Stone chimney is all that remains of world-class grindstone quarry
CBC
On the rocky shore of a quiet beach in Rockport, a large stone chimney looks ready to topple into the Bay of Fundy.
It seems out of place today, but the chimney is a remnant of an industry that dominated the upper Bay of Fundy in the 1800s, when quarries dotted the New Brunswick coast.
At low tide, sandstone was chiselled out of the banks or from the ocean bed, shaped and shipped to customers around the world to be used as building stone and grindstones.
Moncton historian and educator James Upham said the area would be considered remote now, but it used to be a busy community with homes, a school house and a general store.
"This place has almost returned to a state of being pristine," he said. "But at one time the quarry that we're actually standing in right now begins its story, that we know of, about 1814. Back then, grindstones were a huge deal."
Paul Bogaard, a member of the Tantramar Heritage Trust, has led tours to this Rockport beach.
At its peak, between 100 and 200 men would have worked at the quarry, carving out rocks that were about 1½ metres by 1½ metres, and a half-metre thick, he said.
"We're not talking about something you and I could lift up and carry," Bogaard said as he described the chunks of sandstone.
The sand grains that formed the stone had sharp edges that could be used for sharpening metal tools.
"It was of a special quality that was good for grindstone material," he said.
Bogaard recently edited a book released by the Tantramar Heritage Trust about the grindstone industry in the Cumberland Basin.
According to Upham, the stone that came out of the area was well-known, with one provincial geologist in the 1840s referring to it "as some of the very finest sharpening stone in North America."
The chimney that overlooks the beach was part of the engine that powered a machine called a steam derrick.
"What we have there is the physical remainder of what is probably the first steam derrick in New Brunswick, in what's going to become Canada," said Upham.
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