Milford granite (Massachusetts)
Milford granite is a Proterozoic igneous rock located in and around the town of Milford, Massachusetts, covering an area of approximately 100 km2, as mapped by the USGS. It is described as a light-gray to pale orange-pink biotite granite. The biotite is typically in clots or short streaks. It is commonly locally gneissic.[1]
During the period from 1870 to 1940, the town of Milford became famous for the "pink" variety of this stone, prized as a building material. According to local legend, "Milford Pink" was "discovered" in the early 1870s by two brothers, James and William Sherman at Rocky Woods in Milford.[2] At its peak, over 1,000 men labored in dozens of quarries in Milford and nearby Hopkinton. Notable examples of buildings constructed from Milford pink granite include the Boston Public Library, Worcester City Hall.[3]
Until recently, Milford pink granite was quarried by the Fletcher Granite Company, at their Lumber Street quarry in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.[4]
Examples of use
- Memorial Hall (Milford, Massachusetts) (1884)
- Town Hall, Hopedale, Massachusetts (1886)[5]
- Flour and Grain Exchange Building, aka Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston (1892)
- Bancroft Memorial Library, Hopedale, Massachusetts (1898)
- Boston Public Library, McKim Building, Boston, Massachusetts (1895)
- Main Post Office, New York, New York (1912)