Settlement Quarry, Deer Isle
Each month, Down East editors select our favorite response to “Where in Maine?” Here is our favorite letter from July’s photo.
The photographer was standing on the granite surface of the Settlement Quarry, with Webb Cove in the background. The photograph depicts the remnants of the quarry operation that existed there when my grandfather, Frank McGuire, was superintendent of the J.C. Rogers Granite Company in the early 20th century. It’s hard to believe that granite from this small quarry ended up in such diverse places at the U.S. Naval Academy, the New York County Courthouse, and Sing Sing prison. The McGuires eventually established the Deer Isle Granite Company here. There are granite benches dedicated to the next generation of quarrymen: Francis (my father), Thomas, and Robert. I have sat on those benches or on the edge of the granite face dozens of times over the years, at sunrise, sunset, in the fog, and in the rain, and contemplated the world. There is no better place to remember all the workers and events that came before us. I always walk away with a sense of peace and gratitude.
— Jeremiah McGuire, of West Richland, Washington
