Track 4 / Presentation 2
The Rise and Fall of Junction City Limestone: Early Commercial Limestone Production in Kansas
Julia Mathias Manglitz, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Associate Principal
TreanorHL
Commercial quarrying of the abundant limestone underlying the state of Kansas began shortly after the territory was opened for white settlement in 1854. The relatively treeless prairies, lack of transportation infrastructure, and easily accessed, widely dispersed limestone deposits created a climate ripe for stone construction. Among the earliest stones to gain statewide notoriety was a magnesium limestone quarried near Junction City. This stone was hailed for its abundance, consistent color, and the ease with which it could be shaped. In June 1866, a traveling writer for the New York Tribune compared the stone to the creamy limestone of Malta, used since ancient times. While the comparison brought fame, the stone’s early success likely owed as much to the westernmost reach of the Union Pacific Railroad, which was Junction City. That year Kansas began the 37-year task of constructing a capitol building in Topeka, 75 miles east of Junction City on the Union Pacific’s line.
Construction of the east wing of the Statehouse began with limestone which cracked and failed in the winter of 1866-67. Junction City limestone, perhaps unsurprisingly, became the stone of choice to replace it. As development continued in Kansas, limestone deposits in other parts of the state became accessible via a growing railroad network. Commercial quarries across the state compared their stones favorably to the celebrated Junction City limestone. The use of Junction City declined in the face of competition, which billed themselves as superior in appearance and equally workable. When construction on a new Statehouse wing began in the late 1870s the durability of Junction City stone was questioned and other limestone varieties were considered. Cottonwood limestone, one of the many competitors, was selected; it would become the most utilized of all Kansas building stones.
While the overall appearance of the Kansas Statehouse is uniform on a cursory viewing, Cottonwood and Junction City have different appearances and weather-related decay mechanisms. Repairs made to the Junction City limestone in the 1900s utilized Cottonwood and Silverdale, another Kansas limestone, with less than satisfactory aesthetic effect. Cottonwood does not match Junction City in color or texture, and while the warm tones of Silverdale are like Junction City, the texture is wholly different. The possibility of obtaining Junction City limestone for repairs to the East Wing was explored as part of comprehensive masonry restoration. Research efforts located one remaining, but long-shuttered quarry. Landowners agreed to allow extraction for the Statehouse. Stones for the restoration were quarried in 2002 and seasoned for nearly a decade until selection by the fabricator.
Utilizing stone whose application as an architectural finish fell from favor decades earlier came with technical and execution challenges for the designers, fabricators, and contractors. Samples from the quarry were tested to determine the physical properties. But physical properties alone are not an indication of the way a stone will behave during handling and fabrication. As the fabrication process began, it provided new insight into possible reasons for the decline in the use of Junction City limestone despite its proven durability. While the famed softness and workability remained, naturally occurring occlusions, inclusions and seams presented fabrication challenges.
The Kansas Statehouse is not unique among state capitols in exploiting stone quarried within the state boundaries; the manner and use of two Kansas limestones for the exterior work, Junction City and Cottonwood is unique. The facades of the Kansas Statehouse document a history of the early building stone industry in Kansas, including the rise and fall of the state’s first celebrated limestone.
Ms. Mathias Manglitz is a practicing preservation architect specializing in masonry restoration. She co-authored a paper for the 5th International Congress on Construction History and has co-authored peer-reviewed technical papers for ASTM. Ms. Mathias Manglitz serves as one of two Vice Presidents for the Association for Preservation Technology International.
