The present Jones Brothers site was purchased and the manufacturing building constructed in 1895. The original granite cutting and polishing shed was made up of two straight sheds perpendicular to each other. The concept of the straight shed was innovative, as most of the granite sheds of this period were circular, relying primarily on the circular path of a single central derrick boom to lift the large blocks of granite off the transportation carts or wagons. The blocks were then dragged into the sheds by hand as the derricks could only drop the blocks in front of the sheds.
The "Mill,"one of the sheds, was used for lathes, gang saws (installed in 1914) and polishing machines, while the other, "No. 1,"was used for polishing. In 1920, a second plant, "No. 2,"was built to provide more working space. Soon, an addition to the "Mill" as well as a boiler room and the office were built, completing the full Jones Brothers Granite Plant. A document from 1942 describes the "modern" amenities of the Jones Brothers plant:
The present plant covers a floor space of over 45,000 square feet,
is fully electrified, contains a modern heating plant and dust removal
system for the comfort and health of the employees. Its equipment
is all modernized and, outside of almost endless small tools and
machines, comprises a 60-ton yard derrick, 6 overhead traveling
cranes from 10 to 40 tons capacity, three mechanically fed gang saws,
ample high speed efficiency polishing and grinding equipment for flat
work, three cutting and polishing lathes for columns, vases and turned
work of all kinds, huge vertical and horizontal grinding machines
for contour work, fully equipped machine and forge shops, and a
most modern sand blast studio for lettering and carving.
The Sandblast studio was indeed modern as the process of sandblasting was only introduced about 25 years before this 1942 document:
The sand blast process of lettering and ornamentation has gone
forward by leaps and bounds, but by many is considered still in
its infancy and containing almost limitless possibilities.
