Walk: Pigeon Cove Breakwater and Start of Atlantic Path (free)

An exploration on foot of the granite shores of Pigeon Cove, the north village of Rockport, with sweeping views of its working harbor and seascape from the Pigeon Cove breakwater and the start of the Atlantic Path.  The walk will be led by Monica Lawton.

 Quarry Stories (free)
Pigeon Cove Circle, 6 Breakwater Ave., Rockport (wheelchair-accessible)

Join lovers of Cape Ann’s unique landscape for an entertaining evening of “Quarry Stories” brought to life by ten exceptional presenters, who will share recollections of the vivid scenery, hard lives, daily adventures, and creative spirit of a bygone era, defined by granite and the sea.

Martha Fox, Rosalie Hughes, Monica Lawton, Chris Leahy, Peter Littlefield, Theo MacGregor, Susanna Natti, Gerard Roy, and George Sibley will look back, through readings from a variety of sources, on the profound impact of the granite-quarry industry on lives and landscapes at the tip of Cape Ann. 

The evening will conclude with a talk and slideshow by local historian Leslie Bartlett, “Cape Ann Women in the Quarries.”

Photo courtesy Cape Ann Museum

Cape Ann's Granite Footprint
Halibut Point State Park, Mass. DCR, 4 Gott Ave., Rockport (wheelchair-accessible)
Short talks at the Halibut Point Visitor Center by Martin Ray ("Capt. Poland and the Granite Sloop Albert Baldwin"), Susanna Natti ("The Paving Cutters"), Linda Brayton ("My Finnish Quarryman Heritage"), Chris Leahy ("Treasure Islands: The Natural Wealth of Cape Ann's Granitic Islands"), Robert Buchwaldt ("A Landscape That Inspires: The Geologic History of New England Written in Stones").

This amazing seaside park is the site of the historic Babson Farm Granite Quarry and features easy walking trails (wheelchair-accessible), tidal pools, picnic areas, and spectacular views stretching to New Hampshire and Maine. Guided tours will be offered about Halibut Point's quarry history (Barbara Buls), geology (Robert Buchwaldt), and birds and their Halibut Point habitat (Christopher Leahy).  A box lunch will be provided.

Special Exhibits: Quarrying industry and Harbor of Refuge (Unfinished Breakwater) 
Sandy Bay Historical Society, 40 King St., Rockport 
Stop in for a rare opportunity to explore granite-related holdings at this unusual small museum.

"Of Quarries and Dories" with Singer Michael O'Leary, Plus Dinner and Auction!
Pigeon Cove Circle, 6 Breakwater Ave., Rockport (wheelchair-accessible)
Join us for a delicious buffet dinner (cash bar) catered by Gloucester’s Classic Cooks, a silent auction featuring items relating to Cape Ann's history and culture, and "Of Quarries and Dories" with Gloucester singer Michael O'Leary.

Michael, who describes himself as a "singer, song-searcher, and tunesmith," has been delving into the history of the quarries and dory fishing on Cape Ann and will treat us to songs based on a variety of poems by and about quarry workers and fishermen, set to original music. He is working on a project inspired by Fishermen’s Ballads and Songs of the Sea, published by the Procter Brothers in Gloucester in July 1874. It’s a collection of pieces by a wide array of authors - a literary, musical, and folkloric time capsule of Gloucester. 2024 is the 150th anniversary of its publication. This will be the first time he has woven the quarry and dory material together. He will close with “Remember the Stone,” an original poem inspired by a story of Barbara Erkkila when she was a young girl.

Walk: Granite Pier, Keystone Bridge, and Flat Ledge Quarry

A visit to three amazing sites relating to the granite-quarrying industry: the massive historic pier once used for loading granite from nearby quarries (with spectacular views of Sandy Bay as well as commercial and pleasure boating in Granite Pier Harbor); the Keystone Bridge, built in 1872 to give the quarry railroad easy access to the pier; and Flat Ledge Quarry, the first large-scale quarry operation supplying granite for many famous projects, including Boston's Longfellow Bridge. The walk will be led by Monica Lawton.

Granite and the Sea in Cape Ann's History, Art, and Literature
Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant St., Gloucester (wheelchair-accessible)
1:30: Brief introductions to the Museum's granite gallery (Monica Lawton) and the story of Maria Bray, the lighthouse keeper's wife (Suellen Wedmore).
2:00: Short Talks

• Local historian and author Paul St. Germain will present a series of slides from his book Cape Ann Granite. St. Germain, a thirty-year resident of Rockport, has written eight books on a variety of subjects since 2010. His most recent is Three Bridges to Paradise. 
  
• Rebecca Reynolds will discuss “Granite Appeal: How the Rock of Ages Inspired Artists.” Reynolds, an American sculpture curator with a career in Washington, New York, and Boston, founded and serves as the director of the Manship Artists Residency, located in Lanesville between two quarries at the summer residence of sculptor Paul Manship.  
  
• The program will conclude with “‘it is elements men stand in the midst of’: Jonathan Bayliss and Charles Olson,” a talk by Gary Grieve-Carlson.  He is professor emeritus of English at Lebanon Valley College, a board member of the Jonathan Bayliss Society, and past president of the Charles Olson Society. His most recent book is Poems Containing History: Twentieth Century American Poetry’s Engagement with the Past.