Dimension stone
Dimension stone is rock that was removed from its original site to be used (fieldstone) and rock that was broken, sawn, and/or ground and polished (processed) for use as building and/or ornamental stone. While most of the high-quality stone produced in Arkansas is used in-state, some is shipped to markets worldwide. Limestone and sandstone are used as dimension stone in Arkansas.
Some dimension-stone operations can produce blocks of stone weighing up to about 9 tons. Such large blocks require specialized equipment for extraction and transportation. The manufacture of building stone remains a labor intensive industry. A finished piece of building stone is an expensive product due to extra labor costs. This means that a piece of stone which has been highly worked/or polished costs more than a partially finished or rough block. Dimension stone may be sold as rough block, sawn slabs, or finished product. Flaggy sandstone is mined by ~12 companies in Arkansas, the predominance of sandstone production being from the Hartshorne and Atoka Formations (Pennsylvanian) in the western Arkansas Valley in Sebastian, Franklin, Logan, and Van Buren Counties. Flaggy sandstone is also produced by one company in Stone County in north central Arkansas from the Atoka Formation. Ordovician age limestone/dolostone and Mississippian age limestones and sandstones of Independence County are mined and processed for both interior and exterior use by Oran McBride Stone Company. Ordovician age dolostone from the Cotter Formation of Carroll County is mined and processed for exterior use by Johnson’s Landscaping & Construction LLC. Eureka Stone Company, also of Carroll County, produces exterior and interior finished stone products from stone furnished by Johnson’s quarry.
Production figures have been withheld since 1966 to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. However, the current total annual production of Arkansas dimension stone is estimated by the AGS to be approximately 100,000 tons valued at $8.5 million.