One more hike with the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers and 'old' bud Tom (really - I'm older than Tom). This took us into Chester once again, one of the most heavily mined towns I've come across in Massachusetts. One of the group's members is owner of the land and was our host for the morning.
The property is quite hilly (indeed, the access road was something to marvel at!) and we began an extended hike though woods with occasional views of Chester far below. A quartz quarry was the ultimate object of our walk and was the last thing we encountered. A deep open cut into the rocks, with partial collapse, was all that was left to see. Along with a few drill marks.
We pondered what quartz might have been used for. It was during my later 'debriefing' it apparently went into the manufacturing of porcelain. Chester even had (at one time) a manufacturing operation that made use of the local quarried quartz. And Chester, long known for it's emery, did indeed have numerous quartz quarries.
