Quincy Quarries Reservation

Quincy Quarries Reservation
Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston
View across earth-filled quarry
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Norfolk
City	Quincy

Coordinates	42°14′35″N 71°2′4″W / 42.24306°N 71.03444°W / 42.24306; -71.03444Coordinates: 42°14′35″N 71°2′4″W / 42.24306°N 71.03444°W / 42.24306; -71.03444

Area	22 acres (9 ha)

Established	1985
Management	Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

Location in Massachusetts
Website: Quincy Quarries

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quincy Quarries Reservation.

The Quincy Quarries in Quincy, Massachusetts, produced granite for over a century and were the site of the Granite Railway—often credited as being the first railroad in the United States.^[1] A 22-acre (8.9 ha) section of the former quarries is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as a public recreation area.^[2]

History

In 1825, after an exhaustive search throughout New England, Solomon Willard selected the Quincy site as the source of stone for the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. After many delays and much obstruction, a charter was granted on March 4, 1826 for the construction of a railroad to help move the granite. The "Granite Railway" was designed and built by railway pioneer Gridley Bryant and began operations on October 7, 1826.^[3] The granite from these quarries became famous throughout the nation, and stone cutting quickly became Quincy's principal economic activity.

Later use

The last active quarry closed in 1963. After their abandonment, the open quarries filled with rainwater and ground water. The flooded quarries soon became a popular spot for cliff jumping. However, many people were injured—and killed—while diving into the quarries from great heights. This led the police and the city of Quincy to grapple with what to do with this abandoned space.^[4]

During this period, the quarries were also discovered by rock climbers. In 1968, A Guide to Quincy Quarries by Willie Crowther and Tony Thompson, published by the MIT Outing Club, contained information about climbing in and around the quarries; a second edition was published in 1970.^[5] Boston Rocks, a guidebook by Larry LaForge, was published by the MIT Outing Club in 1987; a second edition by Richard Doucette and Susan Ruff came out in 2003 with a copyright update in 2008.^[6]

During the 1980s old telephone poles and trees were added to discourage cliff jumping. Unfortunately, these were quickly waterlogged and sank two feet underwater where they were not visible to the cliff jumpers above. The injury and fatality rate skyrocketed. Often, divers sent to look for missing cliff jumpers would unexpectedly find other bodies instead.

Quincy Quarries Reservation

In 1985, Boston's Metropolitan District Commission purchased 22 acres, including Granite Railway Quarry, as the Quincy Quarries Reservation. A solution to the public safety problem was finally found with the massive Big Dig highway project in Boston. Dirt from the new highway tunnels was trucked in to fill the main quarries. This opened up new sections of rock to climbers, and the site was subsequently improved to encourage public use of the reservation.^[7] The reservation is connected to the trail system of the Blue Hills Reservation and features hiking, rock climbing and views of the Boston skyline.^[2]

In popular culture

Scenes from the movies Gone Baby Gone (2007) and The Invention of Lying (2009) were filmed in the Quincy Quarries.^[8]

The quarries are also represented as a nuclear waste dump site and a raiders base in the 2015 post apocalyptic video game Fallout 4.

References

↑ "The First Railroad in America: 1826-1926: A History of the Origin and Development of the Granite Railway at Quincy, Massachusetts". Thomas Crane Public Library. 1926. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
1 2 "Quincy Quarries". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
↑ Scholes, Robert E. (1968). "The Granite Railway and its Associated Enterprises". Thomas Crane Public Library.
↑ White, Victoria (August 21, 1988). "Debate on over risks in quarries". New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
↑ Crowther & Thompson (1970). A Guide to Quincy Quarries. MIT Outing Club. The preface indicates that there was an earlier guide written by Crowther in 1964.
↑ Doucette & Ruff (2008). Boston Rocks. MIT Outing Club.
↑ Preer, Robert (October 18, 2001). "Into quarry's depths no more". The Boston Globe. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ "Gone Baby Gone Filming Locations". IMDB. Retrieved December 17, 2014.

External links

Quincy Quarries Department of Conservation and Recreation
Quincy Quarry Museum

Quincy, Massachusetts

Neighborhoods	Adams Shore Germantown Hough's Neck Marina Bay Merrymount Montclair North Quincy Quincy Center Quincy Point South Quincy Squantum West Quincy Wollaston

Schools	Quincy Public Schools Quincy High School North Quincy High School Woodward School for Girls

Colleges and universities	Quincy College Eastern Nazarene College

Landmarks	John Adams Birthplace Thomas Crane Public Library Quincy City Hall Peacefield Josiah Quincy House Quincy Quarries Reservation Quincy Shore Drive Squantum Point Park United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum USS Salem (CA-139)

Media	The Patriot Ledger

MBTA stations	North Quincy Quincy Adams Quincy Center Wollaston

Islands	Moon Island

History	Fore River Shipyard Naval Air Station Squantum

Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston

Coastal reservations	Belle Isle Marsh Boston Harbor Islands Castle Island Dorchester Shores Fort Revere Lynn Shore Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Webb Memorial Weymouth Back River

River reservations	Alewife Brook Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Elm Bank Hemlock Gorge Mystic River Neponset River Pope John Paul II Squantum Point Park Upper Charles River

Woodland reservations	Beaver Brook Blue Hills Breakheart Hammond Pond Middlesex Fells Quincy Quarries Southwest Corridor Stony Brook Wilson Mountain

Heritage state parks	Lynn Roxbury

Parkways and roads	Alewife Brook Arborway Blue Hills Blue Hills Reservation Charles River Reservation Day Boulevard Fellsway Fenway Fresh Pond Furnace Brook Hamond Pond Hull Shore Drive Jamaicaway Lynn Fells Memorial Drive Morrissey Boulevard Mystic Valley Nahant Beach Boulevard Nantasket Avenue Park Drive Quincy Shore Drive Revere Beach Riverway Soldiers Field Road Stony Brook Storrow Drive Truman VFW West Roxbury Winthrop Winthrop Shore Drive

