Redstone Quarry

History Provided by: Stephen Swenson

The quarries in Redstone produced two different colors of granite: red and green. Therefore, the Maine and New Hampshire Granite Co. was able to offer three distinct colors of stone: gray from North Jay, plus red and green from Redston

History

In 1880, George Wagg, Maine Central Railroad roadmaster, brought the quality of the granite to the attention of Payson Tucker, head of the Maine Central, and J.H. Emery of North Jay, Maine.

1882: Quarry operations began for the use of granite to build bridges and foundations of the local area

1887. At this time, a Company under the name of Maine and New Hampshire Granite Company was formed by three men: Frank Emery of North Jay, Maine, who owned and operated the North Jay Granite Company, Colby Pert and George Monroe.

1890: saw a great deal of activity here in the form of a village consisting of about twenty-two houses, a few were two-story tenements, a store, which also contained Post office, boarding house, and a bowling alley.

Soon after the quarry was started, it was serviced by the Maine Central Railroad, a distance of about one half mile, one track going into the "stone" shed and the other going into the "yard", nearly reaching to the office.

By the early 20th century, Redstone was a thriving village with workers living in company-owned houses or the company boardinghouse. Many commuted from North Conway and East Conway by horse and wagon.

During peak production periods, reportedly as many as 350 men were employed. There were quarrymen, cutters, polishers, engineers, carpenters, blacksmiths and skilled carvers. They earned up to $2 a day.

There were no coffee breaks or personal visits allowed during working hours. The men in the yard and stone sheds often walked back to the boarding house for lunch and were back on the job by 1 p.m. while men working up in the quarries carried their lunch.

By 1910, the tracks were laid up the mountain. The pink quarry used cable cars, governed by brake drums - when one car descended loaded, the empty car at the bottom would be taken up to be filled again using the two sets of tracks. A case about the danger of this went to the NH Supreme Court.

Making of a granite column

Supplying granite for the Masonic Temple was the largest job ever undertaken by Redstone. It included 24 polished columns, each 22 feet long and each weighing 18 tons. The six-year job, completed in 1929, was a financial boon to the company.

The company survived the Depression years of the 1930s and continued until the beginning of World War II, when limestone and concrete aggregate began to replace granite for building purposes

1930, the wooden shed burned and was rebuilt in 1931 with one made of steel. At the beginning of World War II, the General Electric Company of Lynn, Massachusetts, bought and rebuilt the shed in Lynn.

1948 The last time granite was quarried in Redstone was in 1948 for the Criminal Courts building in New York City.

Once World War II began, there were new national priorities and Redstone converted to defense work.

For a brief period, forges were installed in the stone sheds for the production of metal castings. The large metal stone shed was sold and moved to a General Electric war plant in Lynn, Mass. Local women worked in the large boarding house dining hall, assembling metal fittings for wire nets which were woven in the Swenson Granite Co. sheds in Concord.

The houses and buildings, except two, were auctioned. People living in the house had the first choice. The owners of the quarry and mountain then became: the H.E. Fletcher Company of Chelmsford, MA, and John Swenson Granite Company, of Concord, NH. Both had been friendly competitors of the former Maine and New Hampshire Granite Company.

Today, the Nature Conservancy owns the majority of the original Redstone property, while the state of New Hampshire owns the quarry area

Source: Documents provided by Stephen Swenson & Conway Daily Sun

Redstone Quarry Trail

This trail is about one half mile long and will take you through the historic Redstone Quarry site. Along the way, additional signage will help narrate the story of the workers who quarried and cut granite here for use in building projects locally and throughout the country.

Along the trail, you will see the remains of this large Stone Shed. This interior view shows skilled artisans crafting ornate designs from rough granite blocks. The train tracks running through the building moved granite to and from the quarries.

Google Map to: Trailhead in North Conway and the Swenson Trail

During Quarrying Operations

Converted to Recreation

Map of Redstone Villiage

Photo of Redstone Village

Boarding House

Present Day

Building with Redstone Quarry Granite

Conway Pink

Labor & Interstate Commerce Building, Washington, DC
Morrison Hotel, Chicago, IL
Scottish Rite Temple, Philadelphia, PA
Newcomb-Endicott Store, Detroit, MI
Whitney Central Building, New Orleans, LA
The Mellon Institute, Pittsburg, PA
Grant's Tomb, New York, NY
National Archives, Washington, DC
G.W. Memorial Masonic Temple, Alexandria, VA

Conway Green

First National Bank, Atlanta, GA
N.Y. Curb Exchange Bldg, New York, NY
George Rogers Clark Memorial, Vincennes, IN
National City Bank of NY, Havana, Cuba
Central Savings Bank, New York, NY
Canal -Commercial Bank, New Orleans, LA
Union Trust Building, Pittsburg, PA
The Hatch Memorial Shell, Boston, MA

Granite from Redstone and North Jay was used in most of the early Maine Central and Boston & Maine railroad stations. Most have been demolished due to the decline of the B&M, but some, such as the one in Laconia, survive.

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