Background: about
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The Green Mountains of Vermont have long been known for the quantity and quality of their granite and marble,<ref name = “Dale”>T. Nelson Dale, [https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0404/report.pdf The Granites of Vermont], U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 404, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1909.
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The Green Mountains of Vermont have long been known for the quantity and quality of their granite and marble,<ref name = “Dale”>T. Nelson Dale, [https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0404/report.pdf The Granites of Vermont], U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 404, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1909.
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</ref> but transportation problems,{{#tag:ref|Granite weighs about 170-200 pounds per cubic foot, or 2,700-3,200 kg/m3<ref
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</ref> but transportation problems,{{#tag:ref|Granite weighs about 170-200 pounds per cubic foot, or 2,700-3,200 kg/m3<ref name = “AboutH”/>|group = note}} combined with difficulties in carving the hard stone (in the case of granite), largely prevented the development of a cut stone industry in northern Vermont until the middle of the 19th century, when some marble quarries were opened in the Hardwick area.<ref name = “Kendall”/> <Ref name = “Dale” />{{rp|27}} The first “granite shed”{{#tag:ref|“Finishing sheds” were used to finish rough-cut granite.<ref>H. Clay Simpson, “Caspian Lake’s Public Beach Ownership: A Surprising History”, ”Hazen Road Dispatch” 2013, p.1</ref>|group=note}} was built in Hardwick in 1870.<ref name = AboutH>”[https://hardwickvthistory.org/about-hardwick-vermont/ About Hardwick]”, Hardwick Historic Society; accessed 2021.11.04.</ref> Granite quarries were opened on Robeson Mountain (Vermont’s largest deposit of building granite) in nearby [[Woodbury]] in the 1870s, but transportation limitations prevented much development of the industry.<ref name = Barnhill>John Barnhill, “[https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/rail-to-the-granite-mountain.33892/ Rail to the granite mountain]”, Feb 9, 2008; accessed 2020….</ref>
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The construction of the [[Portland and Ogdensburg Railway]] (later the [[St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad]]) to Hardwick (in 1872) made it possible to ship northern Vermont stone in quantity to the outside world<K&V><ref name = “Barnhill”/> and facilitated the growth of the local granite industry.<Dow p.223> Hardwick became a granite-cutting center, although it had limited granite of its own.<ref name = “Dale” />{{rp|27}} By 1890, there were a dozen sheds finishing granite in the town.<Wood I p. 3> Rough-cut granite was brought from the quarries to and through the town in heavy horse-drawn wagons, which caused congestion and damaged roads and bridges.<ref name = “Barnhill”/> In 1892, after considerable pressure from both civic leaders and quarry owners, the railroad built a spur, the Hardwick Branch (also known as the Quarry Railroad), from Granite Junction (near the western edge of Hardwick village) to Buffalo Crossing, by the southern fringe of the village, which took granite wagons off the central village’s streets.<Dow p.226><Wood I p. 5><ref name = “Barnhill”/> It also concentrated the granite industry, over time, along the Hardwick Branch, in five clumps: Lower Wolcott St., West End, Woodbury Granite Co., E.R. Fletcher Granite Co., and Buffalo Crossing.<Wood I p. 5.{{#tag:ref|The [[Sanborn maps|Sanborn fire insurance maps]] show this clumping quite clearly.|group = note}}
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The construction of the [[Portland and Ogdensburg Railway]] (later the [[St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad]]) to Hardwick (in 1872) made it possible to ship northern Vermont stone in quantity to the outside world<K&V><ref name = “Barnhill”/> and facilitated the growth of the local granite industry.<Dow p.223> Hardwick became a granite-cutting center, although it had limited granite of its own.<ref name = “Dale” />{{rp|27}} By 1890, there were a dozen sheds finishing granite in the town.<Wood I p. 3> Rough-cut granite was brought from the quarries to and through the town in heavy horse-drawn wagons, which caused congestion and damaged roads and bridges.<ref name = “Barnhill”/> In 1892, after considerable pressure from both civic leaders and quarry owners, the railroad built a spur, the Hardwick Branch (also known as the Quarry Railroad), from Granite Junction (near the western edge of Hardwick village) to Buffalo Crossing, by the southern fringe of the village, which took granite wagons off the central village’s streets.<Dow p.226><Wood I p. 5><ref name = “Barnhill”/> It also concentrated the granite industry, over time, along the Hardwick Branch, in five clumps: Lower Wolcott St., West End, Woodbury Granite Co., E.R. Fletcher Granite Co., and Buffalo Crossing.<Wood I p. 5.{{#tag:ref|The [[Sanborn maps|Sanborn fire insurance maps]] show this clumping quite clearly.|group = note}}
