Aerial View of The Abandoned Quarry with Graffiti – Quincy, MA

The Quincy Quarries produced granite for over a century and was the site of the Granite Railway—often credited as being the first railroad in the United States.

The last active quarry closed in 1963. After their abandonment, the open quarries filled with rainwater and groundwater. The flooded quarries soon became a popular spot for cliff jumping.

However, many people were injured—sometimes fatally—while diving into the quarries from great heights. This led the police and the city of Quincy to grapple with what to do with this abandoned space.

In 1985, Boston’s Metropolitan District Commission purchased 22 acres, including Granite Railway Quarry, as the Quincy Quarries Reservation. A solution to the public safety problem was found with the massive Big Dig highway project in Boston. Dirt from the new highway tunnels was trucked in to fill the main quarries. This created new sections of rock to climbers, and the site was subsequently improved to encourage public use of the reservation.

The reservation is connected to the trail system of the Blue Hills Reservation.
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