| Igneous rock | |
 | |
| Composition | |
|---|---|
| Silicon dioxide,Aluminium oxide,Iron(III) oxide,Manganese(II) oxide,Calcium oxide,Magnesium oxide,Potassium oxide,Sodium oxide,Biotite[1] |
Milford pink granite, also known asMilford granite orMilford pink is agranite deposit located in and around the town ofMilford, Massachusetts. Covering an area of approximately 39 square miles (100 km2) according to theUSGS, theProterozoicigneous rock is also sometimes referred to asBraggville granite for several quarries in the neighboring village ofBraggville.[2]
From 1870 to 1940, the town of Milford became famous for the "pink" variety of this stone, prized as a building material. According to local legend, the granite was "discovered" in the early 1870s by two brothers, James and William Sherman at Rocky Woods in Milford.[3]At its peak, over 1,000 men labored in dozens of quarries in Milford and nearbyHopkinton. A sample of Milford Pink is on display at theSmithsonian Institution.[4]
Milford pink granite was quarried by theFletcher Granite Company, at their Lumber Street quarry in Hopkinton,[5] which also owned a granite quarry inMilford, New Hampshire, 50 miles to the north.
The granite is described as a light gray or light pinkish-gray to a medium, slightly pinkish or pinkish and greenish-graybiotitegranite with spots from 0.2 to 0.5 inches (5.1 to 12.7 mm) across and in some cases tapering out to 1 inch (25 mm) in length.[1] The biotite is typically in clots or short streaks. It is commonly locallygneissic.[6] The color of the stone is governed mainly by itsfeldspars, pink from thepotash and green from thesoda lime feldspar.[1]
(1923)
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