It extended to memorials of past achievements, both in cemetery monuments and in prominently placed public art,” writes the contributors to Flesh and Stone: Stony Creek and the Age of Granite. The desire to celebrate in stone the achievements of families, private institutions, and governments did not stop with the creation of mansions and imposing institutional edifices. The stately yet malleable material “proved to be … particularly suited to expressing both the aspirations of the well-to-do and the civic pride of growing cities. Railway expansion, along with a building boom during the Gilded Age led to an increased demand for granite. Proximity to the Long Island Sound offered easy access to waterborne transportation for the unwieldy goods, weighing in the dozens of tons. The quarries provided a livelihood for newly arriving immigrants from Italy and Scandinavia, who brought their stone working skills with them.
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