Quarryman not returning

One of Main Street’s most well known residents has been missing for years and it doesn’t appear he will be returning anytime soon.
Village clerk Rick Roberts said it’s highly unlikely that the Quarry Man will be returning to his perch on Main Street.
Roberts said the cost of returning the Slate Man to town is prohibitive.
“We received an estimate and it was going to cost $12,500. We said thanks, but no thanks,” Roberts said.
For several years, the Quarry Man was Granville’s most recognizable resident. At nearly 10 feet tall, weighing at least several hundred pounds and possessing the flexibility, of well, a wooden sculpture, it was hard to miss the Quarry Man as he took his daily (and nightly) vigil in Lions Lane Park.
But a couple of years ago, officials discovered that an infestation of insects had infected the base of the wooden sculpture. Village officials decided to have the base repaired and but in order to do that the Quarry Man needed to be temporarily removed. It was during the removal, that it was discovered that insect infestation was not limited to the base.
“When they lifted it up, it just fell apart,” Roberts said.
Like Humpty Dumpty, the sculpture was so badly damaged, it “couldn’t be put together again.”
Village officials decided to look into the possibility of having the Quarry Man rebuilt from scratch and went so far as to acquire the necessary lumber from Calvin Bourn. But the artist who had built the original was unresponsive to the village’s overtures.
The village turned to another artist, who drew up sketches of a new Quarry Man, but at more than $12,000, the village couldn’t afford to carry through with the plans.
“We were looking to spend $3,000 or $4,000,” Roberts said.
He said the village simply doesn’t have the money to pay more than $12,000 to have the sculpture rebuilt so the plan has since been put on the back burner. In the absence of a donor, Roberts said he doesn’t foresee a scenario in which the village can afford to have a new sculpture built.
“$10,000 is 1 percent of our total budget. There’s just no room to do it in light of all other expenses,” Roberts added.