in town. The earliest stone cutting was unorganized and generally unregulated until around 1810. In 1810, Solomon Sherman who was a man of “high reputation” commenced his business at the natural bridge site. His operation was based on home trade. Operations were continued and taken over by his heir, Manson Sherman. It was in 1830 that Elijah Pike decided to start his own operation, opening up a shop on Eagle Street. In 1830, Elijah Pike opened up his shop on the main strip of town. As the quality and quantity of the marble became known, a wider market opened up and Pike saw a chance to commence his operation with capital from one Dr. E.S. Hawkes. The men pooled their resources in improving the grounds, laying out a road, and putting up the mills. All of this was at a cost of 1,800 dollars. In 1837, Mr. Blackinton, a local man, bought in with Mr. Pike and the operation continued until it was sold to W.M. McAuley for 7,000 dollars in 1838. From this point on, it was owned by a joint stock company and the annual product (marble, lime, etc.) was estimated at 56,000, which was quite a nice amount of cash. Preservation efforts started early when in 1835 two gentleman known as Messrs. Dwight and Denny bought the marble ledge for 150 dollars for the purposes of preserving the area. Five acres of surrounding land was purchased by one John Page for 217 dollars, whom entered into a perpetual lease from the town, who then owned thirty acres of land. References Further reading Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Heart of Hawthorne's Journals. Ed. Newton Arvin. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1967. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The American Notebooks. Ed. Claude M. Simpson. Centenary ed. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State UP, 1972. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Centenary Edition of the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Letters, 1813–1843. Ed. Thomas Woodson, L. Neal Smith, and Norman Holmes Pearson. Vol. 15. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State UP, 1984. Connerton, Dan. "Nathaniel Hawthorne: The North Adams years." The Berkshire Sampler. 14 Sept. 1980: 7. Burke, Michael E. "Visit by Hawthorne, an overlooked moment in city's history." The North Adams Transcript. 19 Nov. 1981: 5. Perry, Bliss. "Hawthorne at North Adams." The Amateur Spirit. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1904. 119–39. History of North Adams. Morris. Pp. 29–30,66-67, Originally found in North Adams Transcript. Copied from Original in April 1945.