I found this mark cut into a fat block of granite, part of a centuries-old colonial post road embankment two miles back in the woods of Chesterfield, MA.
5 comments
Cool, and nice photograph. Any idea what the mark means?
Not a clue. I mean, I suppose it could be a stonecutter’s mark–a stamp of identification applied by the quarry involved as a sort of advertising: “If you like this fat block of granite, visit Square-Mark Quarry!” I know that masons themselves sometimes mark stones to indicate their intended place in a structure, so this also might mean “this end up”, or something similar. But normally one does that kind of thing with a grease pencil or a piece of chalk, not a heavy chisel. So maybe the most likely explanation is that whoever built the embankment wanted something to remember it by. “Hepzibah Graves Was Here.”
Thanks for the response, I think my imagination was on overload and I thought maybe there was some underground secret history of strange marks, like the colonial equivilant to hobo code. Appreciate the images and updates to your site.
Cool, and nice photograph. Any idea what the mark means?
Not a clue. I mean, I suppose it could be a stonecutter’s mark–a stamp of identification applied by the quarry involved as a sort of advertising: “If you like this fat block of granite, visit Square-Mark Quarry!” I know that masons themselves sometimes mark stones to indicate their intended place in a structure, so this also might mean “this end up”, or something similar. But normally one does that kind of thing with a grease pencil or a piece of chalk, not a heavy chisel. So maybe the most likely explanation is that whoever built the embankment wanted something to remember it by. “Hepzibah Graves Was Here.”
Thanks for the response, I think my imagination was on overload and I thought maybe there was some underground secret history of strange marks, like the colonial equivilant to hobo code. Appreciate the images and updates to your site.
Hi Mike,
I came across this book and thought it might interest you:
“Sermons in Stone: The Stone Walls of New England and New York (Paperback)” by Susan Allport. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039331202X/ref=wl_it_dp/103-9588090-8907015?%5Fencoding=UTF8&colid=VL393L6GFXZX&coliid=I2QD5KCV4G1KJW&v=glance&n=283155
Cool!