Bibliograph

Cape Ann Granite, Paul St. Germain

Type

Label

Cape Ann Granite, Paul St. Germain

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Cape Ann Granite

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

Paul St. Germain

Series statement

Images of America

Summary

The granite industry began on Cape Ann with the first sale of a piece of Rockport granite, for use as a millstone, to a farmer in Newburyport in 1800. The industry would grow to include more than 60 quarries and operations around the cape, becoming the second-largest economic force in the area behind fishing. Hundreds were employed as quarrymen, stonecutters, paving cutters, and finishers. Cape Ann was particularly well fitted for the pursuit of granite as its rocky hills and shores afforded a comparatively inexhaustible source of supply, and its splendid shipping facilities gave the advantage of quick and economical transportation to market by sea and land. The industry eventually declined, and by 1930, most quarries had gone out of business because of labor strikes and low demand. Today, most of these quarries are filled with rainwater and spring water, and many are used as reservoirs for the surrounding communities

Target audience

adult

Classification