My old friend, Chris Kepler, is a highly skilled, imaginative, and creative master stone mason who lives in Lynchburg, Virginia. There he has had, over the last 30 odd years, many opportunities to salvage unusual quarried stone from local and other sources during various periods of urban renewal, highway construction, demolition and remodeling. Over the years Chris has accumulated a large selection of stone that was hand shaped for use as curb stones, large flat paving stones for sidewalks, step treads, window and door sills, and other historic, hand shaped stone that has the patina of age after years in original installation. Chris also has a barn full of unusual lumber including huge beams of pine, cedar, and chestnut from old industrial buildings in Lynchburg, as well as a selection of furniture grade lumber from trees cut on his own and other nearby properties including cherry, walnut and other native species. He has the means to custom cut to specified dimensions as required. These rare materials are stored on his farm in Bedford County, near Lynchburg. Chris has the necessary equipment to deliver all of these materials as needed. For further information please call Chris at 434-238-0074.
This is a very large slab that might be used as a table on a terrace, the flat
side is down. This only one of several such stones available.
These 2 large pieces were used as a well cover in Lynchburg, note the
semicircular cut out on each piece, when installed these formed the circular
well access.
This is some bluestone hand quarried and shaped that Chris bought some years ago
from a small quarry. These hand shaped pieces were probably worked up before the
1960s, but remained in inventory until Chris bought the material for a project.
It is extremely rare to find examples of this kind of hand shaped bluestone now,
since it is all mechanically cut in a modern production process now. However,
there are occasions when, to match existing, it is important to have material
like this on hand.
These are a few of the step treads Chris has on hand. They can be custom cut as
required and hand dressed with a bush hammer on the cuts.
Below are examples of some of the sidewalk pavers and curb stones and others available.
This is one of a pair of window sills from the station where Casey Jones began
his famous last run.
Here are two examples of how these large flat paver stones can be used and how they look installed:
On the left is the sidewalk at the Joseph Nichols Tavern in downtown Lynchburg, on the right Point of Honor, Dr. George Cabell's 1815 Federal style home, now a museum.