 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Granite |
| Founded | 1887 in Woodbury, Vermont, US |
| Headquarters | Hardwick, Vermont, US |
Area served | United States |
Key people | George H. Bickford |
| Products | architectural granite; mausoleums, monuments |
| Total equity | US$ 1,000,000 (1917) |
Number of employees | 1,400 (1914) |
The Woodbury Granite Company (WGC) was a producer of rough and finished granite products. Incorporated in 1887, purchased and significantly reorganized in 1896, and expanded by merger in 1902 and thereafter, the company operated quarries principally in Woodbury, Vermont, but its headquarters and stone-finishing facilities were located in nearby Hardwick. Beginning as a quarrier and seller of rough stone, the company expanded into the business of finishing cut stone and grew from there. It made its name as a supplier of architectural (structural) granite, and grew to become the United States' largest producer, supplying the stone for many notable buildings, including several state capitols, numerous post offices, and many office buildings.
With the growing national economy and civic and community pride spurring the construction of many granite public buildings, the company flourished in the years around 1910. Changes in architectural styles and in building techniques during the following years greatly harmed the market for architectural granite, and the company's coarser-grained stone could not compete with competitors' finer-grained granite for carving monuments and gravestones, nor could the company compete with the established actors in that market. The company went into decline, which was exacerbated by the Great Depression, and ceased operations in 1935.