Barre, VT

Memories in Stone

In Barre, Vt., the past is carved in stone. Cut from native granite by immigrants with a vision, the town’s buildings and monuments daily recall its history.

All types of stonework tie Barre to its tradition of granite quarrying. The memorials of Hope and Elmwood cemeteries stand as emblems of memory: a statue of Eli Corti, killed after a heated political discussion; “Youth Triumphant,” a World War I veterans’ memorial; a hand-carved Pieta; and, more recently, a soccer ball and a racecar.

Buildings such as the Barre Opera House, with its arched granite entryway and ornamental ironwork, and the post office, paneled with Rutland marble, anchor the downtown. Barre’s granite buildings, including the Old Labor Hall, were all built during the quarrying boom of 1880-1905.

“Remembering is an important part of community,” says Joe Calcagni, owner of Granite Corp. of Barre and a fourth-generation stone worker. “People of all cultures bonded together to give this town and the granite industry a strong foundation.”

Calcagni’s great-grandfather, a stone cutter in his native Italy, came to Barre in 1894 as much for the adventure as for a better life. He followed the path of those who first flocked to Barre after the War of 1812 when granite was found in town. And when unrest in Europe in the last decade of the 19th century caused mass immigration, Barre’s population swelled from 2,000 to 12,000. Currently, Barre is home to 9,291 people.

“People came from Scotland, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, Canada, each with their own skill, from reading rock (quarry cutting) to sculpting a perfect Pieta, to polishing and finishing,” Mayor Harry Monti says.

“My great-grandfather Jules was a stone cutter in France, who helped cut the passageway for the Orient Express,” says Judee Travis, co-owner, with her cousin, Charles, of North Barre Granite. “He and his brother, Emile, immigrated in 1900 and started Chatot Brothers Granite Co.”

The stonecutters brought with them a rich cultural heritage to share and build on. Social clubs for each nationality, political clubs, and cultural venues such as the Barre Opera House were formed to satisfy philosophical and creative interests. Many remain active today. Informally, families made even more memories.

“Granite workers balanced tough physical work with fun, like multifamily picnics where people shared songs, jokes, and homemade wine,” Travis says.

“People spent all day at those picnics singing and eating,” Calcagni adds. “My grandfather had a horse that knew its way to the picnic grounds—it was like a shuttle.”

Rock of Ages, founded in 1885, offers tours of its quarry and manufacturing division. The visitor’s center and its “historic” quarry, now inactive, show pieces of the past: huge timbers used for lifting granite slabs, water-filled quarry holes now blooming with water lilies.

An uphill shuttle tour to one working quarry (estimates suggest its supply will last 4,500 years) exposes granite walls cut into the earth by workers who descend 600 feet to the quarry bottom in buckets attached to cranes. In the distance, milky turquoise colored lakes—old quarries filled with a mix of rainwater, snowmelt, and granite dust—dot the countryside.

Twice a year Barre hosts festivals to celebrate past and present: Homecoming in July and the Granite Festival in September. “There are parades, outdoor music, and lots of great food,” Monti says.

Barre’s core families have stayed—polishing work that granite workers before them started. “What we get from Barre is a certain quality of life: good schools, family, and strong community ties,” says Paul Hutchins, manager of administration at Rock of Ages and a ninth-generation Vermonter whose father and brother have a history in granite sandblasting.

“What we give is ourselves. It’s not unusual for people to be on several boards at one time, as well as coach youth sports and work on fund raising,” Hutchins says.

“People who came to work in the granite industry stayed because life here has always been good.”

Anna Viadero writes from her home in Montague, Mass.

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