Stone workers and stonemasons have created buildings, monuments, roads, and many othe types of structures since before the existence of civilization. Examples of stone work and stonemasonry can be found world wide. It utilizes a number of different types of stone and methods for creating foundations, walls, and covernings on buildings. Modern stonemasons learn their craft by serving an apprenticeship and they learn how to measure, cut, and install stone materials by using both hand tools and pneumatic power tools. The Minnesota State Captiol building was largely built by stone workers who used steam powered saws and polishing machines, and hand tools. Stone sawyers were involved in sawing large blocks of stone on the Capitol construction site.
There are numerous photographs on this website that show stonemasons, stone materials, and the tools that were used in the Capitol construction. For other information about stonemasonry and stonework see:
Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers, Local 1 of Minnesota and North Dakota at: http://www.bac1mn-nd.org/
Wikipedia "Stonemsonry," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonemasonry
Stone Quarries and Beyond at: http://quarriesandbeyond.org/stone_workers_union/stone_workers_union-res...
1899-1902 City Directories. John Duckett was born in 1880 in Georgia and came here in 1899 with the marble and worked as a "stone sawyer" in the shed. He became a union bricklayer and although he was in Atlanta in 1905 working as a bricklayer (Union Advocate Feb. 5, 1905), he returned, married, and raised a family in St. Paul. He died here in 1952.
1905 Payroll and City Directory. (In 1900 Central was called Martin west of the Capitol area.) William Haessig was born in Iowa in 1885 and he moved with his family to St. Paul in 1898. At the age of 14 he first went to work in the stone cutting shed at the Capitol and is found in the Payroll of 1905 working as a laborer at 17 1/2 cents an hour. Haessig eventually became a stone cutter and was elected President of the Twin Cities Local in January of 1920. He raised a family in St. Paul and died here in 1938.
John Olson worked as a sawyer. John, who was born in Norway in 1880, was the only one of the two living here when the 1900 Census was taken.
Emil Swanson was born in 1859 in Massachusetts of Swedish parents.
Charles A. Nelson was born in Denmark in 1871 and came to America with his parents in 1875. He worked as a "sawyer" at the Capitol, probably on a stone sawing machine. By 1910 he had a job in a St. Paul cigar store.
John Duckett, born in Georgia in 1880, came up with the marble. He stayed here, married, became a bricklayer and raised his family here. Many other Capitol workers lived at this address including Daniel King and William Haney.
Charles Peterson, the younger brother of John Peterson, also worked as a stone sawyer for Butler-Ryan in 1900. Charles was born in 1876 and came over in 1893.
John Peterson was born in Sweden in 1869 and emigrated in 1889. In 1899 he was a stone sawyer and in 1901 he worked as an engineer. George Gray lived at this address in 1898 and Louis Tweet lived here in 1901.
1898 City Directory. This is probably the same John Humphrey, who appears in the 1900 Census in Pickens, Georgia working as an engineer. He was born in Georgia in 1860 and evidently came to St. Paul in 1898 to work on the Capitol, then returned to Georgia where he had a wife and family.
