Rachel Hickey
10/11/2013
B-Block
Granite was first mined in the
late 1700’s. The demand for granite
began to increase in the early 1800’s.
Commercial production of high-grade granite was given credit to Robert
Parker during the Bunker Hill war of 1812.
Granite started being used for memorials and monuments when the demand
started to grow. Around this time,
Vermont became the “granite capital of the world.” Since then, grey granite has decreased
because imports from all over the world have flooded the markets of the U.S. Other types of granite such as white granite
are still in high demand. Traditionally,
granite was quarried by hand saw and primitive blasting techniques. Now, it is produced by using a diamond wire
saw, drilling equipment and some water jets.
Granite industries were the first to use steam drills and electric
batteries used for blasting. When the
railroads were expanded, there techniques were inefficient due to
transportation until the late 1800’s.
The granite industry, now, contributes around $75 million to the Vermont
economy alone. Granite was primarily
used for buildings, monuments, and memorials.
Now, granite has been modernized and us used for kitchen counter tops,
floors, and yard décor. Granite is
generally made of quartz, biotite, amphibole, and plagioclase.
I believe that the photo of the
boat being loaded with paving stones at Lanes Cove was taken around 1850. I believe that because the Gloucester granite
industry began around mid-century of the 19th century. Immigrants from Finland, Sweden, and Ireland
worked in the quarries in Gloucester and added to the town with granite from
the European descendents. Vessels called
the stone sloops were built and designed to carry loads of granite. These boats would bring the loads of granite
to ports along the east coast.
http://www.capeannmuseum.org/about/history-cape-ann/
