Nomination for Quincy Granite Railway

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Form 10-300 (Rev.

6-72) ORRECTED COFT PH0026379 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Massachusetts COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM Norfolk ENTRY DATE FOR NPS USE ONLY (Type all entries - complete applicable sections) OCT 1 5 1973 NAME C OMMON: Quincy Granite Railway AND/OR HISTORIC: Granite Railway LOCATION STREET AND NUMBER: Bunker Hill Lane CITY OR TOWN: CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Eleventh COUNTY: CODE 025 Massachusetts CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY (Check One) District Site Norfolk CODE 021 OWNERSHIP STATUS Building Structure Object Public Private Both Public Acquisition: In Process Being Considered Occupied Unoccupied Preservation work in progres- ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC Yes: Restricted Unrestricted No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Agricultural Government Commercial L Industrial Educational Military Entertainment Museum Park Private Residence Religious Scientific Transportation - Comments * Other (Specify) Not in Use (Area zoned for commercial) OWNER OF PROPERTY OWNER'S NAME: Peter G.

Ruscitto STREETAND NUMBER: 159 Brook Road CITY OR TOWN: STATE: Quincy LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Massachusetts CODE 025 Norfolk County Registry of Deeds STREET AND NUMBER: N CITY OR TOWN: STATE Dedham REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE OF SURVEY: Massachuset* RECEIVED APP NATONAL 1923 REGISTER 00 CODE Inventory of Historic Assets DATE OF SURVEY: DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: the Commonwealth Federal X State County Local Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: STATE: CODE Boston Massachusetts 025 HBZn19 332300 4678/90 STATE: COUNTY: Massachusetts Norfolk ENTRY NUMBERST3 15 DATE FOR NPS USE ONLY DESCRIPTION (Check One) - Deteriorated Excellent CONDITION Good (Check One) E Fair Ruins - Unexposed (Check One) - Altered 5 Unaltered Moved [X Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The extant portion of the Granite Railway in Quincy is located 120' north of the termination of Bunker Hill Lane. The area is also littered with boulders, the remnants of once productive quarries. A dirt path, commencing at the north end of Bunker Hill Lane, leads to the railway and the defunct Bunker Hill Quarry. "The railway begins at the base of the quarry and runs in a northeast direction for 250'. The line, constructed in 1826, was laid on a road bed 1' - 4' deep to eliminate damage from frost. The bed was filled with stone and the rail structure was constructed in the following manner: 16 Stone sleepers were laid across the track eight feet > apart. Upon these, wooden rails, six inches thick and RECEIVED twelve inches high, were placed.

Upon the top of these Ozails, iron plates, three inches wide and one-fourth of an inch thick, were fastened with spikes; but at all the APR 4 1973 ccrossings of public roads and driftways stone rails were NATIONAL used intead of wood. On top of these were placed iron REGISTER Toplates four inches wide and half an inch thick, being firmly bolted to the stone. the wooden rails began to decay, they were replaced with stone There are no rails left today. The granite sleepers were cut to a size 7' long, 8" - 14" across the top, and 12" - 18" deep. Each sleeper had a round, hand-drilled and centered hole about 1½" in diameter and 12" from each end of the sleeper. The holes were Today, the granite sleepers are the most prominent part of the railway. Beginning at the base of the quarry, on the south side of the dirt path, is located perhaps the first sleeper and the beginning of the railway.

Crossing the path a distance of 20' one does not find any sleepers at the described eight foot intervals but rather fragments of granite. East of the path, in a direct northeast line, are located a progression of sleepers as detailed in the above description. The road bed is an embankment, 4' deep and 5' - 6' wide, with the sleepers laid across the embankment walls. The drill holes are still visible, although grass has grown over some of the sleepers. After a distance of 250', the railway ends in a pile of rough stone which was used to form the base of the railway bed. An area 60' wide from each embankment is included in this submission to preserve the setting of the road. 1 Charles B. Stuart,C.E. Lives and Works of Civil and Military Engineers of America. New York: D. Van Norstrand, 1871, PP. 123-24. Additional excavation would be necessary to determine otherwise.

