Vermont- Rock of Ages Quarry

Graniteville, Vermont is the location of Rock of Ages, the site was not far from our campground, and we walked over for our daily exercise.

This is a humongous granite quarry of thousands of feet deep, it is only mined to 600 feet so far.

See the white patch near the top left of the picture?

Here it is, the blocks sitting on the ground weigh several tons each, the material laying on the edges are considered non-useable and will be pulverized.

Rock of Ages' founding fathers couldn't have chosen a more appropriate name for what has become the world's leading granite quarrier. Founded in 1885 in Vermont, today the company owns and manages quarries in several states and countries.

Those quarries produce the highest combined volume of dimensional granite in North America.

One way to get to the bottom is the stairs attached to the wall and the other is the yellow bucket

Stairs are nice and sturdy, looks safe enough to me?

The large yellow crane is operated by the guy in the large red house, he cannot see the bucket as it is lowered into the hole, therefore there is a guy in the little red house (edge of quarry) directing him with hand signals

That’s the bucket I’m talking about

These granite slabs weight several tons and are drilled and dynamited in the quarry, then cut with diamond saw blades

Blocks of granite as large as a car weighing 30 -50 tons

Rock of Ages factory

Yep, these are headstones, one day you may need one

You can have one with the American flag

Granite is among the oldest rock on earth. Hidden deep beneath the ground's surface, granite reveals itself only after the softer, upper layers of dirt and rock have worn away, allowing its strength and power to be unveiled.

Kinda like us....