Cold Spring Granite
Encyclopedia
Cold Spring Granite is a quarrier of granite
and natural stone and a bronze manufacturing company in the United States. In 1898 with a single quarry, stonecutter, Henry Nair Alexander, started the family business which became known as Cold Spring Granite. Using natural stone, Cold Spring Granite serves the memorials market, the design and architectural market and distributes slabs for the residential market, industrial products, raw quarry blocks, and diamond tools.
, Henry Nair Alexander, laid the foundation for Cold Spring Granite. During this last decade of the nineteenth century, Alexander joined with a group of men from Rockville, Minnesota, to lease land with an outcropping of granite
. Alexander died in 1913, his sons Patrick H. and John continued the company. In 1920, the sons moved the company five miles away from Rockville to the town of Cold Spring, Minnesota. This move built upon Henry’s single quarry, creating the Cold Spring Granite Company that exists today.
Both Patrick H. and John expanded the business with their plan, which resulted in the company becoming the largest quarrier in the country by 1930.
Cold Spring Granite’s natural stone products from its Commercial Group serve the design community with architectural applications such as commercial interiors and exteriors, landscaping, hardscaping, civic memorials and national monuments. In addition, the Commercial Group serves as the distributor of slabs for the residential market, as well as provides industrial products, raw quarry blocks, jetty, rip-rap and diamond tools. The Memorial Group serves the death care industry, including cemeteries and memorial
companies. Products from the Memorial Group include bronze statuary, bronze on granite markers, drilled granite bases, columbarium
structures, granite benches, cremation
memorials, pillars and boulders, standard and custom designed upright monuments, grass markers, slants and bevels, signs, as well as other granite and bronze products. Further, the Memorial Group provides mausoleum
design and construction for private estates and community mausoleums.
Cold Spring Granite is a member of the Natural Stone Council (NSC) and President and COO, John Mattke, is past-chairman of the NSC’s Committee on Sustainability, which has partnered with the University of Tennessee's Center for Clean Products to provide research and define the environmental footprint of stone. For the center’s Natural Stone Industry Environmental Benchmarking Study, data was captured from both quarry and processing operations to characterize the environmental profile of the natural stone industry. Findings spurred continuing research on key issues ranging from water reclamation and consumption efficiency, identification of market niches and alternative uses for scrap stone, to the potential establishment of a corporate environmental policy for quarry closure; thereby compelling the development of industry best practices, life-cycle datasets and material fact sheets.
in Washington D.C., the Korean War Memorial
in Washington, D.C., the National Japanese American Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Notre Dame Hesburgh Library “Touchdown Jesus” Mural in South Bend, Indiana, the Bank of America in San Francisco, California, the National D-Day Memorial
in Bedford, Virginia, and the Center for the Intrepid
in San Antonio, Texas.
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and natural stone and a bronze manufacturing company in the United States. In 1898 with a single quarry, stonecutter, Henry Nair Alexander, started the family business which became known as Cold Spring Granite. Using natural stone, Cold Spring Granite serves the memorials market, the design and architectural market and distributes slabs for the residential market, industrial products, raw quarry blocks, and diamond tools.
History
In 1898 Scottish stonecutterStonecutter
A Stonecutter is a person who carries on the trade of stonecutting or stonemasonry.Stonecutter or Stonecutters may also refer to:* Stonecutter, one of twelve magical Swords in the Books of the Swords series...
, Henry Nair Alexander, laid the foundation for Cold Spring Granite. During this last decade of the nineteenth century, Alexander joined with a group of men from Rockville, Minnesota, to lease land with an outcropping of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. Alexander died in 1913, his sons Patrick H. and John continued the company. In 1920, the sons moved the company five miles away from Rockville to the town of Cold Spring, Minnesota. This move built upon Henry’s single quarry, creating the Cold Spring Granite Company that exists today.
Both Patrick H. and John expanded the business with their plan, which resulted in the company becoming the largest quarrier in the country by 1930.
