Granite forms much of New Hampshire's bedrock, and quarrying it is one of the state's biggest industries. Formed by millennia of compression deep in the Earth's crust, the rock was exposed by glacial action during the last ice age, leaving outcrops throughout the state.
The largest quarry in New Hampshire is just outside Concord, the state capital – "high above [the] Merrimack River, deep in the core of Rattlesnake Hill". It has been operated since 1883 by the Swenson Granite Works company, which is headed today by the fifth generation of the Swenson family – brothers Kevin and Kurt.
Swenson's Concord quarry produces about 25,000 tons of granite annually. Street curbing (kerbing) is its mainstay; it cuts about 330,000 linear feet (62.5 miles) a year. One of the buyers that sings the praises of Concord granite is Granite4Less – a UK–based supplier of granite worktops.
New Hampshire granite has been used in the construction of monumental buildings all over the world. Two of the most notable examples, however, are relatively close to home: the Library of Congress building in Washington, DC (built in 1800), and Boston's Quincy Market (1825).
© Haydn Thompson 2021