as the state was hit hard economically by the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act and the Panic of 1893, with many of the state’s silver mines closing and leaving many miners unemployed. They deferred from a decision on which firm to award the contract until their quarries could be examined.

However, D.J. Kelly of the Denver Onyx and Marble company was given the contract for the lavatory wainscoting so that plumbing installation could begin, and several additional contracts for interior work were awarded to him before the quarry evaluations were undertaken. In March of 1894, Kelley incorporated the Beulah Marble Company. In April Governor Routt, the first and seventh governor of Colorado, and Otto Mears, the famed Colorado toll and railroad builder, visited the Beulah quarries, and were impressed. The interior marble contract was then awarded to the Beulah Marble Company, and commercial production followed.

Most of the marble was quarried by hand using hand-drilling methods, blast­ing powder, and lifted out by winches and derricks. A 1894 Pueblo Chieftain article describing early quarry development men­tioned a ‘channeler’—a steam-powered cutting machine—had been purchased for use at the quarry. However, no evidence existed that it had ever been used until a recent photo was found by the Beulah Historical Society, showing the channeler in place next to the quarry derrick. A detailed search was made at the quarry for any evidence of the channeler’s use, resulting in the dis­covery of a channeler cut that has been excavated to reveal other cuts, the long­est of which is 17’+ long and five-foot deep. Perpendicular chan­nel cuts were also discovered that form 3.5’ square blocks. The channeler was capable of cutting 18-ton blocks, but they were too big for wagon transport.

Tragedy struck the quarry shortly after commercial production began in March of 1894 when raising a 7-ton block of marble caused the derrick to fall over on to a quarry worker, killing him instantly. The victim, Merritt Alva Arledge, left behind a pregnant wife and five children. He is buried in the Beulah cemetery. Indirect evidence sug­gests the accident occurred at the eastern quarry and not at the site where the derrick currently remains.

The quarries produced steadily from 1894-1900. Owner Kelly ran into production problems at both his Beulah and Crystal River/Yule quarries, significantly delaying capital completion by years. He was also subject to a scandal accusing him of substituting out of state marble in the capitol but charging the higher prices for Colorado-produced marble. 

A major part of the production problem was transport, as all quarried stone had to be hauled by wagon 25 miles to the railhead in Pueblo for shipment to Denver for processing, which was done at a plant at 6th and Wynkoop (currently the parking lot for Elitch’s and the Pepsi Center). Marble was cut and/or trimmed into rectangular blocks on site, but the wagon transport limited the size and number of blocks that could be shipped. Getting the marble out of the valley was a major obstacle due to the steep grades of Beulah Hill, with teams consisting of up to twelve mules required to make it up the grade. 

The quarry did not escape the litigation common to mining operations once the value of the product is realized, and the court case provides additional insight into early quarry history and the possible marble discoverers. Benjamin Mattice, owner of one of the quarries, sued the other quarry owner, David Kelley and the Beulah Marble Company, on behalf of the reported original discoverers Betts and Collins. Betts and Collins obtained a lease option to purchase the land con­taining the marble from owner George S. Draper for $1000 (roughly $75,000 today) and took marble samples to Kelley in Denver, most likely because they lacked the resources to complete the option deal as well as to develop the marble resource. Kelley made a deal with them to pay the option price for the land, give them each $500 cash, and the four would share equal interests in the property. Draper later realized the value of the property and insisted on more money as well as an interest in the property, and a new agreement was made, but this time in Kelley’s name only. Kelley later refused to recognize Collins’ and Betts’ interest in the property, and excluded them from any future financial gain on the property. Mattice purchased Collins’ interest, sued Kelley and the Beulah Marble Company, and won in a contentious case in Pueblo District court. The case was appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, where it was overturned for unknown reasons, but one would suspect Kelley’s political influence. Mattice disappears from history at that point, with future reference to all quarry operations exclusively Kelley and the Beulah Marble Company. The Beulah Marble Company and the Denver Onyx and Marble company were merged in 1897, all under control of Kelley, his brother, and brother-in-law.

The capitol interior marble work was finally finished years behind schedule at the end of 1900, with frustrated capitol managers calling the performance of the Denver Onyx and Marble Co. “completely unsatisfactory.”  Two miles of elaborately finished Beulah Marble wainscoting five-feet high were reportedly installed in the state capitol.

The Chieftain announced that the Beulah quarry would close in May of 1900, and no other reference to quarry production occurs after that date. Permanent closure most likely was due to the high production and transportation costs, the poor performance of Kelley’s company, and the depletion of easily mineable marble. Attempts to market the marble continued, including exhibition of Beulah Marble at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis where it won a bronze medal and was reported to attract the attention of German marble dealers. Kelley unsuccessfully tried to promote a railroad to Beulah and the quarries in 1899 shortly before they closed.

The quarry geology is more complex than most marble deposits, forming from a paleokarst process that oc­curred over 300 million years ago. In geologic terms, the Beulah Marble is not technically a marble, which is a limestone that has been recrystallized by heat and pressure but fits the commercial term of marble of being any limestone that will take a polish and can be used as an ornamental stone. Beulah marble is geologically a liesegang-banded limestone with the multi-stage banding formed by repeated groundwater deposition of hematite. The paleokarst pro­cess involved limestone erosion and dissolution prior to deposition of the overlying strata, sinkhole and cavern formation followed by infilling with iron-rich sediment, followed by iron leaching out into the surrounding limestone to form the marble. The marble only occurs around the infilled caverns and sinkholes, explaining why the deposits were small, discontinuous, and difficult to mine. Because of the complexity of the formation process, no other similar occurrence is known outside of Beulah, although paleokarst hosts numerous mineral deposits in Colorado and throughout the country. Each quarry produced a slightly different type of marble, and polished slabs in the capitol can be matched to the corresponding quarry.

The quarries have been idle since 1900, and the only equipment remaining is one derrick used to lift the marble out of the quarry. The property was purchased in 2017 with the desire to preserve it from future development and maintain it as an undisturbed historical site.