Hokie Stone
Encyclopedia
Hokie Stone is a grey dolomite
limestone
named for the Hokie
mascot of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
where the stone is the primary finishing material on campus buildings. Hokie Stone is limestone infused with magnesium and calcium under intense pressure and temperature. Formation of the stone began 450 million years ago when local area was covered by a shallow sea. Hokie Stone with impurities such as siltstone and sandstone is multi-colored, and found on some of the newer structures. Although use of Hokie Stone can add as much as $1 million to the cost of a building, Virginia Tech remains committed to its use in all future construction.
Eighty percent of the stone is quarried from a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) Virginia Tech-owned quarry a few miles from campus near the Highland Park subdivision of Blacksburg, Virginia
. Twenty-five to thirty Virginia Tech employees use black powder each day to dislodge the stone into block sizes required by campus construction projects and finish the blocks by hand using hammers and chisels. In 2010 Virginia Tech upgraded the equipment at the quarry in order to reduce costs, including a computer-driven saw. Hokie Stone from this quarry can only be sold to Virginia Tech. The remaining 10% of stone, which is black is mined once per year from an additional quarry located on a local farm near Lusters Gate. About 50 tons can be quarried each week. The university-owned quarry has been in operation since the 1950s.
were built. In 1975 the Tech Foundation bought the quarry from the local Cupp family. In 1983 the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors required that some Hokie Stone be incorporated into the construction of every new building on campus. Today each campus project uses an average of 1,500 tons of Hokie Stone, with each ton of stone covering only 30-35 square feet.
In additional to building exteriors, Hokie Stone is used in important monuments such as biographical markers outside each campus building providing a brief history of the person for whom the building is named. Thirty-two Hokie Stones were quarried by university stonemasons and engraved with the names of students and professors killed in the April 2007 school shooting
. The memorial is a permanent version of one created spontaneously by students with smaller stones. The Virginia Tech football team enters the playing field through a tunnel with an exit topped by a block of Hokie Stone which is touched by each player. In 2011, Virginia Tech even offered Hokie Stone as an option for the centerpiece of class rings.
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
named for the Hokie
Virginia Tech Hokies
The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams officially representing Virginia Tech in college sports. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 19 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, soccer,...
mascot of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
where the stone is the primary finishing material on campus buildings. Hokie Stone is limestone infused with magnesium and calcium under intense pressure and temperature. Formation of the stone began 450 million years ago when local area was covered by a shallow sea. Hokie Stone with impurities such as siltstone and sandstone is multi-colored, and found on some of the newer structures. Although use of Hokie Stone can add as much as $1 million to the cost of a building, Virginia Tech remains committed to its use in all future construction.
Eighty percent of the stone is quarried from a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) Virginia Tech-owned quarry a few miles from campus near the Highland Park subdivision of Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
. Twenty-five to thirty Virginia Tech employees use black powder each day to dislodge the stone into block sizes required by campus construction projects and finish the blocks by hand using hammers and chisels. In 2010 Virginia Tech upgraded the equipment at the quarry in order to reduce costs, including a computer-driven saw. Hokie Stone from this quarry can only be sold to Virginia Tech. The remaining 10% of stone, which is black is mined once per year from an additional quarry located on a local farm near Lusters Gate. About 50 tons can be quarried each week. The university-owned quarry has been in operation since the 1950s.
History
When the university was founded in 1872, buildings were simple brick constructions, reflecting the architecture of Blacksburg at that time. The first Hokie Stone was cut in 1899 for the YMCA Building (now the Performing Arts Building) was the first to be constructed of Hokie Stone. In 1971 McBryde Hall introduced the Hokie Stone clad neo-gothic style (similar to many old European universities) which became the official architecture of the campus. The native woodland Indians are believed to have made tools from Hokie Stone. During the 1960s and 1970s, concrete and brick structures absent of Hokie Stone such as Dietrick Hall and Cassell ColiseumCassell Coliseum
Cassell Coliseum is a 9,847-seat multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States that opened in 1962. It is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies basketball teams .-History:...
were built. In 1975 the Tech Foundation bought the quarry from the local Cupp family. In 1983 the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors required that some Hokie Stone be incorporated into the construction of every new building on campus. Today each campus project uses an average of 1,500 tons of Hokie Stone, with each ton of stone covering only 30-35 square feet.
In additional to building exteriors, Hokie Stone is used in important monuments such as biographical markers outside each campus building providing a brief history of the person for whom the building is named. Thirty-two Hokie Stones were quarried by university stonemasons and engraved with the names of students and professors killed in the April 2007 school shooting
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
. The memorial is a permanent version of one created spontaneously by students with smaller stones. The Virginia Tech football team enters the playing field through a tunnel with an exit topped by a block of Hokie Stone which is touched by each player. In 2011, Virginia Tech even offered Hokie Stone as an option for the centerpiece of class rings.
See also
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
- Virginia Tech campusVirginia Tech campusThe Virginia Tech campus is located in Blacksburg, Virginia; the central campus is roughly bordered by Prices Fork Road to the northwest, Plantation Drive to the west, Main Street to the east, and U.S. Route 460 bypass to the south, although it also has several thousand acres beyond the central...
- Virginia Tech HokiesVirginia Tech HokiesThe Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams officially representing Virginia Tech in college sports. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 19 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, soccer,...