The earliest of any type of granite quarrying in the Hilltowns lies here at the old Cushman parcel in Becket when prospectors found granite boulders.  The boulders show evidence of being drilled/cut and split, the earliest with no drills dating back to the early 1800’s. The stone was carried out by teams of oxen off the mountain as it predates the building of the railroad.

“some of the earliest Becket pit quarrying, the old “Cushman Place.” The whole southeast corner of the town of Becket is rich in granite. According to tradition, the discovery of the area and eventual pin-pointing of the site of the biggest of quarries was accomplished by tracing the pattern of glacial granite boulders to its source, back up the Westfield valley and up the mountainside until it ended in a farmer’s pasture.”

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