Collecting Rocks on the Frontier: Investigating the Geodiversity Significance of Historical Building Stones and Rock Collecting at the Maxey Homestead, Northwest Texas, USA

Abstract

The geoheritage importance of the stones used in the construction of buildings in urban landscapes has been documented by several scholars around the world. Building stones can provide an ex situ cross-section of a region’s geodiversity and illuminate its cultural significance. Research at the historic Maxey Homestead (1902–1907), located along the eastern escarpment of the Southern High Plains near Post, Texas, has uncovered a rock collection gathered from local sources. In addition, rocks from the eastern escarpment were used to construct and decorate a house in 1938 (~9 km to the north) after the Maxeys moved from their original homestead. A combination of GIS and 3D mapping using an unmanned aerial vehicle were used to assess and analyze the geodiversity significance of the rock collection and rock-decorated house. Rock collecting and the use of local stones in building construction provide insights into the geodiversity of the Southern High Plains’ eastern escarpment and the historical geoheritage of northwest Texas in the early 20th century. The results of this study also demonstrate the importance of examining non-urban and historical landscapes for elucidating the significance of geodiversity to past peoples.