History of Blue Hill, Maine page3

by Esther Wood
Page 3

The golden years for the granite industry were from 1875 to 1905, and by 1907 there were six quarries in Blue Hill. Granite was shipped on sailing ships to large eastern cities. The Brooklyn Bridge, the Pittsburgh Post Office, and the New York Stock Exchange are several structures having Blue Hill granite.

Other early industries included a meat canning factory, lumbering, wool carding, and factories for making edge tools and furniture. At one time the Blue Hill Mineral Spring was famed for its water.

The golden years for the granite industry were from 1875 to 1905, and by 1907 there were six quarries in Blue Hill. Granite was shipped on sailing ships to large eastern cities. The Brooklyn Bridge, the Pittsburgh Post Office, and the New York Stock Exchange are several structures having Blue Hill granite.
Local men became quarry men and cutters, teamsters and engine tenders, stone - boxers and water boys. There was a building boom in East Blue Hill as camps appeared near every quarry. Italian, Scotch, and English workmen arrived to work, and the cultural adjustment was not always smooth. The industry brought prosperity for a few decades, but in the twentieth century cement and sandstone replaced granite. Quarrymen and cutters left town or returned to farms and fishing boats. Other early industries included a meat canning factory, lumbering, wool carding, and factories for making edge tools and furniture. At one time the Blue Hill Mineral Spring was famed for its water.
Emma Dole of Bangor was Blue Hill's first rusticator, arriving in August of 1882. Other summer boarders followed, coming by steamboat and the Bar Harbor Express. They bought land and built clapboard cottagers or purchased old houses and 'improved' them beyond recognition. The era of the summer people had begun. The coming of the automobile brought a revolution to Blue Hill as it did to every other town. Eventually, it meant the passing of horse - drawn vehicles, sailing vessels, and passenger trains. Sadly, it brought a lessening importance to the rural neighborhoods. Neighborhood names and friendliness may remain, but gone are the neighborhood stores and schools. Old neighborhood chapels and halls are often deserted or torn down. Between the first generation summer people and the natives there was little affection. Only with the passing of the decades has there developed a mutual dependence and affection. The summer people have sponsored Blue Hill's good causes and brought great music to town. Today, their golf carts roll where once rolled hay carts and their pleasure craft ride at anchor where schooners and steamboats anchored.
The 1960's saw the start of a process that will likely change the character of the town. In that decade the repeopling of Blue Hill began. Some of the summer people winterized their cottages and became year 'rounders. Returnees came - the native born people who spent their working years in distant schools and industries. And the escapees arrived - people fleeing the bustle and battle of the city. These newcomers are enriching the town socially, economically, and culturally. Today , Blue Hill is a thriving coastal community. Stately homes and American elms line the village streets. It is a center for the arts and music, and the gateway to the Penobscot Peninsula communities and the Deer Isles. The area offers opportunity for swimming, bicycling, cross-country skiing, hiking and cruising.