Llano County Granite Industry
Llano, Llano County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Llano County's granite industry can be traced to 1888 when J. K. Finlay first polished a stone from his mill site and David Stewart opened a quarry south of Llano. Prominent sculptor Frank Teich leased a quarry from Stewart and established Teich Monument Works in 1900. Thirteen varieties of granite were found in Llano County. Noted mineralogist N. J. Badu discovered in the county a form of granite called "Opalene" or "Llanite," which contains opalite flakes. Although difficult to cut, the excellent quality of Llano granite made it suitable for buildings and monuments.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1888 the hills of Llano County revealed their fortune in stone, when J. K. Finlay polished the first local granite and David Stewart opened a quarry just south of town. Within a dozen years the sculptor Frank Teich had leased ground from Stewart and founded Teich Monument Works, helping turn the county's thirteen varieties of granite into buildings and monuments across Texas. The county even yielded its own signature stone—"Llanite," a rare granite flecked with opalite that mineralogist N. J. Badu identified here. Hard to cut but prized for its quality, Llano granite gave this corner of the Hill Country a lasting industrial identity.
Why it matters
Llano County's quarries supplied the durable stone behind courthouses, monuments, and public buildings that still define Texas townscapes, tying a rural county directly into the state's built heritage.
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Related people
- · J. K. Finlay
- · David Stewart
- · Frank Teich
- · N. J. Badu
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ford Street Commercial Row
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These three attached buildings are believed to be the work of John Goodman, a stonemason who emigrated from Germany to Llano in 1878, and they show the corbelled brickwork typical of early twentieth-century commerce. Since 1904 the buff-and-red brick row has sheltered an astonishing variety of businesses — furniture and liquor stores, cafes and saloons, a saddle shop, a domino hall, and a theater among them. In 1989 the buildings were adapted to house the Llano County Library.
The Llano County Jail
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Built in 1895 by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, this Romanesque revival jail was faced with gray granite quarried right in Llano County. Its distinctive red roof earned it the nickname the "Red Top," and the tall building packed a jailer's quarters, cells, drunk tanks, and even a gallows into four stories. It was recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1979.
Acme Dry Goods Building
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Raised in 1892 by Llano stonemason John Goodman, this brick commercial row housed a parade of merchants — milliners, dry goods dealers, and clothiers — before the Acme Dry Goods Company bought it in 1919 and gave it its lasting name. Its round-arch transoms, keystones, and paired storefront windows are hallmarks of turn-of-the-century Main Street commerce. It became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1997.
Lantex Theater
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The Lantex Theater opened on May 19, 1927, on the north side of Llano's courthouse square, where a packed house paid thirty cents for adults and a dime for children to watch a Universal Pictures feature. Beyond movies, it hosted school concerts, the Llano Opry, WWII bond drives, public meetings, and town celebrations. After a 1951 fire left only the facade standing, owner Rex Wooten rebuilt it with modern amenities, and it has remained a thriving business and gathering place ever since.