[2] The Aberdeen Quarry was most active from 1889 to 1892 as it supplied granite for the construction of the Colorado State Capitol Building.

[3] The Aberdeen Quarry is located on the southwest rim of a 6 mi (9.7 km)-wide ring dike, part of what is called the Gunnison annular complex.

The dike was intruded into Protozoic metamorphic rock, primarily amphibolite and metasandstone, approximately 1.7 billion years ago.

[4][6][7][8] In April 1889, local stonemason Fredrick G. Zugelder filed a claim on an outcrop of granite looming above South Beaver Creek outside of Gunnison.

Zugelder recognized the quality of the granite and presented a sample from the claim to managers who were tasked with choosing the stone for the exterior of the State Capitol Building being built in Denver.

The building managers examined dozens of rock samples from across the state and considered the quarries and their respective capacities to supply the needed granite in just a few-years time.

On June 26, 1889, it was announced that the Zugelder Quarry granite would be used to construct the superstructure the State Capitol Building.

[2][3][9] William Geddes and Seerie had been contracted to build the capitol's superstructure and it was this firm that oversaw the quarrying at Aberdeen.

During the 34 months of production, it is estimated that 280,000 cubic feet (7,900 m3) or 24,000 tons of granite was quarried and shipped to Denver.

[3][9] Through the following decades, granite was quarried for much smaller projects including commercial and residential buildings and grave headstones.

Stone for the first-floor columns and entrance archway was quarried for the Kearns Building in Salt Lake City, which was completed in 1911.

The property is located within the Bureau of Land Management’s Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, a network of four-wheel drive roads and mountain bike and motorcycle trails.