Stone
Various Quarries
VA, NC, TN

The world of stone is just as varied and compelling as the world of wood, and in the past a stone building would almost always be preferred over a wood building. But today we care about global warming and ecological damage. Stone should be used sparingly, but is sometimes necessary; when it is, moving it as short of a distance as possible lowers its carbon footprint. Buckingham Slate is a deep smooth black Virginia slate that’s been specified by American architects since Jefferson, and Virginia Mist granite is all over DC’s federal buildings. The world’s largest open-faced granite mine is located in Mt. Airy, NC and supplies projects up and down the East Coast, from houses to civic buildings to large scale infrastructure projects. Tennessee pink marble is the remnants of a coral reef running through what is now Tennessee, providing stone in light and dark pinks and chocolatey browns to buildings all over the DC and Knoxville downtowns. Finally, Delaware River pebbles, with their rich depth of color and small varied sizes, are a necessity for gardens and landscapes.