Il6 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



are made almost daily, and we should judge from the appearance of 

 what has already been done, that it is but a slight introduction to a 

 vast territory of stone, of a very valuable kind. 



Some minerals have also been found in this place. Particles of iron 

 ore may be seen among the stones, and black lead has been picked 

 up in considerable quantities — and minerals of different colors, spark- 

 ling among the rocks and waters, can be distinctly discerned. Sev- 

 eral springs gush from between the crags, and the water has filled the 

 bottom of the quarry so as to delay the work, in one or two places ; 

 but this obstruction is shortly to be remedied by fixing pumps to take 

 away the water, and greater progress will doubtless be made the ensu- 

 ing Summer, than formerly. 



The situation of this quarry is remarkable for its beautiful and ro- 

 mantic scenery — the wildness of nature which presents itself in vary- 

 ing scenes, and the rich groves and forests that appear on every side. 

 After leaving the road we are led about a half mile, over valleys and 

 variegated hills, till the path begins to be lined by huge pieces of Stone 

 that have been drawn from their bed in immense quantities, and thrown 

 aside like the worthless covering of a more valuable substance. The 

 quarry is hidden from the view by towering trees that overshadow it, 

 until winding along the rocky path, we stand before a damp and craggy 

 place that opens at once upon us ; here are heard the sounds of work- 

 men, who are employed in purging from the bowels of the earth th's 

 stony substance — some of which is so soft as to yield to the pressure 

 of the fingers, while other kinds are of a much harder nature. The 

 whole is remarkably smooth and soap-like, and Mr. Fitch owes his 

 discovery to the fact that a part of a stone adhered to his axe, as he 

 struck it inadvertently, while cutting wood on his farm. INIany frag- 

 ments were scattered over the surface of the ground at the time, but 

 they had never excited attention until this late period. 



An attempt was made, more than fifty years ago, to dig 

 down on Mr. Needham's land eighty or ninety rods to the 

 southward of the quarry, in order to strike the vein of soap- 

 stone. Many days of fruitless labor were thus spent, but the 

 dip of the stone was too deep to be reached. 



Mr. Fitch's first shop by the roadside was originally 

 attached to Major William Swan's house, — which is now 

 occupied by Charles Woolley, Jr., on the north side of the 

 Common near the burying-ground, — and at the end of the 

 eighteenth century was used as a store. 



