9/21/2011

Jim decided we needed to stay another day and go to the town of Barre and visit the Rock of Ages quarry, the biggest monumental granite quarry in the world – 50 acres and 600 feet deep. The granite deposit here is 10 miles deep, so they won’t be running out of it any time soon. The granite is of very high quality and has exceptionally fine grain. We toured the quarry and the fabrication facility and watched them engrave headstones. On the grounds is the only granite bowling alley in the world. It was built as a prototype but didn’t work out -- it was too smooth for the ball to grasp while rolling. Jim and I tried it. I bowled down 3 pins and Jim got 5. There were rubber bowling balls to use.

The lady at the quarry told us that the Hope Cemetery in Barre was really beautiful. All of the headstones and mausoleums were made of granite from the quarry By 1895, skilled artisans from around the world, especially Italy, had been flocking to Barre to become a part of the booming granite industry. One of the main uses of granite throughout the country was in tombstones and memorials. It is estimated that one third of all memorials in the United States came from Barre. We noticed that many of the tombstones had Italian surnames. Silicosis from breathing granite dust meant that the granite workers and sculptors could expect an early death. Knowing this, many of them carved their own tombstones. The cemetery is a popular tourist destination, and has been referred to as a "'museum of granite sculpture," the "Uffizi of Necropolises", a “gallery of granite artistry," a "sculpture garden" and a "huge outdoor museum." Driving or walking through the cemetery to look at the sculptures and memorials is common practice and is encouraged.

On the way out of town we stopped at the Barre VFW and had a beer. They had a beautiful granite monument to purple heart veterans. One of the men we talked to at the bar (the one holding the beer bottle) said he had worked on the monument.