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Apparently as a result of the [[World’s Columbian Exposition]] in 1893, granite became a very popular building material for commercial and government buildings.<Heller><Dow p. 224> While the finer-grained granite of [[Barre]] was preferred for monuments and gravestones, the coarser-grained Woodbury stone found a market in “architectural” uses such as buildings and paving.<AboutH> As demand grew, the granite-finishing operations in Hardwick began to look farther afield for sources of the raw stone. While some quarries had been opened in nearby Woodbury,<ref name = “Dale” />{{rp|93-105}} transportation of the stone to the finishing sheds was problematic: it was slow and difficult, and caused significant damage to the roads. It became apparent that the limitations of horse-drawn wagons would prevent much further growth in the local industry.<?kendall> Ordinarily, a horse was needed for every ton of granite hauled by wagon.<Wood I p. 4> It was reported that it once took an 18-horse team three days to move a large column of rough granite from the quarry to Hardwick (a distance of {{convert|6|mile}} or more, depending on the route), after which 20 road [[culvert]]s needed to be rebuilt.<kendall? K&V> Such a team might be followed by a one-horse wagon loaded with axes, shovels, [[Cant hook|peavies]], and other tools to repair the culverts.<Bickford, 1980> Transportation was somewhat easier in the winter, as the frozen ground would not give way, and snow allowed the use of sleds, which encountered less friction.<Wood I p. 5>
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Apparently as a result of the [[World’s Columbian Exposition]] in 1893, granite became a very popular building material for commercial and government buildings.<Heller><Dow p. 224> While the finer-grained granite of [[Barre]] was preferred for monuments and gravestones, the coarser-grained Woodbury stone found a market in “architectural” uses such as buildings and paving.<AboutH> As demand grew, the granite-finishing operations in Hardwick began to look farther afield for sources of the raw stone. While some quarries had been opened in nearby Woodbury,<ref name = “Dale” />{{rp|93-105}} transportation of the stone to the finishing sheds was problematic: it was slow and difficult, and caused significant damage to the roads. It became apparent that the limitations of horse-drawn wagons would prevent much further growth in the local industry.<?kendall> Ordinarily, a horse was needed for every ton of granite hauled by wagon.<Wood I p. 4> It was reported that it once took an 18-horse team three days to move a large column of rough granite from the quarry to Hardwick (a distance of {{convert|6|mile}} or more, depending on the route), after which 20 road [[culvert]]s needed to be rebuilt.<kendall? K&V> Such a team might be followed by a one-horse wagon loaded with axes, shovels, [[Cant hook|peavies]], and other tools to repair the culverts.<Bickford, 1980> Transportation was somewhat easier in the winter, as the frozen ground would not give way, and snow allowed the use of sleds, which encountered less friction.<Wood I p. 5>
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The incorporation of the [[List_of_municipalities_in_Vermont#Villages|Village of Hardwick]] in 1891<Dow 1988 p. 5> and the new government’s interest in improving the community’s infrastructure, including its streets, intensified the interest in an alternative transportation for the granite
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The incorporation of the [[List_of_municipalities_in_Vermont#Villages|Village of Hardwick]] in 1891<Dow 1988 p. 5> and the new government’s interest in improving the community’s infrastructure, including its streets, intensified the interest in an alternative transportation for the granite.<ref name = “AboutH“ />
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<kendall?> Meanwhile, the Village’s establishment of piped water, a fire department, and an electric department<Dow 1988 p. 5> allowed for further growth of industry. The opening of a rail link to the competing Barre quarries raised the spectre of the local industry’s being out-competed.<K&V><Wood I p. 5> The St.J & LC was asked to extend the Hardwick Branch to the Woodbury quarries but, already in a weak financial condition and facing [[Panic of 1893|unfavorable economic conditions]], declined.<ref name = “Barnhill”/><K&V><Wood I p. 5>
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==Incorporation and construction==
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==Incorporation and construction==
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