The Rollstone Boulder is a ten-foot-tall, 110-ton

porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning ...

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 ...

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

located on a

traffic island A traffic island is a solid or painted object in a road that channels traffic. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an acute angle. If the island uses road markings only, without raised curbs or other physica ...

in downtown Fitchburg,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. The boulder was exploded at its original location at the summit of Rollstone Hill and then reassembled near Fitchburg's Upper Common in 1929 from the pieces.

Geology

The Rollstone Boulder is a

glacial erratic described by Peter Cristofono in his article "Minerals of Rollstone Hill" as being composed of "

Kinsman

quartz monzonite Quartz monzonite is an intrusive, felsic, igneous rock that has an approximately equal proportion of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars. It is typically a light colored phaneritic (coarse-grained) to porphyritic granitic rock. The plagioclase ...

." The phenocrysts in the boulder are plainly visible large white

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

crystals.Cristofono, Peter
Minerals of Rollstone Hill, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA

Mindat.org Mindat.org is a non-commercial interactive online database covering minerals around the world. Originally created by Jolyon Ralph as a private project in 1993, it was launched as a community-editable website in October 2000. it is operated by ...

. April 20, 2012. Retrieved December 17,2015. The boulder weighs and is tall. It was likely moved to Fitchburg from central

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, as there are

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

s located in and near the towns of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

and

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

that are of the same composition as the stone.

History

During the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, a glacier deposited a diameter rock weighing "at least one hundred tons" on the summit of Rollstone Hill.Mason, Atherton P., M.D
Fitchburg in 1885
Bay State Monthly. Volume 0002, Issue 6. March 1885. p. 357. Retrieved December 22, 2012Holmes, Hannah
Pet Rocks
''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

''. March 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2012. Over time this boulder became a landmark where people would hike to and picnic.Fitchburg, p.113 The elements began wearing away at the boulder, and by 1899 large cracks had appeared in it. These cracks were filled with cement, and an iron band circling the stone was added by Thomas Archibald of Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Proceedings of the Fitchburg Historical Society and papers relating to the history of the town
Volume 3. p. 150–151. Fitchburg Historical Society. 1902. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

ing began on Rollstone Hill and throughout the 19th century the granite from here was used throughout Fitchburg and the eastern United States. The granite was used in the construction of walls, columns, and bridges including ones across the

Nashua River The Nashua River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It ...

and five across the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

including the

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee in Bergen County, New Jersey, with the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named after George W ...

.Fitchburg, p.56 By the late 1800s concerns began to be raised that this quarrying was encroaching upon the landmark boulder.Proceedings of the Fitchburg Historical Society and papers relating to the history of the town
Volume 2. Fitchburg Historical Society. p. 23. 1897. Retrieved December 22, 2012. At the Fitchburg Historical Society meeting on May 18, 1896 Charles Fosdick brought up this encroachment and his concerns about it. A committee was formed to speak with the owners of the quarries to see if the boulder could be preserved. Nothing came from this and another committee was appointed on April 15, 1901 to see if it was possible to save the stone. They reported over a year later, on May 19, 1902, that the boulder would be moved and not destroyed at no cost to the historical society. A vote was taken to approve the action, but the boulder was not moved until it was in immediate danger on September 2, 1929.Gale, Dick
Fitchburg Boulder Stands As Monument To Historical Sentiment, Disregard Of Fact
''

Lewiston Evening Journal The ''Sun Journal'' is a newspaper published in Lewiston, Maine, United States, which covers central and western Maine. In addition to its main office in Lewiston, the newspaper also maintains satellite news and sales bureaus in the Maine towns ...

''. May 31, 1951. Retrieved December 22, 2012. In 1929 the two quarries on Rollstone Hill began removing the final section of the hill between them where the Rollstone boulder was perched. At the urging of state representative Louis N. M. Des Chenes, the mayor of Fitchburg, Joseph N. Carriere, forced the quarries to halt operations so the boulder could be removed. The plans for moving the boulder were fairly simple as all that seemed to be holding the stone together was the iron band encircling it. The plan was to remove this band and the subsequent pieces the boulder crumbled into were to be moved to a small triangular traffic island in downtown Fitchburg to be reassembled. Lines and numbers were painted on the Rollstone Boulder and it was meticulously photographed and drawn so that it could be reassembled exactly the same as it was before the move. After all this planning and documentation, when the iron band was removed the boulder did not fall apart. It took multiple blasts with

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

to even crack the stone. After it was broken into smaller pieces, they were all transported to its new home. J. Marc Leblanc, a local stonemason, was given the task of reassembling the Rollstone Boulder. The tough job was made even tougher due to

streetcars A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

going by the work site jarring loose stones after they had already been placed. After months of work and all of the money the city had put aside for the project was exhausted, Leblanc could not reassemble it. Out of money and out of time the project was transferred to a special committee headed by U. S. Senator Marcus A. Coolidge. The committee, state representative Des Chenes, and Leblanc decided the best way to go forward with restoring the boulder would be to discard the inside and only reassemble the exterior portion of the stone. Des Chenes explains, "We just used the outside and tied the parts together with iron rods ... We drilled holes and hooked the rods to the insides of the rock. After the shell of the boulder was fixed in place, Leblanc poured in concrete and filled it up." After the reconstruction, the Rollstone Boulder appeared the same as it did before and is in the same orientation as when it was on Rollstone hill. In 1930 a plaque was attached to the boulder by the Fitchburg Historical society, which stated: The plaque is misleading as the Rollstone Boulder was not brought from Mt. Monadnock, just somewhere in central New Hampshire, there was no popular subscription to save it, and no citizens of Fitchburg were asked to raise money for its move.

Namesakes

The Rollstone Boulder has become an

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

for many things in Fitchburg. The namesakes include both a Rollstone Street, a Boulder Drive, The Boulder Cafe Est. 1934, and a nearby downtown art gallery is also called the "Boulder Art Gallery", as it sits "In the Shadow of the Rollstone Boulder". In 2008 Fitchburg Savings Bank changed its name to Rollstone Bank and Trust with the slogan "Rock Solid Banking Since 1846."Bank picks historic town symbol as new name
The Financial Brand. February 27, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2012.

References

Sources *
Fitchburg
'. Images of America Series.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs th ...

, 2005. *
Proceedings of the Fitchburg historical society and papers relating to the history of the town
'' Volume 4. Fitchburg Historical Society. 1908. Retrieved December 22, 2012.

External links

{{Commons category, Rollstone Boulder

Rollstone Boulder by Jerry Beck
Article from the

Sentinel & Enterprise The ''Sentinel & Enterprise'' is a morning daily newspaper published in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with a satellite news bureau in Leominster, Massachusetts. The newspaper covers local news in Fitchburg, Leominster and several nearby towns in nor ...

's 2015 alphabet project. Fitchburg, Massachusetts Symbols of Massachusetts Glacial erratics of Massachusetts

Geology

History

Namesakes

See also

References

External links