Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/440030
AGGREGATES MANAGER January 2015 40 by Bill Langer Bill Langer is a consulting research geologist who spent 41 years with the U.S. Geological Survey before starting his own business. He can be reached at Bill_Langer@hotmail.com Sept. 3, 1793. "The combatants advanced upon each other, and soon Thompson, by a well-directed blow, brought his antagonist to the floor, and springing upon him at full length, began to aim his heavy blows at his head and face; but Sherman, being more supple, avoided them, and they generally fell harmless on the floor, except feeling his own knuckles. During this process, Sherman was dexterously plying his ribs from beneath, when Thompson was soon heard to groan, and his blows became palsied and without effect. Sherman then rolled him off, and springing upon his feet, exultingly exclaimed, There, the name is Barre, by God!'" Zadock Thompson, 1842, History of Vermont This pugilistic competition was for the privilege to rename the town of Wildersburg, Vermont. The town's inhabitants thought the name 'Wildersburg' was uncouth, and a meeting was held to select a new name. Joseph Thompson, from Holden, Mass., and Jonathan Sherman, from Barre, Mass., the only two people to express an opinion, each argued for the name of their home town. It was decided the issue would be resolved by boxing. Sherman won the fight, and the name Barre was presented to, and sanctioned by, the state legislature that same year. Barre was carved from the wilderness, transformed into an agricultural community, and then into an industrial town fa- mous for the granite that bears its name. But the fight to name Barre pales in comparison to the fight to settle the area and to develop the world-famous Barre stone industry. Nature provided Barre with outstanding granite resources, and quarries were established by the early 19th century. The rapid transformation from a farming community to an industrialized town during the 1880s created a huge demand for skilled stone workers. Waves of English, Swedish, and French Canadian immigrants came to work in the quarries, while im- migrants from Scotland and Italy came to work in the sheds where the stone was shaped. "Living here on Main Street, I've seen Barre grow and change color, you might say. So many foreigners rushing to the sheds and quarries brought color and varied interests to what was a staid, sleepy valley town. I wouldn't like to say they made Barre 'wild,' I prefer to say 'progressive and cosmopolitan.' But it suffered the usual growing pains that every progressive town experiences." Miss Wheaton, as recorded by Mari Tomasi 1940, American Life Histories - Federal Writers Project Growing pains, indeed. Barre had an extremely militant working class. However, the unrest was not simply the result of the radical ideology of immigrant workers. The struggle between granite workers and manufacturers centered on a serious issue that arose as manufacturers began using new mechanical methods to quarry and finish the stone. The mechanical working of stone created dust, and inhaling granite stone dust caused the horrific disease known as silicosis. Many workers exposed to the dust, laborers and owners alike, died well before their time, leaving their widows to fend for their families. Technology exacerbated the danger of silicosis, and technology eventually solved the problem. Barre was among the first of the mineral industries to install dust-removing equipment to prevent silicosis. Barre was also a forerunner in adopting other innovations to safeguard worker health. This series of articles will tell the story of how people, geology, and forces of nature conspired to fashion Barre's world- famous granite industry. And as time will tell, Barre's history encapsulates the history of America. People, geology, and forces of nature fashioned this city's world-famous granite industry. THE NAME IS BARRE There,