One of the largest and most important stone contractors in the country, John Peirce became known as the “Granite King”. The firm supplied the material and constructed the foundation piers and superstructure of this phase of the Cathedral.
Born in Frankfort, Maine, Peirce had studied law at Harvard but chose to return to Maine in 1873 to take over his father’s granite business at Mount Waldo. His father had several important granite quarries as well as a general contracting and building business. He took to the industry quickly and began to grow the enterprise. Through investment, directorships and ownership he acquired additional granite properties to the extent that he largely controlled the output of the stone in the state. He gained interests in the Hallowell Granite Works and the Boswell Granite Company. Among these was the Boswell Granite Fox Island Company. Included were Vinalhaven’s vast granite resources. By the 1900’s there were over 46 small quarries on Vinalhaven. The Vinalhaven Warff Quarry was the source of the monumental columns at the Cathedral.
From Maine to New York
Peirce moved to New York City in the late 1880’s to oversee the operation of his New York and Maine Granite Paving Block Company. One of the company’s contracts paved Fifth Avenue from 8th Street to 90th Street with granite blocks.
He also realized that New York was the building center of the country and granite had become the symbol of strength and solidity. By the 1890’s he began to furnish building materials and erect many buildings in the city. Grand Central Terminal, the 42nd street New York Public Library and New York City’s first subway system among them. Peirce’s firm soon grew to be one of the largest granite contractors in the country.
By 1915 concrete, steel and asphalt replaced much of the demand for stone building products. Sleek modernity, rising costs of construction, modern paving methods and the decline of the stone carvers art were killing the granite industry. The advent of railroads especially the vastly superior networks in the midwest and the development of the limestone industry added to the decline. The “Granite King’s ” John Peirce Company ceased to exist.
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- New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
- Prominent and Progressive Americans; an encyclopedia of contemporaneous biography, Harrison, Michael Charles, 1902, Vol. 2
- New York Public Library Digital Collections