Rollstone Boulder

The Rollstone Boulder is a ten-foot-tall, 110-ton porphyritic granite glacial erratic located on a traffic island in downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The boulder was exploded at its original location at the summit of Rollstone Hill and then reassembled near Fitchburg's Upper Common in 1929 from the pieces.

During the Ice Age, a glacier deposited a 45-foot diameter rock weighing "at least one hundred tons" on the summit of Rollstone Hill. Over time this boulder became a landmark where people would hike to and picnic. The elements began wearing away at the boulder, and by 1899 large cracks had appeared in it. These cracks were filled with cement, and an iron band circling the stone was added by Thomas Archibald of Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Quarrying began on Rollstone Hill and throughout the 19th century the granite from here was used throughout Fitchburg and the eastern United States. The granite was used in the construction of walls, columns, and bridges including ones across the Nashua River and five across the Hudson River including the George Washington Bridge. By the late 1800s concerns began to be raised that this quarrying was encroaching upon the landmark boulder. At the Fitchburg Historical Society meeting on May 18, 1896 Charles Fosdick brought up this encroachment and his concerns about it. A committee was formed to speak with the owners of the quarries to see if the boulder could be preserved. Nothing came from this and another committee was appointed on April 15, 1901 to see if it was possible to save the stone. They reported over a year later, on May 19, 1902, that the boulder would be moved and not destroyed at no cost to the historical society. A vote was taken to approve the action, but the boulder was not moved until it was in immediate danger on September 2, 1929.

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