AMNHA: Arabia Mountain Quarry History (LLV) Traditional Geocache

AMNHA Geo-Path Series

AMNHA: Arabia Mountain Quarry History

Series: Lands Less Visited

Cache Info: This is a medium sized plastic ammunition container.

The rock rubble where this cache is located is a by-product of the extensive quarrying in this area.

Quarrying at Arabia Mountain began in the early 1880’s. In 1889, the Arabia Granite Company built a railroad from Lithonia to the area west of Klondike road, with a spur to the base of Arabia Mountain’s north peak, east of Klondike Road. The early part of the 20th century saw the peak quarrying. In 1910, the Granite Company built the Quarry Office Building. At about the same time, they built a state of the art Power House/Air Compressor Building at the end of the rail line. They also built Arabia Lake to provide water to the boilers at the powerhouse. Air lines spread out to the numerous drill sites and in 1916, 365 men were at work.

During the depression of the 1930’s, the railroad along with the air compressor and boilers were removed. Under new ownership, quarrying continued at a reduced pace until 1972, when the Davidson Mineral Company donated 485 acres of land to DeKalb County for a park. By 1972, only very limited quarrying was still going on.

The first part of the Mlle Rock Trail is on the old rail road grade. The stone walls of the Quarry Office Building and Power House/Air Compressor Building still remain. Due to some hazards, the public is not encouraged to visit the latter facility.

Quarry Remnants. Note Drill Marks On Rocks.

Park at the Arabia Mountain Nature Center Parking Lot on Klondike Road. Take the Mile Rock Trail onto the rock outcrop. Then navigate over the rock outcrop to the cache following the most judicious route.

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Cell service will be limited in various areas on the AMNHA Geo-Path. If you are using your cell phone, you can download the cache info to your phone and travel the trails using the offline mode.

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See additional waypoints for parking coordinates, points of interests and trailheads.

Each cache is classified in one of following series:
Arabia Mountain Adventures
Lands Less Visited
Lithonia's Historic Hike
Panola Mountain Pathways
Past and Present Passages
South River Stroll

Download the passports to collect the passwords:
Geo-Path Passport
Lands-Less-Visited Passport
Past and Presents Passages Passport

Hours:
Sunrise to Sunset