Historic Hallowell

Who were the stone carvers and quarrymen whose artistry and sacrifice allowed the Hallowell's granite industry to flourish? Stephen A. Cole, in his publication for Maine Historic Preservation Commission entitled "Hallowell Granite Works-An Historical Summary-Evolution of the Site" provides this description:

The work force of Maine's granite industry was multi-national, employing Italian, Scotch, Spanish, Canadian and English stone cutters. Ethnicity at Hallowell Granite Works was probably more pronounced, considering the firm's specialties. Italian and Spanish carvers were regarded as peerless in statuary work, carrying on the long carving tradition of their home countries.

In 1901 the average Maine granite cutter received between $2.80 and $3.20 daily for his labors, making him an established, middle class craftsman-no matter his nationality. Quarrymen tended to earn between $1.75 and $2.00 per day. Three thousand five hundred men were employed in Maine's granite industry and their produce brought more than two-and-one-half million dollars to the state.

The promise of earning one's keep and providing for a family lured Protasio Neri to Hallowell. Born in 1850 in Levigliani, Italy he came to America with his parents in 1877 at the age of 27. As a youth Protasio worked in the marble quarries of Carrara famous for providing the stone used by Michaelangelo among others. His father sent him to study with Prof. Morescalchi at the University of Carrara and he ended up marrying the Professor's daughter, Giselda Morescalchi.

A letter in the Hubbard Library collection from the Socialist Workers Party headquarters in New York City dated March 13,1895 to Protasio Neri showed him to be involved in organizing the workers in Hallowell into a union. The cutters and blacksmiths in the city joined the national Granite Cutters Union in 1888. The quarrymen and engineers later joined the Quarrymen's Union. The Bodwell Granite Works was the subject of a lot of labor actions, including a 5 1/2 month strike in 1892, but most interruptions were brief.

Another noted granite worker, William Rich, was born in Cornwall, England on December 23,1833 and died in Hallowell on May 12, 1915. He arrived in America in 1872 and worked in the quarry on Dix Island, in Penobscot Bay, off Rockland He was thought to have come to Hallowell with Bodwell in 1872. He was a gifted stone carver, and worked on the statue of "Faith," part of the Founder Monument now in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Among his other notable works is the carving of "Library" sign over the front door of Hubbard Free Library. He is buried in Hallowell.