Granite Monsters Ms Dreadful and I headed down to Conanicut Island to inspect the shore where the schooner H F Payton sank in 1859. It had been carrying 140 cut granite stones with unique Fleur-d-Lis design carved into them. Some thought the design resembled a squid, and referred to them as the granite monsters. The H F Payton had been headed for Washington D.C. and the stones were thought to be intended to be used for a mausoleum.

The 1938 hurricane hurled some of the granite monsters up on the shore, and in the past you could find a few at low tide. We were trying to locate what remains of them. Our gaol was to try to confirm the location of these blocks. Once we’ve accomplished that we’ll then start working on acquiring an OpenRov. With the ROV we hope to find where the rest of the blocks and the other cargo of the H F Payton now rests below the waves.

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