For over a century, some of the finest granite on the North American continent was quarried in this area. The village of Granite was first named Waltersville after the Walters/Blunt family, who founded the local quarrying industry circa 1820. The two largest quarries were Waltersville and Fox Rock, and these and smaller quarries employed hundreds of stonecutters. One of the most important uses of the stone was for America’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, including the famous Thomas Viaduct, a vital link between Baltimore and Washington. The quality of this granite led to its use in such buildings as the Library of Congress, the inner walls of the Washington Monument, the Old patent Office, and the Baltimore Custom House. Local granite was also chosen for foundations, gateposts, garden walls, cemetery monuments, churches, and schools. Many homes still seen nearby housed the hardy workmen and their families, forming a community proudly named for its most famous natural resource. Granite was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.