Thread by @MiningNS

We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked where the stone was quarried for the old #Bridgewater post office on King St. Here’s our answer:
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater @DesBrisayMuseum

The old #Bridgewater post office was designed by David Ewart and built in 1909 by builders Faulkner and MacDonald. It was built in the federal style, with the ground level windows featuring rounded tops and stone arches.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1

It also has a Dentilled Cornice, which is the small tooth like decorative block design that crowns the building. ("Dentil" comes from the Latin word for tooth.)
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater @DesBrisayMuseum

It used to have a copper-sheathed clock tower but it was removed in the 1950s. It served as a post office until 2010 and it has commercial space and some apartments now.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater @DesBrisayMuseum

The foundation is made of local granite and the face is red sandstone. The municipal heritage listing says the sandstone was likely quarried in the #AnnapolisValley. This is where our challenge starts!
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1

There were some historical sandstone quarries in the Valley but they were generally small, short-lived, poorly-documented and relatively poor quality. They sometimes just operated for the duration of one project.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP

This makes it hard to determine whether the #Bridgewater post office stone came from there.
Almost all quarried sandstone in #NovaScotia came from the #Amherst, Wallace and Pictou areas.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater

#Wallace was by far the biggest producer. Its stone is in many historical #NovaScotia buildings such as the legislature, and even in #Ottawa’s #parliamentbuildings. Wallace is still in operation today.
#nspoli #cbpoli #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgwater

The #Amherst Red Stone Quarry had distinctive sandstone that looks like a close match to the red stone in the #Bridgewater post office. The quarry operated on James Donalds' farm, east of Willow St. from 1889-1914.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB

It provided sandstone for many #Amherst heritage buildings including Bank of #NovaScotia (built 1907), Trinity-St. Stephen’s (1906) and the First Baptist Church (1895). Today, the Amherst Red Stone Quarry is a lovely pond in a field (pictures below).
#nspoli #cbpoli

There was also some reddish sandstone quarried in #Pictou County but it is a much duller red than the #Amherst rock – not a likely match for the #Bridgewater post office.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater @DesBrisayMuseum

The #Bridgewater post office appears to be in good shape which suggests that the stone is good quality and came from a site like the #Amherst quarry, not the #AnnapolisValley.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater

Unfortunately, based on the info we found, we are not able to say definitively where the stone for the #Bridgewater post office was quarried, but its quality and colour suggest the #Amherst Red Stone Quarry was the source.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1

If anyone knows anything more about the post office, we would welcome any additional thoughts!
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB @BernJordanMP @MarkFurey1 @TownBridgewater @DesBrisayMuseum