Rockport, Massachusetts – Rockport takes its name from its industrial past: its 19th-century role as a shipping center for granite cut from the local quarries. While updating the Lonely Planet guide to New England, I decided to investigate this history–to discover the `rock’ of Rockport.
I started at Halibut Point State Park, site of the remains of the Babson Farm Quarry. There is a self-guided tour around the yawning granite quarry and huge hills of granite rubble, as well as a scenic granite foreshore. The place is incredibly picturesque, but also give some insights into the workings of the granite quarry.
Heading back into town, I located the former headquarters of the Rockport Granite Co (now a private home), at the corner of Wharf Street.
Nearby is the Keystone Granite Bridge, best seen from below. (Park at the Granite Pier, where the product was actually shipped out.)
Under the bridge, the trail leads past the beautiful multi-hued Flat Ledge Quarry and Carlson’s Quarry (now used for drinking water).
Personally, I have been to Rockport a million times–mainly to the beach–so I had never experienced the “rock” of Rockport. The new Lonely Planet guides focus on curated experiences, so I created this tour to give travelers an insight into Rockport’s formative history and a glimpse of the town’s unique and stunning scenery.