September 29, 2023
ROCK OF AGES
558 Graniteville Road, Graniteville, VT 05654
“Rock of Ages Corporation is a granite quarrying and finishing company located in Graniteville, Vermont. It was founded in 1885.” - Wikipedia
There are two parts to Rock of Ages, the quarry and the finishing factory. Everything starts at the Visitors Center where a short film tells the history of the business, shows how the granite is excavated from the quarry and then talks about how the monuments are finished in the factory. The self-guided tour of the factory takes one up above the factory floor and allows one to watch monuments being worked on. According to the film, some of the workers in the factory are third and fourth generation artists.
To view the quarry, visitors caravan their vehicles behind a guide to a look-out point with grand vistas of the quarry. According to the guide, for many years hundreds of men worked in the quarry, but because of technology and advances in equipment only 13 men are required to do the same work today. At nearly 600 feet deep, it is the largest operating deep-hole, dimension granite quarry in the world. It was fascinating watching the workers while listening to the guide describe what was happening.
I found both parts of Rock of Ages to be fascinating.
A granite bowling alley.
The factory
Inside the factory. This is a view of 1/3 of the total working space in this building.
Worker preparing the writing/art on a memorial.
Working on the writing/art on a memorial.
A sample of what is made in the factory.
The quarry.
The quarry. Can you see the men working near the bottom of the picture?
The quarry.
The men in this picture are cutting up the huge slab of granite.
Pieces of granite waiting to be made into a monuement.
Panoramic view of the quarry.