Current Events

Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum on Facebook

Welcome to our current events page. Please be sure to stop by frequently to see the events that are planned. If you are not yet a fan on Facebook, we invite you to join our community and share your thoughts with us and each other.

Ongoing .....

DCR Events For 2011 at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/events/bhhikes.pdf

Quincy Quarries Adop- A- Crag For information visit www.rei.com/boston

Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum has a window display @ 1418 Hancock Street, Quincy Center

Stabilization work at the Lyons Turning Mill.
First phase capping o the fwalls is in progress. Work on the Lyons Turning Mill is being funded by the Quincy Community Preservation Committee and Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum. The work is being done by Folan Waterproofing and Construction Co. of So. Easton, MA. Progress will be updated on our web site.

January 29, 2012

Granite worker statue in Shea Park, West Quincy at intersection of Common and Center streets and dedicated to all past granite workers of Quincy. Statue sporting a Tom Brady shirt number 12.

Go Pat's!

November 12, 2011

The Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum took part in the Department of Conservation and Recreation's quarry walk titled "Taken For Granite" on November 12th, 2011 at the Granite Railway quarry. The walk was organized by ranger captain Maggie Brown of the DCR and geologist Les Tyrala a member of the museum. Information and historical pictures along with artificts related to the Granite Railway Company were displayed by the museum.

October 1, 2011

Quincy Quarry & Granite Workers Museum will participate in the
Massachusetts Historical Commission's "Step Back in Time With Massachusetts Archaeology Month 2011".
The Quarry Museum will conduct site tours of the
Inclined Plane Railway, a portion of the granite railway system, which was the first commercial railroad in the United States.

Date: Saturday, October 1.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Rain date: Saturday, October 15.
Location: Mullin Ave. to dead end.
For more information call 617-472-1322

August 24, 2011

The Quarry museum has moved the two window displays of artifacts and museum
information to new location located at 1418 Hancock Street Quincy center.

June 14, 2011

Swingle's Bridge Plaque

Quarry Museum received the plaque from the bridge that spanned a portion of Swingle's Quarry that was constructed in 1904.

The plaque was donated by Virginia and Berine Sweeney in memory of Berine's father Bernard Sweeney and William Yuscavitch.

Top photo
L to R Al Bina accepting plaque, Berine Sweeney his wife Virginia, Silvia Yuscavitch and Bill Yuscavitch.

Bottom photo
Historical photo from the Thomas Crane Library's Parker Collection showing a quarry worker standing on the bridge next to the
plaque.

June 14, 2011

Granite workers statue in West Quincy at the intersecton of Common / Centre /
Copeland and West Sts.

GO BRUINS!

April 6, 2011 - Wednesday 7 - 9p

Please join us for a presentation by Becky Bates-McArthur and Paul Fiori on Cohasset's Minot's Ledge Lighthouse. They will tell the story of the first Minot's Ledge Lighthouse which was destroyed in a storm in 1851. It's replacement was constructed with granite from Quincy's Granite Railway Quarry. The presentation will include a video of the interior of the lighthouse and diagrams and photos of the lighthouse and Government Island. We will have updates on Museum progress. Presentation will be held at the Quincy Ward 4 Community Center, 100 Brooks Ave., South Quincy, MA.
For more information call 617-472-1322 or email quincyquarrymuseum@verizon.net

February 16, 2011 Presentation at Cohasset Historical Society

Presentation at Cohasset Historical Society The Museum will make a presentation on the proposed Museum and also the building of the Minot's Ledge Lighthouse and its connection to Quincy's Granite Railway Company. Date: February 16th at 7:30 Where: Cohasset Historical Society, 106 South Main Street, Cohasset .

Pictures were taken at our recent prestation at the Cohasset Historical Society. Al & Tom spoke to a full house. Thanks to all for your support and the enthusiastic turnout.

Nov 13, 2010 Quarry Museum & DCR Quarry walk

The Quarry Museum recently took part in the Department of Conservation and Recreation's quarry walk on Saturday, November 13th at the Granite Railway Quarry. The walking tour was both an historical and geological informational tour of the Granite Railway Quarry. The walk was organized by Ranger Captain Maggie Brown of DCR and geologist Les Tyrala a member of the museum. Member Tom Bonomi also added many interesting facts about the granite industry in Quincy. The museum had informational tables set up manned by members Louise Pagliccia and Al Bina with historical pictures and granite samples from many of the Quincy quarries along with stone cutting tools.

Oct 24, 2010 Plymouth Digital Photo Club Tour

Plymouth Digital Photo Club Tour On Sunday October 24th the Plymouth Digital Photo Club was given a tour of the Granite Railway Quarry and the Lyons Turning Mill sites. The tour was organized by Carol Themmen a member of the photo club and museum and Tom Bonomi, museum member. Tom pointed out many historic artifacts scattered through out the walk and also gave a great historical presentation on both sites. All members of the photo club took numerous photos of all aspects of the tour. Visit the web site meetup.com for more information on the photo club.

