Ketchin Quarry

ACREAGE: 4 • YEAR ACQUIRED: 1994

Location

On the east side of Quarry Road just north of Pharos Farm/George Hall Farm. Please park on the expanded shoulder of the road marked by the Simsbury Land Trust sign.

Distance

0.25 miles.

Terrain

A very short and uneven path. Walk 30 feet up to a narrow landing to view the vertical stone ledges outlining the quarried area. Do not proceed into the quarry or attempt to climb the walls because of the danger of poor footing, vertical drops, and rockslides.

Features

Dating back at least to the early 1800s, this quarry was part of a nearby farm and provided stone for various small projects such as foundation, wells, and fences. In the early 1890s, William Ketchin and his father, two of the area’s best known masons, purchased the quarry and made it into a sizable commercial venture. Over the next 25 years, stone from this quarry was used to build many of the Ensign Bickford/Dyno Nobel buildings, the Methodist Church, Central School, Town Hall and the Tariffville Fire Stations, among others. Today the Simsbury Land Trust owns the quarry. Watch for informational signs along this short trail.