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Site 18: Benson House Boulder Quarry

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Site 18: Benson House Boulder Quarry, HF, N 42º 31.815' W072º 11.508'

Glacial erratics lodged in the New England landscape turned plowing into a nightmare but provided plenty of building material for early settlers. An elephant-sized boulder could be sliced into slabs, loaded onto stone boats and dragged to the nearest home site by a team of oxen. When I was first drawing the Benson House boulder, I thought it was a frost-split formation; the slabs' skewed shapes made a great subject. But as I drew, I saw drilled grooves spaced at perfect intervals along its edges. The human part of the story became the boulder's most appealing feature.

Click on an image for a larger view.

drawing of boulder showing it's large size compared to a bird

drawing of boulder

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

drawing of boulder

drawing of boulder