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The History Mystery #9

Written by Lynn Northrup

The Raymond Granite Quarry in Knowles has been a large part of Raymond’s history since the 1890s. This tool was donated by an old quarry family, the Iversons, and even though we found an advertisement for it in The Granite Cutter’s Journal from the 1920s, no one has been able to explain what it was used for and how.

Was there a wooden or metal handle inserted in the center hole and what purpose did it serve in granite production? “Sierra White” is the best white granite in our country and the quarry is still going strong after more than 120 years. The new Madera County Courthouse is being built using our beautiful white granite.

If you have any knowledge about this tool, please leave a comment at the bottom of this page or contact the Raymond Museum.

Last month the History Mystery got a lot of people talking in North Fork. Thanks to all who responded to the History Mystery #8. There were 14 comments; all were left on the S|N|O Facebook page. If you care to read them, you can find them here. The synopsis of all the comments appear to be:

The Sign was on Main St at Weatherly Lane, near the Kinn-Curt Inn where the barber shop is today. This location was verified after the community told us it was there, or at a location across the street from the library. Using your information, we scoured old photos of those two locations until we found one that shows the Veterans’ sign in it. The Veterans’ sign honored WWII Vets from North Fork; 6 were killed in the war.

NF Veterans Wall 1940s-1Based on conversations with longtime residents of North Fork, we think the Sign was erected by the North Fork VFW Post.

Other comments suggested the names may have been transferred to the wall of Gas n Stuff or inside the Town Hall. However, the Veterans commemorated on the wall at Gas n Stuff were not WWII vets; they were from later conflicts.

We checked under the Town Hall to look for the boards with names on them, but we didn’t find any sign of them. We have been told the veterans’ names on the wall at Town Hall were put there by North Fork residents who paid for the plaques to honor family or friends.

We are thankful to all who responded to this History Mystery, and to those who offered to help restore or recreate the WWII Veterans’ Wall if we decide to do that. We are still looking for answers on this subject and not all of the information above has been documented, so if you have reason to believe that our conclusions are not correct, or if you have any additional information, please contact the North Fork History Group at 559-877-4807 or email NorthForkHistoryGroup@gmail.com

One comment

  1. It appears to be a soft stone shaping tool. The Trow and Holden Company is still in business in Barre, VT. Their current tool that looks like a modern version of the device in the photo is called a solid tooth bush hammer. Their website guide for hammers is: http://trowandholden.com/guide2hammers.pdf

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