{"id":4809,"date":"2024-03-08T06:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T06:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/secondstogo.net\/wordpress\/?p=4809"},"modified":"2025-01-20T19:04:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T19:04:08","slug":"abandoned-becket-quarry-the-land-that-time-forgot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/secondstogo.net\/wordpress\/abandoned-becket-quarry-the-land-that-time-forgot\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned Becket Quarry, the Land that Time Forgot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Heading out for a hike in the snow can be an adventure in and of itself, but searching out abandoned Massachusetts quarries adds an extra element of mystery. That\u2019s particularly true when the destination is one where the workers walked off the job and left everything just as it was at quitting time more than 40 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to Becket Quarry in western Massachusetts, an\nunusual Massachusetts hike worthy of the ghostly tales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarries in Massachusetts, the History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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At one time, quarries in Massachusetts were not an unusual\nsite. For example, there were more than 100 quarries in East Longmeadow alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers cut tons of brownstone and red stone by hand for a\nwage of 23 cents an hour. The efforts of their labors can be seen across\nMassachusetts in buildings such as Trinity Church in Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the railroad boomed, facilitating simpler overland\ntravel, the Norcross Brothers made East Longmeadow quarries in Massachusetts\nfamous by shipping the unusual brown and red stone across the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Becket Quarry, also known as the Hudson-Chester Granite\nQuarry, a different fate was in store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fate of Becket Quarry Not Dissimilar to other Quarries in Massachusetts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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It\u2019s not surprising that a search for the Hudson-Chester\nGranite Quarry in Becket, Massachusetts returns tales of ghostly apparitions\nand other paranormal pursuits. Such places bear the imprints of our history and\nare marked by the ridges and whirls of time, but the quarry in Becket is more a\nliving museum than a shrine, haunted only by the hollowed-out shells of ancient\nmachinery and the bowing masts of heavy-hauling derricks. While sorrowful in\ndecay, the remains tell a happier story of nearly a century of rural life and\nthe business of quarries in Massachusetts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hudson-Chester Quarry, also known as Becket Quarry, was\nonce Famous for its Chester-blue granite, the preferred stone for monuments and\nmarkers across New England. The quarry in Massachusetts produced tons of the\nclose-grained stone from 1870 until a steely gray day in 1947, when the last\nsteam whistle blew. Shutting down the thundering bass of machinery, it flipped\nthe switch on nearly three quarters of a century of granite production in western\nMassachusetts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least that\u2019s how I imagine it.  On a sunny December day, when the blue of the\nsky interlaces with the swaying branches above my head, it\u2019s easy to let\nimagination get the best of me.  The\ntruth is, there is a loneliness to a place that\u2019s been abandoned, and it can\u2019t\nbe shaken by the sun overhead or the voices of my grown children as they\nlight-heartedly grumble about having to slip and slide through the snow in\nimproper footwear.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of them are home from college and unprepared for a\nwinter hike, but it isn\u2019t long before cross-country trekking has its rewards. We\nmake it to the top of the rise and find the rusting remains of a compressor\ntruck.  I know this, because the sign\nplaced thoughtfully at center explains the remains as it enlightens me about a\npiece of quarry life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few steps ahead, another sign alerts me to the electrical\ngenerator shed, all rusted bones in the cool winter light, before we reach the\nStiff Leg Derrick site. Once used to load and unload railroad cars that ran\nthrough the property, the derrick plays hide and seek with the snow, appearing from\nthe winter crust at varying intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More uphill climbs take us past sleeping remnants of Massachusetts\nquarries\u2019 better days, including an icy mine shaft and an abandoned garage,\nuntil we reach the top of the hill. This is the end of the line for Becket Quarry\nand our hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the sun wanes on the cool winter day, the barren trees\nguard the rocky edge and warn us of the 90-foot drop into the flooded quarry\nbelow. It\u2019s been a site of much contention in recent years, as extreme\ncliff divers face off against town officials<\/a> over safety and rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becket Quarry and its governing body, the Becket\nLand Trust<\/a>, is right in the middle of the dispute, forced into\nlevying parking fees in the attempt to deter unlawful behavior. Unfortunately,\nthat now includes littering and vandalism conducted by drunken bodies, most\nlikely seeking a partying spot at night or a place to cool off on hot summer\ndays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Becket Land Trust perseveres, conducting guided\nhikes and encouraging the public to use the land as its current purpose\nsuggests: as a living museum celebrating the history of quarries in\nMassachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visiting Becket Quarry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Becket quarry is located in Becket, Massachusetts and is separated into two parcels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n