The granite from these quarries were used in other buildings in Boston and eventually to other parts of the United States and even the world. In 1826, Gridley Bryant designed and built the Granite Railway, which many consider one of the first railroads in America, and is a Civil Engineering Historical Landmark. The quarries were established by Simon Willard in 1825 when he decided that this was the place to get the stone for the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown (now a part of Boston). The area has a long and complex history - a summary is presented here. This is the old Lyons Turning Mill, where tall columns of granite were made. There is more if you get back in your car and drive up Riccuti Drive to the end, then bear right, the drive downhill to building remains on the left. There are other odd pieces on the ground that indicate past human activity. There are a couple small ponds - one had tadpoles in them.īeyond these ledges, down a path, is an incline and a pair of granite obelisks off Mullin Avenue at the north end of the park. Another has evidence that a bridge was there. At one location are the remnants of a derrick. There is evidence all around of quarry activity. The ground is actually fill from the construction of new tunnels in Boston (known as the "Big Dig"), with cap soil. You are now within one of the quarries.įrom this vantage point, you see the highest points of the old quarries. From the parking lot, large enough for at least 20 cars, From there, walk a short distance via a well used path to an open grassy area with protrusions of stone. There are signs forbidding you from parking on the street. After about a tenth mile then park in the first parking lot that you see. You will see signs and banners for the golf course, but not to the quarries. You will cross the highway here, and then drive parallel to it for a short distance, then turn sharp right onto Ricciuti Drive. At the end of the road, turn left onto Willard Street. Getting there is a bit convoluted - from I-93 north heading toward Boston, take the exit for the Furnace Brook Parkway then go along a rotary and without crossing under the highway, take the next road and drive north parallel to the highway, bearing right at a fork (if you go left, you will go back onto the highway).
The quarries are located off I-93 (Southeast Expressway). In Quincy, within the Blue Hills Reservation, is the historic Quincy Quarries, which provided structural grey granite to Boston, other parts of the U.S.
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