Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum
Description
The Mt. Waldo Granite Company, which began operating in the 1930s on the shore of the Penobscot River, was the second incarnation of a company that quarried stone on Mt. Waldo.
The original Mt. Waldo Granite Works, formed in 1880, filed for bankruptcy in 1916, and a fire in 1923 destroyed the buildings and cutting sheds. In 1930 Bruno Grenci, an Italian immigrant, and Thomas Ellis, his partner, bought the property and revived the business.
The Mt. Waldo quarry officially opened in 1853. The Mt. Waldo Granite Works' specialty was cutting paving stones. Initially, oxen hauled granite to the wharf on the Penobscot River. The wharf had 300 feet of deep water frontage and two derricks of 20 ton capacity Each loaded massive blocks onto waiting schooners that carried as much as 1300 tons. Schooners were used exclusively until 1911, when large barges came into use. The arrival of the railroad in Frankfort from Stockton Springs allowed a quicker and better method of transporting granite.
After Grenci and Ellis purchased the property, their company laid a new railway, built a new steel derrick at the wharf, and constructed a large steel stone shed. The plant employed close to 100 men. During World War II quarry operations were difficult. The company was forced to close from 1942 to 1945 due to a lack of steel for saws. The buildings were dismantled and shipped to South Portland for the war effort. After the war, the Mt. Waldo Granite Company reopened with the new buildings. It continued to operate until 1966.
The granite shed was razed in 1966. Mendall Marsh Park occupied the site in 2010.
About This Item
- Title: Mt. Waldo Granite Company, Frankfort, ca. 1930
- Creator: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Creation Date: circa 1930
- Subject Date: circa 1930
- Location: Frankfort, Waldo County, ME
- Media: Glass plate negative
- Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm
- Local Code: LB2007.1.113889
- Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Object Type: Image
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For more information about this item, contact:
Penobscot Marine MuseumPO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
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