Bequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie, 2023.17.84, Connecticut Museum of Culture and His…

Images(3)

Galamanders on Leetes Island

Date1890-1905

MediumPhotography; nitrate negatives

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width): 2 11/16 × 4 3/8in. (6.8 × 11.1cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineBequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie

DescriptionBlack and white photographic negative, view of a galamander at the Leetes Island Quarry used to move stone used for base of the Statue of Liberty. The galamander, a wagon-like conveyance with two spoked wooden wheels attached to a frame consisting of a single large wooden beam, sits in a grassy area with the coastline in the background.

Object number2023.17.84

CopyrightPublic Domain

Inscribed(.84-.88) Typed on envelope with hand over-written corrections in black ink: “GALAMANDERS at Leete Island Quarry / 17’ 2” diameter wheels / 8” square axle 12’ between hubs / Moved Statue of Liberty stone. / The four big pieces were loaded on / WASP while she was grounded in the / mud; wood rollers on a bridge of / heavy timber, and rested on timber / crib on desk. One stone to a trip / Quarry to Bedloe’s Island. / See towbills, towing Schr. Alice / Scranton, Slp. WASP, Schr Tom Beattie / City Island – Bedlow’s 1885-’86.”

(.84-.88) Handwritten on reverse of envelope ink black ink: There was a 2-“derrick” job also / used for getting out long coping for / NY Bridges + for columns / [hand-drawn diagram of the galamander] / Wheels about 14 aft + 9 forward. Drawn by Oxen”NotesSubject Note: John Beattie's granite quarry, situated in Guilford on the Long Island Sound, was well-positioned to distribute granite via a fleet of schooners to locations in Connecticut and New York. Notably, granite from Beattie's quarry was used in the pedestal at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

The quarry operated from 1869, when Scottish immigrant Beattie purchased 400 acres of land on Leetes Island, until about 1918, when Beattie's sons closed up shop 20 years after his death. At its height, the quarry employed 700 people, many of them immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, England, Finland, Sweden, and Italy.

Subject Terms