Some notable people from Hardwick include: writer Catherine Cate Coblentz lawyer & author Dorman Bridgman Eaton Governor of Vermont Lee E. Buildings around the country made with Hardwick granite include the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Chicago City Hall, Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C., as well as numerous city halls and custom houses. The predominant business following the Civil War was granite quarrying and Hardwick became known as the "Building Granite Center of the World." By 1906, 1200 people were employed in the industry. Hardwick is a commercial center for the region's farming population. ![]() ![]() The town contains the incorporated village of Hardwick and the unincorporated villages of East Hardwick and Mackville. These are the perfect ending to a delightful hike through a special part of Maine.Hardwick Vermont is a town in Caledonia County, east of Morrisville and west of St Johnsbury, in the beautiful and scenic Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, an area that National Geographic selected as part of their geotourism program for sustainable destinations. The shady way is lined with wild blueberry and cranberry, bunchberry in flower and cinnamon fern forming spikes of fruiting bodies.Īs a final surprise, a sunny forest glade hosts dozens of pink lady slipper orchids in full bloom. The trail turns away from the sea into cool tunnels beneath towering spruce and fir. These wild purple flag iris brighten the cliffs at the shore. This mother osprey watches hikers carefully from her nest in the top of a dead tree in a blow-down area. This habitat is perfect for osprey who like to nest in high, open areas near water that provides fish for their offspring. When they become too top heavy for the root systems to support, the huge trees are blown over to form tangled masses of dead trunks and branches. The spruce and fir grow on top of solid rock in a thin layer of soil. Today we walk where volcanoes once flowed.īecause this place faces out to the open ocean, there is little protection from the force of gales. The dramatic slanting of the old seafloor testifies to the massive forces involved in forming our current topography.Įons of wind, rain and surf have eroded the slate so that the many layers of the ancient seabed chip away like leaves from some giant history book. The magma cooled to form granite and basalt, embedding gigantic slabs of metamorphic stone. The geology of this area of the Maine coast reveals a time of violent continental shift with volcanism that pushed magma up through the seabed. The bridge crosses a small stream where minnows shelter in the shade. Areas of the forest are quite swampy with tiny brooks running through. Several board walks and bridges protect the fragile ecosystem and make walking the trails more pleasant. The mother bird observed hikers from the trunk of a tall tree and her babies could be heard calling for food. In this area there was a hairy woodpecker nest. The stone walls that once bordered the old pasture lines are still standing deep in the forest. The trail to the shore goes through a woods grown up from pastures that existed more than a hundred years ago. There is a nearby ferry service to that island of fishing fame. Monhegan Island is not too far away, although it is not visible. ![]() Many small islands dot the coast just off-shore. ![]() Much of the shore in this area is rugged rock with a fairly steep drop-off to the water. This preserve is comprised of 120 acres with 3600 feet of shoreline and 2.5 miles of hiking trails. Situated on Muscongus Bay near Pemaquid, the area is filled with beautiful vistas of the ocean. To beat the heat and humidity one day in mid-June, we escaped to the coast of Maine to a gem of a spot in Bristol called La Verna Preserve.
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