{"nrhp_refnum":"73000309","name":"Quincy Granite Railway","other_names":["Granite Railway"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Bunker Hill Lane","address_restricted":false,"city":"Quincy","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.23992123200003,"lon":-71.03197644499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Transportation","Invention"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 250-foot surviving section of the Granite Railway roadbed and stone sleepers, off Bunker Hill Lane in Quincy, Massachusetts, built in 1826 to carry granite from the Bunker Hill Quarry.","why_significant":"The railway was built to haul granite for the Bunker Hill Monument and is described as the first efficient commercial use of railways in the United States. Engineer Gridley Bryant developed key early railroad equipment during its construction, including the eight-wheeled car, turntable, portable derrick, switch and turnout. This section was used until the early 1830s, when operations moved to another quarry.","narrative":"A short stretch of early American railroad survives in Quincy, Massachusetts, north of the end of Bunker Hill Lane. The 250-foot section begins at the base of the defunct Bunker Hill Quarry and runs northeast along an embankment about four feet deep and five to six feet wide. Granite sleepers, each about seven feet long with hand-drilled holes for fastening rails, lie across the bed, though the rails themselves are gone. The line was built in 1826 to move granite for the Bunker Hill Monument, first by horse-drawn car to the Neponset River and then by barge. Engineer Gridley Bryant, backed financially by Thomas Handasyd Perkins, completed it in about seven months and perfected equipment such as the eight-wheeled car, turntable, derrick, switch and turnout. It is described as the first efficient commercial use of railways in the United States. This section was abandoned in the early 1830s when work shifted to another quarry.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific dates 1826, c. 1830)","architect_builder":"Gridley Bryant (engineer)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked fair; the roadbed was abandoned in the early 1830s, no rails remain, and the property is listed as not in use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.291024-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7964/63796436/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/73000309.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000309/2d882ba727-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000309/2d882ba727-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QuincyMA_RailwayIncline_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QuincyMA_RailwayIncline_1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796436","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_Railway","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q287266"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/quincy-granite-railway-73000309/"}