Wallace Ridge Quarry
Building a part of history
The legacy left from the heyday of construction using Wallace sandstone continues to be a source of pride for the local area. In its long history, Wallace sandstone has graced buildings from Halifax to San Francisco and forms part of the Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament buildings in Ottawa. Architect Robert Scott, who was commissioned to build the Nova Scotia Legislature in 1811, opened the first quarry in the area. Eventually, several quarries opened along the Wallace River and two in Wallace.
Wallace Sandstone
Wallace sandstone had many uses, from sidewalk blocks and breakwaters to headstones, but it is most famous for its use as building stone. The history of Wallace sandstone goes back much further than the nineteenth century when humans first worked the stone. The story of Wallace sandstone begins 300 million years ago when the sandstone evolved from the bed of a gigantic river created by the formation of the Appalachian Mountain range. This fast-flowing river deposited beautiful, clean sand as it wound its way through northeastern North America and out into the Atlantic Ocean.
