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Old Bluestone Quarry Road c.1860

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Comments (5)

davehermon on January 28, 2009

The road is constucted of bluestone slabs averaging 9'x12". It replaces a plank road built prior to 1850 and was used by wagons transporting bluestone quarried in West Hurley and surrounding hamlets. The stone was transported to docks in Kingston and hence by barge down the Hudson River to New York. Most of the road was submerged with the filling of the Ashokan Reservoir in 1913.

piotr.j.krol on March 19, 2009

Great shot and very, very interesting info. Thank you for sharing.

piotr.j.krol on March 19, 2009

Do you think that the channels in the bluestone slabs were made by weels or were they already in the slabs when they build the road?

davehermon on March 20, 2009

Hi Piotr: Thank you for the visit and the question. The ruts were worn by the iron wagon wheels. Each wagon carried several tons of Bluestone. Until the 1890's most of the wheels were made by the same Blacksmith in Wilbur, NY. Then, a Blacksmith in West Hurley began making wheels/axles on a smaller base which were less expensive. He soon cornered the market. Today, you can see many areas of the old road with two sets of impressions (before and after 1890). dave hermon

LARA-SEAGULL on November 5, 2009

Interesting!How long is the road?

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Photo details

  • Uploaded on November 19, 2008
  • © All Rights Reserved
    by davehermon
    • Camera: Canon PowerShot S5 IS
    • Taken on 2008/11/19 16:00:56
    • Exposure: 0.008s (1/125)
    • Focal Length: 6.00mm
    • F/Stop: f/4.000
    • ISO Speed: ISO80
    • Exposure Bias: 0.00 EV
    • No flash

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