Products and industries served
Cold Spring Granite has quarries and fabrication facilities located in New York, Minnesota, South Dakota, Texas, California and Canada. Color choices include: Academy Black, Agate, Azalea, Carnelian, Charcoal Black, Diamond Pink, Fredericksburg Red, Iridian, Kasota Valley Limestone, Lac du Bonnet, Lake Placid Blue, Lake Superior Green, Mesabi Black, Mountain Green, Prairie Brown, Rainbow, Rockville Beige, Rockville White, Royal Sable, Sierra White, Sunset Beige, Sunset Red, Texas Pearl, Texas Pink and Texas Red.Cold Spring Granite’s natural stone products from its Commercial Group serve the design community with architectural applications such as commercial interiors and exteriors, landscaping, hardscaping, civic memorials and national monuments. In addition, the Commercial Group serves as the distributor of slabs for the residential market, as well as provides industrial products, raw quarry blocks, jetty, rip-rap and diamond tools. The Memorial Group serves the death care industry, including cemeteries and memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
companies. Products from the Memorial Group include bronze statuary, bronze on granite markers, drilled granite bases, columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
structures, granite benches, cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
memorials, pillars and boulders, standard and custom designed upright monuments, grass markers, slants and bevels, signs, as well as other granite and bronze products. Further, the Memorial Group provides mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
design and construction for private estates and community mausoleums.
Sustainability initiatives
In December 2007, the construction of a new corporate headquarters, together with consolidated fabrication facilities in Cold Spring, Minnesota, served to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Awarded LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2008, the building has 31-percent less square footage than the former building.Cold Spring Granite is a member of the Natural Stone Council (NSC) and President and COO, John Mattke, is past-chairman of the NSC’s Committee on Sustainability, which has partnered with the University of Tennessee's Center for Clean Products to provide research and define the environmental footprint of stone. For the center’s Natural Stone Industry Environmental Benchmarking Study, data was captured from both quarry and processing operations to characterize the environmental profile of the natural stone industry. Findings spurred continuing research on key issues ranging from water reclamation and consumption efficiency, identification of market niches and alternative uses for scrap stone, to the potential establishment of a corporate environmental policy for quarry closure; thereby compelling the development of industry best practices, life-cycle datasets and material fact sheets.
Associations
Cold Spring Granite has memberships in the following associations: Natural Stone Council (NSC), National Building Granite Quarries of America (NBGQA), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), US Green Building Council (USGBC), Marble Institute of America (MIA), Building Stone Institute (BSI), Building Product Manufacturers Association (BPMA), Northwest Monument Builders Association, International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA), Southern Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (SCCFA), Cremation Association of North America (CANA), American Monument Association (AMA), Catholic Cemetery Conference (CCC), Northwest Granite Manufacturers Association (NWGMA), Monument Builders of North America (MBNA), International Sign Association (ISA), Awards and Recognition Association (ARA)Awards and recognition
Cold Spring Granite has been awarded the following honors: International Masonry Institute, Gold Trowel Award, 2001 Award of Merit - Commercial Exterior, Marble Institute of America - Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Washington, D.C., 2002 Special Pinnacle Award for Craftsmanship & Design, Marble Institute of America – Minneapolis Beautiful Project & “TEN” Sculpture, 2005 Special Pinnacle Award, Marble Institute of America – Stone MemorialNotable projects
Cold Spring Granite has contributed to the following projects: Franklin Delano Roosevelt MemorialFranklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The memorial's design concept of four outdoor "rooms" and gardens is animated by water, stone, and sculpture.The 1974 design competition was won by Lawrence Halprin; but for more than 20 years Congress failed to appropriate the funds to move beyond this conceptual stage...
in Washington D.C., the Korean War Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.'s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall...
in Washington, D.C., the National Japanese American Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Notre Dame Hesburgh Library “Touchdown Jesus” Mural in South Bend, Indiana, the Bank of America in San Francisco, California, the National D-Day Memorial
National D-Day Memorial
The National D-Day Memorial is a war memorial located in Bedford, Virginia. It serves as the national memorial for American D-Day veterans. However, its scope is international in that it states, "In Tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of Allied Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944" and commends...
in Bedford, Virginia, and the Center for the Intrepid
Center for the Intrepid
The Center for the Intrepid is a rehabilitation facility to treat amputees and burn victims. It is located next to the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. It was specifically built to provide care for United States servicemen and women who have served in military...
in San Antonio, Texas.