Recent investigations indicate that this is the first sleeper and the beginning of the railway. Z

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Pre-Columbian! 15th Century 16th Century 17th Century 18th Century & 19th Century 20th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) 1826, c. 1830 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal Educati on Prehistoric Engineering Historic Industry Agriculture Invention Architecture Landscape Art Architecture Commerce Literature Communications Military Conservation Music Political Religion/Phi- losophy Science Sculpture Social/Human- itarian Theater X Transportation Urban Planning Other (Specify) STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Statement of significance

In a sense, the Battle of Bunker Hill is responsible for the first commercial railway in the United States. In 1823, the Bunker Hill Memorial Association was formed and the patriotic zeal of its organizers brought together engineers, architects and financiers to commemorate the historic battle. Once a suitable design for the monument, an obelisk, was decided upon, its architect and master builder, Solomon Willard, located a quarry of granite in West Quincy to supply the construction material. The next problem was how to transport the granite to the monument site, a distance of twelve miles. Gridley Bryant, a thirty-six year old engineer, proposed a railway from the quarry to the Neponset River, where barges could then transport the granite to the monument site. The idea was considered quixotic.

Never- theless, Thomas Hanasyd Perkins, the merchant prince of Boston, provided the financial backing for Bryant's scheme and the Massachusetts General Court, amid the cries of "what do we know about railroads", approved the petition for incorporation. On October 7, 1826, a horse drawn railway car traversed the three mile distance to the Neponset River. At a time when canals were considered the most efficient mode of transportation, the railway was met with skepticism. Daniel Webster, returning from the funeral of John Adams, inspected Bryant's work and concluded that the future of such a mode of transportation was dubious. However, Webster had not recognized the remarkable engineering genius of Bryant.

In the period of just seven months, from the receipt of the incorporating charter to the opening of the railway, Bryant had perfected machinery fundamental to the early development of the railroad, such as the eight wheeled car, the turn- table, the portable derrick, the switch, and the turnout. The Quincy Granite Railway was not the first example of rail use in the United States. It was, however, the first efficient use of railways in a commercial venture, and propelled the country into a ney eraof transportation. The 250' section of the railway placed on the National Register was in use until the early 1830's when operations to another nearby quarry and this roadbed was abandgned. wele traps fered APp 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Kirkland, Edward Chase. Men, Cities, and Transportation: A study in New England History, 1820-1900. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948. 2 vols. Scholes, Robert E. The Granite Railway and its Associated Enterprises. Mss., Quincy Room, Quincy Public Library, n.p, Stuart, Charles B. Lives and Works of Civil and Military Engineers of America New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1871. 10.

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY R CORNER LATITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY _OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees 42 ° Minutes 14' Seconds 23- Degrees Minutes 71 - 01 Seconds 58" NW NE SE SW APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 31,500 sq feet (116 sq rods) .7 acre [LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY STATE: CODE COUNTY: STATE: CODE COUNTY: STATE: CODE COUNTY: 1AL1151 10 RECENED APP NATIONAL REGIST 1973 CODE CODE CODE 00 CODE FORM PREPARED BY NAME AND TITLE: Ms.

Polly_A, Matherly, Historian ORGANIZA Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: (727-8470) DATE February 23,1973 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: STATE Boston STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFICATION Massachusetts NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION CODE 025 As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na- tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended level of significance of this nomination is: National State Local Fl. Dorren Secretary of the Commonwealth Chairman, Massachusetts TitleHistorical Commission I hereby certify that this property is included in the Nationa1 Register.

Emnt a Connally DicectonOtfic Associate Director Professional Services Date OCT 1 5 1973 ATTEST: Date March 13, 1973 Date Keeper of The National Register munhf 10 . 0, -73 GP O 931-894 DATE: 5/4/73 PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM WHEN THE PROPERIY IS RESUBMITTED. NAME OF PROPERTY wincy Granite Railwa The attached National Register Inventory-Nomination/ form is being returned to your office for clarification of the information indicated below. Reid 660/13 1. Name. 2. Location. .3. Classification. flease cheeke blank fer presentuse - 4. Owner of Property. 5. Location of Legal Description. 6. Representation in Existing Surveys. . 7. Description. please check blanks fer condition 8. lill is specitis mae ior paei altegd chr denta ler Ppeisnde. 9. Bibliography. 10. Geographical Data. a. Longitude and Latitude Coordinates. b. Acreage. 11. Form Prepared By. 12. Certification. Photographic Coverage.

Map Coverage. Other. Clarification or correction of the above items must be made prior to the initiatir of our professional review. Correction of these technical errors does not necessarily insure that the nomination will then satisfy the National Register criteria in full. Thank you for your attention to the above items checked. SIGNED -* PROPERTY Vruncy Pramte Ralway STATE Mass WORKING NUMBER 4.4.23.2710 TECH REVIEW Photos Maps card filled CONTROL REVIEW 5-4 HISTORIAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN Need more info. on duration gamial FuBettuen and condition. good site thongh! 519/73 ARCHEOLOGIST REVIEW UNIT CHIEF BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER National Register write-up Federal Register entry _ 12-4-73 Send-back 6.14.73 Re-submit8:20-13 Entered OCT 1 5 1973 PROPERTY Guency Arante Kalway WORKING NUMBER 4.4.73. 2710 TECH REVIEW Photos / Maps STATE MASS.

