Granite

Deer Isle, Maine Granite

Moderately weathered; displays lichen.

This fine specimen, weighing approximately five pounds, comes from the Settlement Quarry on the Oceanville Road in Stonington, Maine, which began operations in 1900. This starkly flecked igneous rock exhibits crystals of quartz and feldspar, and has proved a fine and highly attractive building material in structures including the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the JFK memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Deer Isle is also famed for pink granite.

When the Museum acquired this specimen, a friend of the Museum who was present that day identified it as Deer Isle granite with no prompting whatsoever. This proves the distinctive characteristics of this famed building material.