The Quincy Quarries in
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...
, produced
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
for over a century and were the site of the
Granite Railway
The Granite Railway was one of the first railroads in the United States, built to carry granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, to a dock on the Neponset River in Milton. From there boats carried the heavy stone to Charlestown for construction o ...
—often credited as being the
first railroad in the United States
This is a list of the earliest Rail transport, railroads in North America, including various railroad-like precursors to the general modern form of a company or government agency operating locomotive-drawn trains on metal tracks.
Railroad-like ...
.
[ A section of the former ]quarries
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...
is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...
as a public recreation area.[
]
History
In 1825, after an exhaustive search throughout New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, Solomon Willard
Solomon Willard (June 26, 1783 – February 27, 1861) was a carver and builder in Massachusetts who is remembered primarily for designing and overseeing the Bunker Hill Monument, the first monumental obelisk erected in the United States.
Backgr ...
selected the Quincy site as the source of stone for the Bunker Hill Monument
The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...
in Charlestown. After many delays and much obstruction, a charter was granted on March 4, 1826, for the construction of a railroad to help move the granite. The "Granite Railway
The Granite Railway was one of the first railroads in the United States, built to carry granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, to a dock on the Neponset River in Milton. From there boats carried the heavy stone to Charlestown for construction o ...
" was designed and built by railway pioneer Gridley Bryant
Gridley Bryant (1789 – June 13, 1867) was an American construction engineer who ended up building the first commercial railroad in the United States and inventing most of the basic technologies involved in it. His son, Gridley James Fox Bryan ...
and began operations on October 7, 1826.[ The granite from these quarries became famous throughout the nation, and stone cutting quickly became Quincy's principal economic activity.
]
Later use
The last active quarry closed in 1963. After their abandonment, the open quarries filled with rainwater and ground water. The flooded quarries soon became a popular spot for cliff jumping
Cliff jumping is jumping off a cliff as a form of sport. When done without equipment, it may be also known as tombstoning. It forms part of the sport of coastal exploration or "coasteering". When performed with a parachute, it is known as BASE ju ...
. However, many people were injured—and killed—while diving into the quarries from great heights. This led the police and the city of Quincy to grapple with what to do with this abandoned space.[
During this period, the quarries were also discovered by ]rock climbers
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
. In 1968, ''A Guide to Quincy Quarries'' by Willie Crowther and Tony Thompson, published by the MIT Outing Club
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...
, contained information about climbing in and around the quarries; a second edition was published in 1970.[ ''Boston Rocks'', a guidebook by Larry LaForge, was published by the MIT Outing Club in 1987; a second edition by Richard Doucette and Susan Ruff came out in 2003 with a copyright update in 2008.][
During the 1980s old telephone poles and trees were added to discourage cliff jumping. Unfortunately, these were quickly waterlogged and sank two feet underwater where they were not visible to the cliff jumpers above. The injury and fatality rate skyrocketed. Often, divers sent to look for missing cliff jumpers would unexpectedly find other bodies instead.][
The quarries, once drained of water, became a very popular canvas for graffiti artists.]
Quincy Quarries Reservation
In 1985, Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
's Metropolitan District Commission purchased 22 acres, including Granite Railway Quarry, as the Quincy Quarries Reservation. A solution to the public safety problem was finally found with the massive Big Dig
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4& ...
highway project in Boston. Dirt from the new highway tunnels was trucked in to fill the main quarries. This opened up new sections of rock to climbers, and the site was subsequently improved to encourage public use of the reservation. The reservation is connected to the trail system of the Blue Hills Reservation
Blue Hills Reservation is a state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts in the United States. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it covers parts of Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedham. ...
and features hiking, rock climbing and views of the Boston skyline.[
]
In popular culture
Scenes from the movies ''Gone Baby Gone
''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck, in his directorial debut. Affleck co-wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film stars Casey Affl ...
'' (2007) and ''The Invention of Lying
''The Invention of Lying'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by comedian Ricky Gervais and writer Matthew Robinson in their directorial debuts. The film stars Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie in a world ...
'' (2009) were filmed in the Quincy Quarries.[
'' Geeks & Greeks'' (2016), a graphic novel about pranks at MIT and fraternity ]hazing
Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
, features a climactic sequence set at the Quincy Quarries in their water-filled days.[
]
References
Further reading
Journal of Fanny Kemble
Friends of the Blue Hills
Thomas Crane Public Library
The Thomas Crane Public Library (TCPL) is a city library in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is noted for its architecture. It was funded by the Crane family as a memorial to Thomas Crane, a wealthy stone contractor who got his start in the Quincy quarri ...
Granite Railway, Pine Hill Quarry to Neponset River, Quincy, Norfolk County, MA
Library of Congress: Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey
External links
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Quincy Quarry Museum
{{authority control
Rail transportation in Massachusetts
Companies affiliated with the Old Colony Railroad
Quincy, Massachusetts
Geography of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Parks in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
State parks of Massachusetts
Climbing areas of the United States
Tourist attractions in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quarries in the United States
1985 establishments in Massachusetts
Protected areas established in 1985