rock of ages

Most people know very little about headstones, but even fewer know anything about the extensive process behind quarrying granite. Truly fascinating to anyone of any age 8 and up. The quarry itself is... you just have to see it for yourself. It will blow your mind how big it is. And there's much more to take in at the Rock of Ages manufacturing plant. The staff here are all super friendly and answered every question so nicely.

I grew up in this area, but had never been on the Rock of Ages tour. I was surprised with how much I did not know about the industry. It gives you a great overview of the process, from removing it from the ground to the finished product.

My Papa's headstone was made here and it is honestly one of the most beautiful headstones I have seen. My father and uncle drew the picture and Rock of Ages cooperated with them 100%. While my parents, aunts, and uncles were working on the headstone, us grandchildren were kept occupied as well with a video and a tour. The person that showed us around was great with people and kids. It was overall a great experience and beautiful handiwork!

A visit can consist of a guided tour by bus to the quarry (this costs $5) and a free visit to the large factory where granite workers are shaping stones into statues and headstones.The bus tour is well worth the $5. The guide is excellent and informative. The day I was there was windy and cool but it was worth it to see a large slab of granite being lifted from deep in the quarry. (Note: this doesn't happen on every tour). The vertical scale of the work area is amazing.For the factory tour you stand on a second floor platform and look down on the immense working floor. This tour is not guided. You can observe for yourself and stay as long as you like. Slabs of various sizes of granite are moving all over the floor on rollers and conveyors. You can see the craftspeople marking and measuring, chipping, sandblasting, and polishing granite.The 15-minute video in the gift shop is okay but not as informative as it could be. It needs updating and re-writing. The store has a lot of granite souvenirs you can buy.Tip: No work goes on in the quarry and factory on the weekends; visit on a weekday if you want to see activity. Check the winter schedule to make sure the quarry is open.

Fun stop if you have never been to a granite quarry! Amazing to see how it's done plus you can take a piece of granite as a souvenir -Free! These are true artisans and you gain an appreciation for the work that goes into transforming something from the earth to a finished product. They offer a short movie on the history and then take an informative bus tour to the actual quarry. Pricing is extremely affordable !

I was impressed with the visitor's center at the Rock of Ages plant. There is a variety of tools used on display alongside many examples of products made with the granite. The video was actually pretty well put-together and presented a good overview of the history behind the industry and the area. With amazing memorials being only a short drive away in Hope Cemetery, I would highly recommend that visitors make this stop.

It is incredible the amount of granite that is being quarried and you have to see the workers mining it to absorb how much granite is there. Tour guides are great, interesting factory tour. For fun there is a bowling alley, one lane, made of granite near the entrance sigh, where we knocked down few pins.

This place is incredible! It was easy to find, the staff were all terrific, and the level of artistry displayed in the museum is simply amazing. Our tour guide was very informative, clearly and thoroughly explaining how the original workers lived and worked. And we were so lucky at the quarry! We got to watch as a huge piece of granite was lifted out of the pit. Back at the visitor center, I signed up to sandblast my own little trivet and I had so much fun we are looking to purchase a sandblaster of our own. We could have watched the activity in the shop for hours. My only disappointment is that there weren't any artisans carving in the shop when were there; I would have loved to see that!

You enter the visitors center/gift shop to pay for your tour. You are given a bus ticket and then board a school bus that takes you out to the quarry. All along the way you are given a geological history of the land and a history of how granite has been quarried throughout the years. The quarry is quite impressive! You are then taken back to the factory where you can observe the sculptors and polishers at work. Great tour, educational and informative.

The tour guide is very informative and is a wealth of information. He took the time to explain the history of the quarry and surrounding area interwoven with bits of information about granite. You get to stand right near the quarry and watch work being done. All the while the guide explained how the granite was quarried in the past and how it is now done.After the tour, you can visit the factory and watch monuments being hand made. It was very interesting.There is a nice gift shop too.

The Rock of Ages Quarry was one of the top locations on our agenda when we were planning our trip to Vermont. We drove up from the Killington area and had a beautiful drive on a gorgeous fall day. The quarry was easy to find and there was plenty of visitor parking. The staff in the visitor center were very friendly and made sure we were aware of the activities available to us. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and was eager to answer our questions. Our shuttle (a school bus) drove us to an observation area where we could watch the drilling, etc. After the guided tour, you can go in the plant and watch from an observation deck as the monuments are being made. This is an amazing process from start to finish. This is a must do if in the Barre/Graniteville area. Be sure and go on to Hope Cemetery afterwards to view some of the granite artwork there. These employees are true artists as they transform huge chunks of raw granite to beautiful works of art.

Beautiful drive in the fall to Barre, Vt.and visited many covered bridges on the way. Rock of Ages quarry was easy to locate, followed the signs. Beautiful gift shop and information center. We thoroughly enjoyed the guided bus tour (reasonable fee) and the observation area was awesome. Enjoyed the viewing area in the sculpture studio and visited Hope Cemetery. We are from Minnesota, visit friends & relatives in New England every fall and the quarry was on our "bucket list" :)! Well worth the trip!!

We enjoyed a very informative tour of the granite quarry. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly. Compared to some tours the price was relatively inexpensive. We went in to the factory but since it was Saturday, there was only a few people working. Amazing to see how large this operation really is!!

One of our hosts told us about Rock of Ages so we decided to check it out and we are glad we did.Our tour guide was very informative and we were luck enough to be the only 2 people on the tour so we could ask all the questions we wanted.Will tell people that Rock of Ages is a "must see"After the tour we sandblasted our own piece of granite to use as a potholder!

We were told about this place from a VT local on the ferry to Burlington and they said it was a must-see visit. WOW, were they right on. The quarry tour is fun, informative and short. Easy to find, no crowds and plenty of parking at the visitor center. Be sure to see the cemetery a short distance away where the granite sculpture work is worth seeing.