In 1860, saw the discovery of rhyolite tuff at the base of Susanville’s Inspiration Point. It is an ideal building material, because it is light weight, and can easily be sculptured. In 1862, H.F. Thompson began the development of a quarry, and hence how Quarry Street is named. Some of its first uses was for headstones, the largest being for the grave of Captain William Weatherlow who died in 1864. In 1863, Miller & Kingsley had the first stone building constructed from the quarry. The last major use of the quarry was in late 1930s to construct the Spalding home on Quarry Street.

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