Mount Airy, North Carolina: World's Largest Granite Quarry
Peer out across a vast pit of white granite. If you're lucky, you'll be there when they do some blasting.
North Carolina Granite Corp.
- Address:
- Granite Quarry Trail, Mount Airy, NC
- Directions:
- North Carolina Granite Corp. On the east edge of Mount Airy. From Hwy 103/E. Pine St. turn north onto Granite Quarry Trail and drive to the overlook parking area.
- Phone:
- 336-786-5141
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This quarry covers around 90 acres. It's a mile long, and has been in operation since 1889. Geological mapping shows the total mass to cover 7 x 4 miles, 6,000 to 8,000 feet deep. It's said that granite will be harvested here for hundreds to thousands of years. Granite from this quarry was used to build the National WWII Memorial in Washington, DC, among other monuments and buildings, and there's a church at the entrance to the quarry that was built with granite from it. The quarry can be seen by astronauts from space.
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The pit isn't as deep as we'd imagined, but the various overlooks offer some interesting views, even for non-astronauts. It's a nice diversion from the usual Mayberry shenanigans in Mount Airy.