One of the most impressive sights in Rensselaer is the Babcock Stone Quarry, that huge hole in the ground in the southeast of Rensselaer. It mines the limestone that is our bedrock, crushing it into various sizes for various uses. I shot a few video clips with my digital camera in an effort to capture the activity that goes on there. I wonder if they ever let people go down into the quarry. It would make for a very interesting hike.
The office for the quarry is an old Italianate home that was built around 1880. It seems to totally out of place standing in front of all the quarry machinery.
The publication
Vintage Views had an article about the quarry in its Spring 2009 issue, but the library does not have that issue yet. It probably tells all the things I should be including here.
The publication Vintage Views had an article about the quarry in its Spring 2009 issue, but the library does not have that issue yet. It probably tells all the things I should be including here.
We rode our bikes down into the Quarry on a couple of Sundays during the 60's. It wasn't as deep back then but deep enough. It was a rough climb back up the hill. We would look for "fool's gold". When we pass through Rensselaer we always drive by there to let the grandkids check it out.
ReplyDeleteThe Quarry is very impressive although currently no one is aloud to be down in the pit due to large fallng rocks I would be the first in line. I have worked here for a year now and have not gone down to the bottom which is approximately 350 feet down. I love when we blast I have to actually call around the businesses near us to let them know. I am afraid of the fault line that we are near tho. The building was built in the 1800's the property was originally a farm and purchased in the early 1900's by the Babcock Family with the intention of quarrying the land. The most interesting fact is that the Dolomite Limestone that we mine comes from a natural coral reef that extends through a large part of our area.
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