LELAND BLUE STONE

Leland Blue Stone

Slag Stone

Leland Blue Stone is slag from the Leland Lake Superior Iron Company’s smelting facilities in Leland, Michigan. In the late 1800s (1870-1885), there was an iron ore smelting operation in the town of Leland. Once the smelting industry ceased in the town, heaps of the slag from the smelting operations were dumped into the harbor. Slag is a byproduct of the smelting process: raw ore is heated, and the desired iron ore is separated from various natural impurities. When those impurities cool, the result is stone-like slag. Leland blue is the mix of blue glass with other components and can be found in shades of purple, gray, blue, and occasionally green.