The Rise and Fall of the Jonesport/Beals Granite Industry

A history of the region’s islands is found in Charles McLane’s epic Islands of the Mid-Coast Maine, Vol. II. Drawing from extensive research in census and property deed records, McLane chronicles the lifespan of active quarrying on Head Harbor from 1891 to 1920.

Head Harbor Island Operations

The industry took root in 1891 with the formation of the Jonesport Granite Company, later renamed the Jonesport Red Granite Company. The company’s footprint expanded rapidly through a series of key real estate acquisitions and leases:

• 1892: The company acquired acreage near Hatchet Harbor for $2,500 (Bk. 204, P. 341).
• 1894: Zebediah Alley sold four lots south of Beals Harbor to O.M. Vose of Machias for $600 (Bk. 208, P. 196).
• 1897: Vose leased the quarry to Francis Sargent of New York for a royalty of 1/2 cent per cubic foot of quarried and shipped stone.
• 1898: Sargent transferred this lease to the Metropolitan Granite Company of New York.

At its peak, the operation was a massive seasonal endeavor. Several hundred quarrymen lived in a large, company-run boarding house in Sealand, working six to eight months out of the year. The island’s primary export was paving blocks, which were highly prized in urban markets for their distinct color.

Great Wass Island

Quarrying on Great Wass Island was far more limited. In 1892, Jeremiah and Joseph A. Beal sold a parcel on Sand Cove Point (Eastern Bay) to the Jonesport Red Granite Company for $3,000 (Bk. 204, P. 83; 193/152; 198/21). However, McLane concludes that “minimal stone was extracted.” Later, in the early 1900s, the Rockport (Massachusetts) Granite Company operated a small, short-lived quarry on the northwest tip of Great Wass.

Market Shift and Decline

The decline of the local granite industry began in the early 1900s, driven by economic shifts:

1. Transportation: The industry migrated to railheads in Vermont and New Hampshire, as moving heavy stone by rail became far more cost-effective than shipping it by sea.
2. Material Innovation: Traditional cobblestone was rapidly replaced by modern concrete and asphalt.

“By 1920, in the wake of World War I, the local quarries fell silent and shut down permanently.”

Hardwood Island (Western Bay)

In 1894 Lizzie H. Plummer sold the entire 18-acre island to the Rockport (MA) Granite Company. This company, which went through many morphs and mergers, operated the quarry for about thirty years. It is believed that the quarrymen were Finns and Swedes brough in by the company from Massachusetts. In 1931 the island was sold to Emilio Bernardo from Providence. His sons carried on the business as the Providence Granite Company. The quarrymen at this time were mostly Carvers and Wrights from Addison and Dunbars and Watts from Jonesport. The quarry closed in 1957.

Research Notes & Next Steps

• Market Value: Determine the wholesale or retail price the Metropolitan Granite Company received per cubic foot for the red stone in New York.
• Demographics: Investigate the identities, origins, and ethnicities of the transient stonecutters who stayed at the Sealand boarding house.
• Final Closure: Pinpoint the exact date/month of the final quarry shutdowns in 1920.