October 25, 2010 WATD 95.9FM Feature Series

WATD Radio 95.9 FM Feature Series on the proposed granite museum starting Monday Oct. 25th. WATD's Dave Skill will be hosting a special five part series "The rocky road to bringing a granite museum to the Granite City". The show will air at 5:26 AM, 9:00 AM and WATD's mid day report.
www.959watd.com/DaveSkill.php

October 20, 2010 Minots Light / Cohasset Historical Society

Minots Light is made of Quincy Granite. On Wednesday, October 20th @ 7:30pm the Cohasset Historical Society, 106 South Main St., is offering a free lecture on the building of this beautiful lighthouse landmark. For more information please call the Cohasset Historical Society directly @
781-383-1434

October 2, 2010 Archeology Month at the Lyons Turning Mill

Come tour the proposed museum site and the remains of the Lyons Turning Mill; Saturday, October 2, 2010 10am - 3pm. Rain date 10/23. Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum information table and Bookstore items will be available. The Lyons Turning Mill is part of Quincy's rich granite history and is on the National and State Register of Historic places.
Location: Quarry Hills Drive, Quincy.
For more information call 617-472-1322 or email quincyquarrymuseum@verizon.net .
Archeology Month is sponsored the the Commonwealth of Massachausetts. This year's theme is "Unlocking the Past" information is available http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc

October 6, 2010 - Wednesday - 7pm

Save the date. Open meeting with guest speaker Tom Galvin, Quincy City Historian. Tom's presentation will be about the Quincy Granite Indusry. Come and learn about recent developments and our progress establishing the Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum. The meeting will be held @ Ward 4 Community Center, 100 Brooks Ave, South Quincy, MA. For more information call 617-472-1322 or email quincyquarrymuseum@verizon.net

Display At Quincy City Hall
June 2010 - presently ongoing
Members of the Quincy Quarry and GraniteWorkersMuseum assembled a display that is in the main lobby of the new city hall annex. The display is free standing consisting of grid wall panels fastened together to form a cross which formed eight panels for display of photos and interpretive information. The display featured information on our mission and the proposed Quarry and GraniteWorkersMuseum with photos of the site and the model. Also included in the display were a series of photos of the Granite Railway and Bunker Hill Quarry, the Granite Railway Inclined Plane and photos of the granite industry including quarry, stone shed and miscellaneous photos related to the industry. Interpretive information was provided under each photo. The Museum would like to thank both the Quincy Historical Society and Thomas Crane Public Library for their sharing of photos which made this display possible.

Cleaner Greener Quincy 2010

photo by Al Bina

The Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum took part in Quincy's Cleaner, Greener Day witih the clean-up of the historic Granite Railroad Inclined Plane, designed and built by Gridley Bryant in 1830. The clean-up was a success as can be seen in the before and after photos. This site is listed on the Massachusetts' Historical Register and is also on the National Civil Engineering Landmarks' Register.

After Cleaner Greener Cleanup 2010 photo by Al Bina

Before Cleaner Greener Cleanup 2010 photo by Al Bina

May, 2, 2010 - Sunday - The Quincy Park Department and The Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum present The History and Geology of Quincy Quarries with Al Bina, President Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum; Tom Bonomi, Local historian and Les Tyrala, Registered Geologist. PREREGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR THIS TOUR. PLEASE CALL 617-472-0799 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              617-472-0799      end_of_the_skype_highlighting TO PREREGISTER. This tour will explore the history of the Granite Railroad and the geology at three quarries to understand why the quarry companies chose this West Quincy location for such large-scale operations and why architects favored this stone. These quarries provided dimensional stone for significant structures as close as Quincy City Hall, Minot's Lighthouse and the Bunker Hill monument to as far away as the New Orleans and Savannah Custom houses. Additionally, we will look at glacial features that still remain at the edges of the quarries and learn about efforts to create a quarry museum. Participants must be able to climb up steep, narrow, rugged trails to the tops of the quarries. Hiking books are strongly recommended. Limited to 30 Participants. Meeting place will be provided at the time of registration. No raindate has been scheduled. However, registered participants should call 617-472-0799 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              617-472-0799      end_of_the_skype_highlighting after 1pm on Sunday for a recored announcement about inclement weather cancellation. The tour will last approximately 2 hours.

May 1, 2010 - Saturday - The Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum and Home Depot will join Cleaner, Greener Quincy on Saturday, May 1st to clean up the historic inclined plane railway, part of the Granite Railway the first commercial railroad in America.  Please join us to clean the area and also learn the history of this historic site. Gloves, rakes and bags supplied by Cleaner, Greener Quincy and specialty tools to clean the rails will be donated by Home Depot. For more information call 617-472-1322 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              617-472-1322      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

April 7, 2010 - Wednesday - 7pm - Join us for an open meeting for members & the public to learn about the propsed Quincy Quarry & Granite Workers Museum. We will be showing several DVDs of activities from the 1996 Commonwealth Museum's Exhibit titled "Granite The Enduring Legacy of Massachusetts". Original video of the granite industry throughtout Massachusetts was filmed by TC Fitzgerald, photographer from the Commonwealth Museum. Stonecutting, stonecutting tools & equipment & granite tool blacksmithing will be included in the presentation. The meeting will be held @ Ward 4 Community Center, 100 Brooks Ave, South Quincy, MA. For more information call 617-472-1322 or email quincyquarrymuseum@verizon.net

March 18, 2010 - Read about the progress of the Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum tax exempt status in The Quincy Sun, page 13.

