New Germany Quarries

Historical quarries in the New Germany area, Lunenburg County, provided aggregate for the building of railroads and bridges.

According to William Parks’ 1914 report, “Report on the Building and Ornamental Stones of Canada,” the J. J. Meisener quarry was about four miles north of New Germany, in what is now called Meisener’s Section, close to the Central railway. Several areas were worked to only shallow depths and its stone was used to help built the railway and the Caledonia and LaHave railway bridges.

Elias Wentzel’s quarry, about a mile west of the Meisener quarry, was known as the Cliff. It also provided stone for the railway, bridges and foundations.

A third quarry on the land of C. O. Foss was about a mile south of the Meisener quarry.

Today, aggregate is the most-mined material in the world because it is used in virtually all infrastructure, including homes, roads, schools and hospitals. Aggregate makes up about 80% of concrete and 94% of asphalt.

Building one kilometre of highway takes about 18,000 tons of aggregate - enough rock to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools! Nova Scotia needs 10-15 million tonnes of new aggregate each year to build and maintain our infrastructure.

1914 map from “Report on the Building and Ornamental Stones of Canada.

Highway 103 near Tantallon.