Bearded Geology

    Hidden along the scenic Highway 7 in the community of Marble Falls (formerly called Dogpatch) in Boone County, Arkansas is a small abandoned limestone quarry of monumental proportions (pun intended). Within the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. are three stone blocks that represent Arkansas. These are among 190 other commemorative blocks that were set into the monument during and after its construction. Each state, as well as several organizations and persons, are represented in these blocks. For Arkansas, the State itself is represented, as well as the City of Little Rock, and the Grand Lodge of the Masons. The Masons of Newton and surrounding counties intended to be represented as well, however, their stone's whereabouts are unknown. The Arkansas commemorative stone. Photo from NPS .     The first of the three stones was quarried in Marble Falls in either 1834 or 1836 (two sources have competing years). The year 1836 would have been particularly s...

Gearhart Hall (photo credit: Robert A.M. Stern Architects )     Gearhart Hall has a long history that began with its construction in 1937-1940 and has had many names. Its history described in an application for the National Register of Historic Places is as follows [ 1 ] : [Gearhart] Hall was constructed in 1940 as the "Classroom Building" in the Collegiate Gothic style. The stone building with an irregular floor plan features a principal front section with a central entrance and two rear "T" sections. The cut-stone walls are supported by a continuous concrete foundation. A central projecting bay dominates the building's façade, and features a three-sided oriel window over the entrance. A crenellated raised parapet surrounds the flat roof, like most of the other limestone buildings built on campus during this period.  The second phase of what is called today [Gearhart] Hall, completed in 1947, was designed and sited to connect the Classroom...