Wake Stone history

And in 1970 at age 47, with just $50,000, he started Wake Stone Corporation.

With the availability of a site in Moncure near the Shearon Harris plant, Wake Stone negotiated a contract in 1973 with the util­ity to provide stone for the project.

Johnny Bratton became the quarry’s superintendent and with a small crew developed the pit, erected a crushing plant, and opened for business in 1975.

The mid-1980’s were some good years and changes in the Triangle area took the company to a higher level.

The quarry started in 1981 using the relocated equipment and crew from Moncure Quarry, which had shut down after meeting the needs of the nuclear plant that same year.

In 1982, John Bratton bought out his only investor after 10 years.

In 1983, after building a stockpile to meet the final needs of the utility, the crew packed up and moved themselves and almost all of the equipment to Cary to open the Triangle Quarry.

The opening of Triangle Quarry proved better than forecast, and as the recession ended in 1984 the area economy took off.

In fact, the Wake County Soil Conservation District named the quarry the winner of its urban conservation award in 1985, an unusual distinction for a crushed stone operation.

When American Airlines announced that RDU Airport would become its next hub in 1986, the Triangle area started its time of accelerated growth.

In 1987 former Sales Vice President John Poole completed a market study of the Moncure area including Jordan Lake.

Wake Stone reopened the quarry in August 1988.

However, competitive pressures and growing demand forced the company to open the quarry in 1990, more than 10 years ahead of schedule.

The Moncure superintendent, Robbie Bogan, joined the com­pany in 1995 as a jaw crusher operator.

A new scale house and office was completed in 1997.

With sales firmly established in eastern North Carolina, a new office building was constructed in 1998.

Robbie was put to the test almost immediately as the plant had a record year with over one million tons sold in 1999.

In 2000 a new primary crushing station was completed in the Moncure pit.

Beautification efforts continued, and the quarry was awarded the National Stone Association’s Showplace Award in 2001.

After having a local sales agent for a year, Sam Bratton became the first sales person for the quarry in 2002.

Beginning in 2004, Johnny Bratton and David Lee began working with the NC Division of Water Quality and the Tar River Land Conservancy to develop a 25-year plan that would allow the company to mine vital reserves with limited wetland impact.

Superintendent Hunter Bratton, son of Johnny Bratton, joined Wake Stone in 2010.

A lifelong resident of Spring Hope, Wayne was promoted to superintendent at the Nash County operation in 2012.

Working closely with the Town of Knightdale beginning in 2014, the Company developed Hinton Oaks Industrial Park, consisting of five warehouses and 525,000 square feet of storage.

Beginning in 2015/16 they inquired of us as to whether a 105-acre parcel of their land adjacent to Triangle Quarry had stone reserves on it and was a viable quarry site.

Hunter worked his way up through the ranks, serving as both a pit foreman and plant foreman at Moncure and Triangle before being promoted as superintendent at the North Myrtle Beach operation in 2016.

Hunter became the superintendent at Triangle in 2018.

Status check: What’s next for Wake Stone’s quarry plans near UmsteadNovember 18, 2019