After the American Civil War , the Seneca Sandstone Company purchased the quarry in 1866 , expanding the stonecutting mill in 1868 , but went bankrupt in 1876 after financial mismanagement , sometimes referred to as the " Seneca Stone Ring Scandal . " It was closed for seven years . In 1883 , the Potomac Red Sandstone Company reopened the quarry but only operated until 1889 , when the Great Flood of 1889 knocked out the C&O Canal for two years . Baltimore quarry operator George Mann purchased the Seneca quarry in 1891 and operated it for the next decade . By 1901 , quarrying operations had stopped as the quality of the rock diminished and Victorian architecture was no longer in vogue
Great Flood of 1889
Johnstown Flood
Seneca Quarry