South Quarry Trail Junction - Circle Trail

The South Quarry Trail leads alongside an area American Indians have quarried for centuries

J.Borden

Quick Facts

Location:

Southern side of the trail just past the Exhibit Quarry.

Significance:

Leads along active quarry pits still worked by American Indians today.

Amenities

2 listed

Audio Description, Wheelchair Accessible

The South Quarry Trail is an out-and-back path (~ 1/2 a mile roundtrip) along active quarries where American Indians have continuously quarried pipestone for thousands of years. Many travel great distances, spending a week or more of vacation time from their regular jobs. High humidity, heat, rain, mosquitoes, ticks, thorns, poison ivy, and lack of shade all combine to make quarrying a personal struggle.
 
Using heavy sledgehammers, pry bars, and wedges to break through the hard quartzite and hauling buckets of heavy rubble also make it an exhaustive struggle. Despite all this hardship, the quarrying of pipestone continues today from spring through fall.
 
American Indian people hold pipestone in great reverence and many oral histories tell of its origin. A belief held by many is that the stone was formed from the flesh and blood of their ancestors.