The Quincy Quarries is a public recreation area in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, commemorating the site of the

Granite Railway The Granite Railway was one of the first railroads in the United States, built to carry granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, to a dock on the Neponset River in Milton. From there boats carried the heavy stone to Charlestown for construction ...

—often credited as being the first railroad in the United States. The former

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

produced

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

for over a century, leaving problematic excavations that ultimately were taken over and filled in to protect public safety. The reservation is owned and operated by the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. Th ...

History

In 1825, after an exhaustive search throughout

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, Solomon Willard selected the Quincy site as the source of stone for the

Bunker Hill Monument The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the United Colonies and the British Empire in the American Revolutionary War. The 2 ...

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 "

" was designed and built by railway pioneer Gridley Bryant and began operations on October 7, 1826. 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 Cliff jumping is the leaping off a cliff edge, usually into a body of water, as a form of sport. It may be done as part of the sport of coastal exploration or as a standalone activity. Particular variations on cliff jumping may specify the angle ...

. However, many people were injured—and killed—while diving into the quarries from great heights. Between 1960 and 1998, 51 people were killed due to cliff diving. This led the police and the city of Quincy to grapple with what to do with this abandoned space. During this period, the quarries were also discovered by

rock climbers Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and o ...

. In 1968, ''A Guide to Quincy Quarries'' by

Willie Crowther William Crowther (born 1936) is an American computer programmer, caver, and rock climber. He is the co-creator of ''Colossal Cave Adventure'' from 1975 onward, a seminal computer game that influenced the first decade of video game design and ins ...

and Tony Thompson, published by the

MIT Outing Club The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sci ...

, contained information about climbing in and around the quarries; a second edition was published in 1970. ''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. 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. The quarries, once drained of water, became a very popular canvas for graffiti artists.

Quincy Quarries Reservation

In 1985,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

'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 The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90 to Logan I ...

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. The reservation is connected to the trail system of the

Blue Hills Reservation Blue Hills Reservation is a state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts in the United States. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it covers parts of Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedha ...

and features hiking, rock climbing and views of the Boston skyline.

In popular culture

Scenes from the movies ''

Gone Baby Gone ''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck in his directorial debut. Affleck co-wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film star ...

'' (2007) and ''

The Invention of Lying ''The Invention of Lying'' is a 2009 romantic comedy fantasy film written and directed by comedian Ricky Gervais and writer Matthew Robinson in their directorial debuts. The film stars Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie in a world ...

'' (2009) were filmed in the Quincy Quarries. '' Geeks & Greeks'' (2016), a graphic novel about pranks at MIT and fraternity

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

, features a climactic sequence set at the Quincy Quarries in their water-filled days.

References

External links

Quincy Quarries Reservation
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Quincy Quarries Historic Site Brochure
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Quincy Quarry Museum
{{authority control Rail transportation in Massachusetts Companies affiliated with the Old Colony Railroad Quincy, Massachusetts Geography of Norfolk County, Massachusetts Parks in Norfolk County, Massachusetts State parks of Massachusetts Climbing areas of the United States Tourist attractions in Quincy, Massachusetts Quarries in the United States 1985 establishments in Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1985