Griffith Quarry
Why it's listed
Griffith Quarry, at Penryn in Placer County, was opened in 1864 by Griffith Griffith, a mason from Wales. At its peak the site held five major structures, railroad tracks and the quarry itself. A polishing mill built in 1874, the first in California, could polish 100 feet of granite per day. By the mid-1870s the operation employed 250 men full time, changing a local economy that had relied on placer mining and limited farming. Penryn granite went into the State Capitol in Sacramento, the Garfield Monument in Golden Gate Park, retaining walls at Fort Point and Alcatraz, and the Stanford University cornerstone. Today the one surviving building is the 1877 office, a one-story structure of rough-cut granite measuring about 18 by 36 feet, with a chimney at each end and a granite bust of Griffith over the north door. Foundation remnants, iron loops set in the rock and the water-filled pit remain.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the quarry shaped Penryn's economy and early settlement, supplying granite for major buildings and monuments in Sacramento and San Francisco. It was the site of California's first granite polishing mill, built in 1874. Its significance is given in building construction, commerce and industrial technology.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 77000322, listed October 20, 1977. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Taylor Rd., Penryn |
|---|---|
| County | Placer County |
| Listed | October 20, 1977 |
| Reference number | 77000322 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Griffith Griffith |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Historic - Non-Aboriginal |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The office building is in fair condition with some deterioration, including a roof needing repair and loose mortar. The quarry site is dormant, overgrown and partly filled with water. The form lists the property as unoccupied. |
| Acreage | 22 |
| Coordinates | 38.84942, -121.16328 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 77000322.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14682076
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.