Wednesday’s bombing and destruction of the Georgia Guidestones in Elbert County has focused attention to an area that is largely dependent on the granite industry.
Chris Kubas, executive vice president of the Elberton Granite Association, said the organization’s 150 members provide monuments, cemetery markers, countertops, and more on a daily basis to a broad spectrum of customers.
Kubas said he was called to the Georgia Guidestones to consult with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and county officials on Wednesday.
“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had the site and they needed to continue on with their investigation after they made sure that the site was clear and free from any further hazards,” Kubas said. “They needed to work around the area where the original piece of granite was destroyed and the force that destroyed that piece of granite whatever it was caused significant damage to the other pieces and to the Capstone that was up on top and because of that, there was a risk of falling debris or the other pieces falling over. So, for safety reasons, they requested that they be taken down so that they could continue their investigation. And when they were inspected, they saw that there was significant structural damage to the other pieces in the forms of cracks and things like that. The county, because the property was deeded to the county and the stones were pretty much under their jurisdiction.”
Asked how the destruction of the Georgia Guidestones might impact the industry he represents Kubas said it likely will not.
“The granite industry was here and existed before the Guidestones were even in place and, even after they were in place, we never really referenced them or used them as any sort of tie-in to the granite industry as a promotional tool or anything like that,” Kubas said. “They’re just another example of a monument that this industry is capable of manufacturing.”
Anyone with an interest in learning about the granite industry and how the material is collected and prepared can visit the Elberton Granite Museum six days a week.
“The museum is located here at the Granite Center, and it is open Monday through Thursday from 2 o'clock to 5,” Kubas said. “It is open on Fridays from 8 to 5 and it is open on Saturday from 2 to 5 and all that's on our website which is egaonline.com. You can come to the museum, it's free of charge, and you can see the history of the granite industry here in Elberton and how we quarry granite over the years and manufacture it and even some of our newer technology that we're using.”