December 5 , 2009 - 1pm - QUINCY PARKS DEPARTMENT presents
ST. MARY'S CEMETERY, HALL PLACE AND THE REMAINS OF THE FIRST BLAST FURNACE with Stephen Cantelli (raindate 12/6 @1pm) This free tour will explre several fascinating sites in West Quincy: the remains of the first operational blast furnace in our country, a monument to Solomon Willard, te architect of the Bunker Hill Monument, and a cemetery that includes the gravesites of Civil War heros, a famous boxer, a person that died in the French & Indian Wars as well as many granite workers! We will view the amazing artistry of Quincy's granite workers displayed in the monuments and see some of Quincy's most beautiful trees. Meet in the parking lot of St Mary's Church, 115 Crescent St (from Hancock St, take Furnace Brook Pkwy West, turn right onto Crescent St (just before Copeland St) Because parking entrance is one way, turn right just beyond church and then right again behind church to parking lot)

November 21, 2009 - QATV @ 7pm. Conversations with Gus: guest Al Bina will speak on the Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum. Will be rebroadcasted 11/22 @2am & 1pm.

November 14, 2009 - 2pm - QUINCY PARKS DEPARTMENT'S ENVIRONMENTAL TREASURES PROGRAM presents THE GEOLOGY OF SQUAW ROCK with LES TYRALA, Registered Geologist. (Raindate 11/15 @ 2pm) This free tour will look at the ancient bedrock exposd as well as more recent glacial features. Bring binoculars if you have them since we may also see some harbor seals or interesting birds. Meet in the parking lot by the Nickerson Post (take E Squantum St to Dorchester Ave Turn left into parking lot before guard house) Wear sturdy footwear for walking the rocky beach. For more information and rain date rescheduling, call 617 472 0799 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              617 472 0799      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

November 7, 2009 - 1pm - The Department of Conservation and Recreation presents: Quincy Quarries: Taken for Granite. Meet @ quarry parking lot on Ricciuti Drive, West Quincy @1pm. Ranger led tour of the Quincy Quarries beginning @ Bunker Hill Quarry. For more information contact the DCR 617 698 1802 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              617 698 1802      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

October 8, 2009 - 12 noon - The Quincy Quarry & Granite Workers Museum will give a presentation on the proposed museum to be located at the Lyons Turning Mill located on Quarry Hills Drive in West Quincy. The presentation will be given at noon at Christ Church Quincy, 12 Quincy Avenue, Quincy in the downstairs hall. The presentation is hosted by the Ladies Guild. The public is welcomed to attend.

October 7, 2009 - 7pm - Join us at an open meeting for members and the public to learn about the proposed Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Mr. Vic Campbell of the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts. Mr. Campbell will give a presentation, The Granite Railway "Quarry-to-Wharf". Over the years Mr. Campbell has gained extensive knowlege of railroading and quarrying in the West Quincy and Milton area. Mr. Campbell also conducts guided tours throughout the year. Please join us for what will be an interesting evening. The meeting will be held @ 7pm, Ward Four Community Center, 100 Brooks Ave., South Quincy. For more information call 617 472 1322 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              617 472 1322      end_of_the_skype_highlighting .

September 24, 2009 - 9am - Several members of the Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum will be guests on Quincy Access Television AM with Joe Catalano on Thursday September 24th at 9:00 AM. The discussion will focus on the proposed museum at the Lyons Turning Mill site.  Members will give an update on the progress to date. The AM program airs on Channel 8 Quincy Access Television. Be sure to tune in the interview with members of the museum will be informative and interesting.

September 1, 2009 - The Quincy Quarry & Granite Workers Museum recently celebrated its first anniversary of incorporation. A sign was erected at the proposed location of the QuarryMuseum at the Lyons Turning Mill on Quarry Hills Drive, WestQuincy. This site was chosen by its members because of the many advantages that the site has to offer. Many positive comments have been received on the sign’s design. The silhouette design on the sign was courtesy of the CommonwealthMuseum. See a picture of our new sign on the "Future Home" page of our web page.

August 20, 2009 - Read about the progress of Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum in the August 20, 2009 edition of The Quincy Sun Newspaper on page 15. A informative article written by Laura Griffen.

June 20, 2009, Quincy Park's Department Environmental Treasure's will sponsor a tour of the Monti stone shed with Ed Monti and Linda Montillo. A walking tour will continue to the Granite Workers Memorial with Steve Cantelli and Anneli and Harry Johnson. The Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum will also give a presentation. Date June 20th at 10:30 starting at the Monti stone shed on Center street rain date June 27th