Soapstone was first quarried commercially in Middlefield, Massachusetts, in 1811 or 1812. This operation lasted only 2 or 3 years, but the quarries vere reopened in 1853 and worked for several more years. These quarries have had the largest total production of soapstone in Massachusetts. The next largest producers were the Osborn soapstone quarry (Cobble Mountain Reservoir) in Blandford which was opened about 1830 and worked intermittently until about 1903 and the Soapstone Hill quarries in Petersham worked from 1878 to about 1882. A small amount was produced from the Hoosac Tunnel soapstone quarry and from the quarries in the northwestern corner of Hinsdale, No soapstone has been produced in Massachusetts since 1906, when the quarries in Hinsdale were closed.

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