Wisconsin Dolomitic Limestone
Many of our natural stone veneers are high density dolomitic limestone from the Niagara Escarpment quarried in Eastern Wisconsin. This stone formation runs the length of the eastern part of the state of Wisconsin from Lannon through Door County.
The area was once covered by a warm sea and the stone started as the shell deposits of marine life, forming the basic limestone. As the sea retreated erosion washed in magnesium, slowly forming the harder dolomitic limestone. The stone is well layered and quarried by pulling up one layer at a time. There are three faces of the stone: bedface, splitface and seamface. The bedface refers to top and bottom of the layers of stone and is full of color from the minerals. The splitface refers to the interior part of the stone when it has been split with a hydraulic press. The seamface is the weathered edges of the layers and formed from natural cracks in the ground allowing the minerals to sink in and color them. Our stone has been tested and can handle the most extreme exterior applications.