Rock of Ages Visitors Center

This place is great! We were tourists in the neighborhood in the winter and stumbled upon this place. The gentleman at the visitor’s center was awesome! The place was closed for the season, but he offered to show us a quick video, and let us take a self tour of the factory. He made us feel very welcome! And who knew making headstones /​mausoleums would be so interesting and impressive!

There are basically 4 things to do here: a trip up to the quarry to see them excavating the granite ($ 3.50), a self-​guided «tour» of the facility where they cut and engrave the granite (g\free), a sandblasting activity ($), and granite bowling (free).
The trip to the quarry took about 10 minutes and we spent about 20 minutes at the quarry while the well-​informed and eager guide explained the quarrying process and its history in the town. The group was fairly small so there were many good questions and she answered them all fully. We lucked out an there was a blast while we were there to separate a stone block from the face — but the guide said that it’s pretty rare that the tour coincides with anything like that. They were also hoisting a piece of (broken) granite using the derrick which was pretty cool. Young children will start getting antsy after about 10 minutes but if you talk to them about what’s going on in kid terms, you can string them along for the remainder.
The manufacturing plant is pretty much an overview of the polishing and sandblasting stations (you stand up on a catwalk about 30 feet above the working area). It’s loud and since there are only written descriptions on the wall behind you, it’s not always obvious what’s going on. Probably best for those that know the high level processing of stone and just want to see a few machines in action.
We didn’t do the sandblasting activity because attention spans were drawing short, but behind the sample monuments alongside the building is the granite bowling lane. It’s pretty basic and the balls are all worn out. but for a goof, setup the pins and try it out.

Our order was dropped by them and there was no communication regarding the order until we began to get upset. This was 20 weeks after we ordered our headstone. I would consider going with a smaller company that could give you more personal customer service.

I must say that this was a totally unexpected surprise. My husband and I were in the area to hike and bike and experience Fall in New England… touring a granite quarry was NOT part of our adventure list, however, it looked like an interesting way to kill an hour or so. Nope, we stayed for the better part of the day and had a ball! The tour to the quarry was really neat and informative. Our guide answered all our extra questions and we were impressed with the pride the town has in their local but far-​reaching business. The self guided tour in the factory was also interesting. We had no idea what was involved with harnessing, processing, and creating beautiful granite pieces, such as tombstones. Our highlight, however, was purchasing, for a mere $ 5, the map and audio file describing history and creation of sculptures throughout the town. Enabled with a phone number and code, we drove around and stopped next to beautiful statues and art pieces, called the number, and heard a great story. Hope Cemetery alone was worth the trip. I would recommend this to anyone of all ages.

My nine year old daughter and I visited Rock of Ages today. After seeing the Vermont Marble Museum yesterday, this was a very nice complement to that.
We took the tour bus to the quarry (there is a very low cost to the tour). The tour guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and there was plenty of time to take pictures at the quarry. He also did a good job of explaining the differences between marble and granite, something we didn’t quite grasp all the way when we were at the marble museum. There were several younger children on the tour – probably ranging from two to six years old. They didn’t appear to have too much interest in much of anything on the tour, but it was also not so long that they became disruptive or anything like that. They just amused themselves by playing in the rocks in the observation area at the quarry. If you are thinking of taking older kids who have any kind of interest in construction or heavy equipment, they will probably be much more interested in what is going on. There’s a pretty good chance that kids from 6 – 10 will be a bit bored with this, though. However, it’s not so long that they shouldn’t be able to stand it.
Back at the visitor center, we were also able to take the self guided tour where you can see them working, mostly on decorating/​cleaning granite tombstones. It is quite loud in there, but you can spend as much or as little time watching as you like. There are some exhibits on the viewing walkway that explain some of the procedures, but no one there to answer any questions. However, you could probably ask someone in the visitor center or the sand blasting office any question you have. There is no charge for that tour.
You can also make a sand blasted souvenir (a granite plaque/​paperweight or a slate plaque/​trivet) for $ 10. It only takes a few minutes, and it’s pretty much done using the same procedure they use to decorate tombstones. My daughter really enjoyed that activity.
You can watch a video in the visitors center that also explains the quarry process, but we skipped that. There’s also a granite bowling lane outside, which is quite the novelty. Too bad the ball is rubber instead of granite! There’s also a scrap area where you can take home some scraps of granite – we tried to find one of each color they talked about on the tour.
Well worth the stop – you’ll know why the town is called Graniteville!
Late addition: After telling someone we had gone here, they asked if we had visited the Hope Cemetary in Barre (201 Maple Ave). It wasn’t mentioned on the tour, but would have been the perfect complement to Rock of Ages. It’s only about 5 miles away.

If you have an mild interest in stone, construction or heavy equipment you will enjoy this place. The quarry tour was very informative. I would actually go again. Our guide took us out to the quarry, gave us a history of the industry, the company and explained the entire process. It was only a few bucks. Before you take the tour I would try and watch the video in the visitor center. They also have a stone bowling lane you can test out.
If you go during the week you can take a free self guided tour of the factory. You can also pay $ 10 to do some sandblasting and make your own souvenir. I went on a sunday and both were closed. It was still worth it for me. I will go back next time i drive by. You should also check out Hope Cemetery a few miles away. Check out their website for more info.