Quarryman's Museum
MID HUDSON
Quarryman's Museum
50 Fite Road
Saugerties, NY 12477
Hours: Memorial Day Weekend through Columbus Day Weekend
12 noon - 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, holiday Mondays
(May be closed for weddings, call ahead to make sure)
Admission: $10 per adult, $7 students and seniors, $3 school age children, Children under 6 free with an adult.
Phone: (845) 246-3400
Historical Description:
"In the early seventies Fite, a sculptor of wood and stone who spend 37 years turning his land into the architectural masterpiece known as Opus 40, took the time to build a museum to house his collection of quarryman's tools and artifacts -- a fascinating tour through the history of the area and the skills of its workingmen."
The Site:
Represented are not only quarrying equipment but also folk tools, most of them hand-forged, that the quarryman used every day: tools for farming, blacksmithing, caprentry and the like. Furnishings from a quarryman's household are also shown here -- stove, cupboard, even a game of handmade dominoes.
In creating Opus 40, Fite worked with traditional quarryman's tools: hammers, chisels and drills, and a huge hand-powered boom with a flat wooden tray for moving rocks.
He worked alone, using these hand tools, for most of 40 years, and his museum honors the tools and them upon whose work he created Opus 40.
Directions:
From the NYS Thruway at Saugerties exit 20 get on Route 212 west towards Woodstock. From the light at the Hess gas station, go 1.6 miles to a fork in the road. Turn LEFT onto Fishcreek Road. Go 2.4 miles to a stop sign. Turn RIGHT onto Highwoods Road. Go 0.5 miles. Turn RIGHT onto Fite Road. Go 0.2 miles to the entrance of OPUS 40.
From Woodstock drive on Route 212 east towards Saugerties. At the intersection of Route 212 and Glasco Turnpike you will see an OPUS 40 sign. Turn RIGHT onto Glasco Turnpike. Go 2.1 miles to the fork in the road. Turn LEFT onto Highwoods Road. Go 0.1 mile. Turn LEFT onto Fite Road. Go 0.2 miles to the entrance of OPUS 40.
From Kingston - 9W North near Adam’s Go approximately 4.5 miles on 9W north to a LEFT turn onto
Glasco Turnpike also known as County Route 32. You will see a sign on 9W for OPUS 40 and a sign for Mt. Marion marking this turn onto Glasco Turnpike. Go 1 mile to the stop light. Go STRAIGHT. Go 2.7 miles to the fork in the road. Turn RIGHT onto Highwoods Road. Go 0.1 mile. Turn LEFT onto Fite Road.
Go 0.2 miles to the entrance of OPUS 40.
