- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
- Location
- central NC
The Gettysburg Quarry in Dorset, VT during its heyday. (Facebook-Town of Dorset, VT)
I’ve never visited Vermont, but I know it is well known for its long marble quarrying history. The town of Dorset is home to Dorset Quarry, the oldest marble quarry in the nation. What I didn’t know is that Vermont is home to Gettysburg Quarry, a lesser-known quarry that has direct ties to the Civil War.
The Gettysburg Quarry was once a bustling operation. It shipped blocks of marble out to create thousands of headstones for the soldiers who died in Gettysburg, hence the quarry's name. The quarry was abandoned a long time ago, but I read that you can still hike to it through the Owls Head Town Forest. The trail is advertised as “just 1/2 mile long and a little steep.” Along the trail there are stone constructions referred to as cellar holes. These are the remnants of the migrant worker housing from when the quarry was in operation during the Civil War.
Courtesy of All Trails/John Woodward
The rock at the end of the trail is described as “imposing,” but was likely much more so for the workers who harvested the marble for so many Civil War graves.
Courtesy of All Trails/Sandy McNair