First Ride of the Season/Amherst Quarries

The temperature was a cool 57 degrees today, but the sun was shining bright. It was time for the first official ride of the season. Today I decided to ride farther South than I usually do into the village of South Amherst, just South of (you guessed it) Amherst.

I wanted to get a few good shots of the Amherst Quarries before the leaves on the trees blocked the view. So first, as will be the norm on this blog from here on out, is the map of my route.

Ride was about an hour long with a few stops for  pictures

Early Amherst settlers began using the local sandstone to build grist mills and saw mills in the early 1800's, but it wasn't until 1847 when quarrying sandstone became the local industry. A Canadian by the name of John Worthington developed the first quarry and it expanded very rapidly from there. Many companies came into the area to take part in the quarrying of sandstone and most of those companies were eventually bought up by the Cleveland Quarries Company. In 1830 the population in Amherst was 552 and by 1870 it had grown to 2,482. Railroads were built to transport sandstone to the main lines that ran cross country and to also transport workers to and from downtown to the different quarries they worked at.

Fun Fact:
Much of the sandstone used in rebuilding Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was from the Amherst Quarries, which was transported North by railroad and then shipped via the Norfolk and Southern tracks that were pictured in my previous posts or by ships.

By the 1950's the need for sandstone had greatly decreased due to the growing popularity of steel in the construction of buildings. By this time most of the sandstone that was quarried was used to line the furnaces that created steel. Ironic, isn't it? By 1992 the Amherst Quarries had finally shut down operations and now only operates in a limited capacity for more specialized items. ("Amherst Quarries," Cleveland Historical)

So I will start with some "now" photographs.

Satellite view of the quarries now. Zoomed in between 5 and 6 on my route map. (circles will make sense in a moment)

Quarry Road (can you guess why it is called that?) This is taken at the top of the red circle facing North.

This is the quarry in the red circle on the left of Quarry Road on the map. As you can see it is now filled in with water (and still frozen unfortunately).

This is one of the Amherst Quarries in about 1890. (Photo courtesy of Amherst Historical Society)

Just look at the size of it! (Also scary to think that this is 240 feet deep)

Quarry on the right side of the roadway in the red circle on the map. The building is the blue circle.

In 1915 they began using the Channeling Machine. By being able to cut away at the stone without blasting it made the quarrying process much more efficient and safer. (Photo courtesy of Amherst Historical Society)

Building just South of the East Quarry. Unsure of what it was actually used for.

I do know that it was built in 1906 though.

I believe that it could be part of a rail station that transported grindstones. I am not sure though. (Photo courtesy of Amherst Historical Society)

It appears that there was some sort of workshop on the left side of the building.

Still the left side of the building. Not sure what the orange shelves held. Possibly parts or tools?

The right side of the building was much longer.

Due to the pulley system I want to say this may have been some sort of assembly line or loading area.

Some of the last quarried sandstone left on site, just to the South of the abandoned building.

The train that took the workers home after a long hard day of work. (Courtesy of Amherst Historical Society)

Well there you have it, the Amherst Quarries. I really enjoyed exploring the area and will do my best to figure out what that abandoned building was used for.

Also on my ride on the way home I remembered a postcard I saw on eBay that depicted an old building in South Amherst that is still standing just East of this location on Telegraph Road. (The road that runs East and West at the bottom of the map above). So naturally I decided to check it out and do a "then and now" shot.

This building has been at this intersection since 1890, possibly earlier.

The building is now a quilt store. In 1890 only the taller half was erected.

Postcard from a photograph taken in 1890. Then building is on the left. Possibly the only store in the village.

I tried to get a "now" shot from memory, but the angle is off slightly. There is now a gas station on the north side of the street and many more houses in the area.

All in all I think it was a successful first ride. Not sure where I will go next, but I'm sure it will be soon. Bring on Spring!