The Soapstone Quarries
The Pacolet area has one resource
that was used by Native Americans for several hundred
years. This material is a soft rock called soapstone.
Soapstone can be fairly easily carved using stone and
antler tools. In the Pacolet vicinity, there are at
least 16 locations or “quarries” that were used by the
Indians. They used the soapstone to make bowls, other
storage vessels and other tools. They started using the
quarries some 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. There are some
bowls or other items that still exist in the quarries,
not completely cut from the rock. There is also a lot of
chip material left where the items were chiseled out.
One of these quarries is thought to be the largest
Native American soapstone quarry in the United States.
These quarries are located on both sides of the Pacolet River, north of
the town of Pacolet Mills.
The Pacolet Museum has
several examples of soapstone vessels made by Indians.
Two of the quarries are now protected within the
Pacolet River Heritage Preserve located off of Bethesda
Road.
See http://slobotabouttown.com/pacolet_soapstone_quarry.html
for photos.
Examples of soapstone bowls
This web site has
been started as a public service to share the story of
Pacolet.