Department of Conservation and Recreation Greater Boston List of Massachusetts State Parks

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling

National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory

Other National Park Service Units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore

National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island

Other	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State Parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Great Brook Farm Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck

Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain

Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State Forests

Wildlife Management Areas

Wildlife Management Areas	Agawam Lake Agawam Mill Pond Ashby Ashfield Hawley Attitash Ayer Game Farm Baddacook Pond Bakers Pond Bay Circuit Trail Bearse Pond Becket Bennett Birch Hill Black Brook Blackstone / West River Bolton Flats Boxboro Station Brayton Point Salt Marsh Breakneck Brook Brewer Brook Bullock Ledge Burrage Pond Canoe River Catamount Chalet Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh Childs River Chockalog Swamp Church Homestead Clapps Pond Clinton Bluff Concord River Connecticut River Cook Pond Copicut Coy Hill Crane Pond Cummington Cusky Pond Dartmoor Farm Darwin Scott Memorial Day Mountain Deerfield River Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal Dolomite Ledges Dunstable Brook E. Kent Swift Eagle Island East Mountain Eastham Salt Marsh Elbow Meadow English Salt Marsh Eugene D. Moran Facing Rock Fairfield Brook Farmington River Fish Brook Fisherville Pond Fisk Forestdale Lot Fisk Meadows Five Mile River Flagg Swamp Flint Pond Four Chimneys Fox Den Fox Island Salt Marsh Frances A. Crane Freetown Swamp George L. Darey Housatonic Valley Glen Echo Lake Gosnold Grassy Pond (Dennis) Grassy Pond (Plymouth) Green River (Franklin County) Green River (Berkshire County) Greenfield River Halfway Pond Hamilton Hancock Harlow / Cooks Pond Haskell Swamp Hauk Swamp Hawksnest State Park Hawley Head Of The Plains Herman Covey High Ridge Hinsdale Flats Hiram H. Fox Hockomock Swamp Hog Pond Lot Honey Pot Hoosatonic River Hoosic River Hop Brook Housatonic River Hubbard Brook Hunting Hills Hyannis Ponds Ipswich River John J. Kelly Joint Base Cape Cod Jug End Fen Jug End Kampoosa Fen Katama Plains Knops Pond Konkapot River Lackey Pond Lake Lorraine Lake Rohunta Lake Snipatuit Lake Warner Lanesboro Lawrence Brook Lawrence Pond Lot Leadmine Leyden Lilly Pond Little Alum Pond Long Sought For Pond Maple Hill Maple Springs Martha Deering Martin H. Burns Mascuppic Lake Mashpee Pine Barrens Mashpee Pond Lot Mashpee River Mckinstry Brook Meetinghouse Swamp Merrill Pond Miacomet Heath Mill River Millers River Mine Brook Montague Plains Montague Moose Brook Moose Brook Moose Hill Mossy Pond Mount Watatic Reservation Mt. Esther Mt. Toby Highlands Mt. Toby Mt. Tom Muddy Brook Muddy Pond Mulpus Brook Nashua River Natty Brook Nemasket River Nissitissit River Noquochoke Nordeen Marsh North Brookfield North Shore Salt Marsh Northboro Oakham Olivers Pond Orange Otis Packard Pond Palmer Pantry Brook Pauchaug Brook Peru Peterson Swamp Phillipston Podunk Marsh Poland Brook Popple Camp Popponesset Beach Poutwater Pond Powell Brook Prince River Provincetown Route 6 Corridor Purchade Brook Quaboag Quacumquasit Quag Pond Bog Quashnet River Quashnet Woods State Reservation Quinapoxet River Quinsigamond Marsh Quisset Raccoon Hill Rainbow Beach Red Brook Richardson Robbins Pond Rochester Rocky Gutter Rowe Salisbury Salt Marsh Salisbury Salt Marsh Sandwich Game Farm Sandy Pond Satan's Kingdom Savage Hill Savoy Sawmill River Scorton Creek Coastal SE Mass Bioreserve Sevenmile River Shattuck Brook Sheperds Island Shubael Pond Sibley Brook Sly Pond South Barrier Beach South Meadow Pond South Shore Salt Marsh South Triangle Pond Southampton Southwick Spectacle Pond Springhill Lot Sputtermill Pond Squannacook River Stafford Hill Sudbury River Sunderland Islands Taconic Mountain Taunton River Taunton River Tekoa Mountain Thad Ellis Thayer Pond Three Mile Pond Townsend Townsend Hill Trapfall Brook Triangle Pond Tully Brook Tully Mountain Tully River Wakeby Pond Wales Walnut Hill Ware River Warwick Wendell West Meadows Westboro Westfield River Westfield Weymouth Back River Whately Great Swamp Whately Ponds Whately Wilbraham Game Farm William Forward Williams River Williamsburg Winimusset Wolf Swamp

Wildlife Sanctuaries	Billingsgate Island Carr Island E. Howe Forbush Egg Rock Grace A. Robson J.C. Phillips Knight Penikese Island Ram Island (Salisbury) Ram Island (Mattapoisett) Susan B. Minns Tarpaulin Cove Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Preserve Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuaries

Arcadia Broad Meadow Brook Broadmoor Daniel Webster Drumlin Farm High Ledges Ipswich River Moose Hill North River Pleasant Valley Stony Brook Wachussett Meadow Wellfleet Bay

Other

Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary

Category
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Commons

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Quincy Quarries Reservation

History

Later use

Quincy Quarries Reservation

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links