Vermont Granite Museum

The Vermont Granite Museum will create two online exhibits and public programs focusing on the histories of retired granite workers, particularly immigrants, minorities, and women whose stories have not been told. In the summer of 2020, the museum acquired the archival collections of Rock of Ages Corporation, the oldest and largest Vermont granite quarry and manufacturing company, which has been in operation since 1885. The collection includes 175 boxes of correspondence, account books, photographs, negatives, films, maps, drawings, trade magazines, newsletters, and paintings, and hundreds of other objects. They will create a full-time curatorial position to review those materials, make them available to the public in an online database, and create an exhibition and related resources that showcase an important piece of Vermont’s labor history. This project addresses the challenges faced by the museum caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically requests to provide more online resources on the museum’s website.