Norfolk CONTROL REVIEW 8 cm 8-20- 13 OK HISTORIAN Accept Aml 8/20/33 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN KHC 8/21/73 C ARCHEOLOGIST HAER: I spoke at length with a Mr -Edward C. Johason, 813 Diversy Pkwas-, Chicago, IL 60614, (312)gr2-5051, who was referred to me by the Nat'l. Foundation of Funeral Services as an expert on the history of funerary practices. He assured me that the te technology was available in 1826 to have kept John Adams embalmed for three months. We both questioned why this would have been desireable since it wasn't common practice REVIEW UNIT CHIEF to conduct public funerals and viewings of disceased digni taries intil Inveutorid by HACK the time of the Civil War. The only other possible reason he could think of was that theee months were required to complete Adams8 tomb or there may be a mistake in the dates as cited on the form.

anotred caad tna significant gite The Quingy Cenlte nR ho 1ine BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER 10/9 National Register write-up Federal Register entry Send-back Re-submit Entered CCT 1 5 19/3 NPS Number h 19. 72 FORM 10-301 A (6/72) 1. NAME COMMON Quincy Granite Railway UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM (Type all entries - attach to or en close with photograph) AND/OR HISTORIC NUMERIC CODE (Assigned by NPS) OCT 15 1973 2. LOCATION STATE Massachusetts STREET AND NUMBER Bunker Hill Lane 3. PHOTO REFERENCE PHOTO CREDIT J. Michael Franceschi COUNTY Norfolk TOWN Quincy DATE 1972 4. IDENTIFICATION DESCRIBE VIEW, DIRECTION, ETC. View of railway bed and granite sleepers, taken from northeast INEGATIVE FILED AT Mass. Historical Commission 40 Beacon Street, Boston, Ma.

RECENED APR 4 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER GPO 932-009 John F. X. Davoren Secretary of the Commonvcalth The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary Massachuselts Historical Commission *xxx*X*w Boston, Mass. 02108 40 Beacon Street March 29, 1973 National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 18th and C Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Attention: Mr. Jerry Rogers CERTIFIED MAIL Dear Jerry: Enclosed are National Register nominations for: Norfolk County, Quincy, Quincy Granite Railway Norfolk County, Quincy, Quincy Granite Railway Incline These have been declared eligible for submission by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the State Review Board, and have been signed by Secretary of the Commonwealth John F. X. Davoren, Chairman of the Massa- chusetts Historical Commission and designated the State Liaison Officer.

You will note that both of these nominations cover portions of the original Granite Railway structure. Though both portions of the Railway might have been included in one submission, we have felt it advisable not to do so because of problems arising from their different ownership and from the local political situation. Cordially, / Robert B. Rettig Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission RBR: pm Encls. NATIONAL 11 REGISTER OI16I18 TUNR BETI CRACIDA STKe LIBNTNS John F. X. Davoren Secretary of the Commonvealch The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Cfice of the Secretary Massachusetts Histoxical Commission Ltreet Boston, Mass. 02108 40 Beacon Street (617) 727-8470 July 6, 1973 RECÊIVED AUG 2 0 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER TELY National Register of Historic Blaces Department of the Interior National Park Service 18th and C Streets, N. W. Washington, D. C.

20240 Attention: Jerry Rogers CERTIFIED MAIL Dear Jerry: We are resubmitting the National Register nomination for the Quincy Granite Railway. Enclosed please find the corrected form in compliance with your suggestions. You will note that the railroad's term of use has been appended to the Statement of Significance. Sincerely, Clizaberh R.Amadon Elizabeth R. Amadon State Survey Director Massachusetts Historical Commission ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASEACHUSETTS Date Entered OCT 15 1973 Name Location Quincy Grentte Railway M1.11g-Stebbine V111a Cudney Norfolk Couaty Springfield Rampden Cousty Also Notified Hon. Edwazd M. Kennedy Hon. Edvand W. Breole Bon, Jemess A, Burke Bon. Edvard 2. Boland Director, Northeast Region PHR MMott 10/25/73 State Matorte Preservatton Offteer len. John T. X.

Davezen Secretary of the Cemnontealth Chairnan, Hossachusetta Historteal Corniasion 40 Beacon Street Seston, Massachusetts 02108