As a Gorham quarry pursues expansion, neighbors push back
An aerial photo of the Shaw Brothers' Brickyard Quarry in Gorham. (Courtesy of Shaw Brothers Construction).
GORHAM — Danny Shaw drove up the dirt road to the Hamblen family farmhouse on Hamblen Drive in the summer of 2023 and knocked on the front door. He was there to see Charlie Hamblen.
Shaw Brothers Construction had recently purchased 50 acres between its Brickyard Quarry on Mosher Road and the residential Queen Street with the intention of expanding the quarry. Hamblen’s family has owned 148 forested acres surrounding the quarry since the late 1800s, and Shaw was interested in purchasing 50 more for further growth.
Hamblen declined. Bothered by the idea of the quarry expanding, he began asking neighbors how it was impacting their daily lives. He called what he heard “unbelievable.”
Stories of dust settling on neighbors’ properties and blowing into their windows, loud noises from machinery, nauseating asphalt smells and shaking home foundations led Charlie and his daughter, Hanna Hamblen, to form a group to oppose the quarry expansion and tighten quarry regulations in Gorham. Charlie ran for and was elected to the Town Council in November 2025 to gain influence over the quarry’s operations and other developments in town.
The Hamblens and their allies say that the quarry poses dangers to local health and diminishes quality of life, and that Gorham’s town ordinances are outdated and inadequate to protect residents.
Danny Shaw, who co-owns Shaw Brothers Construction, said the quarry does not cause significant harm. His employees address issues with neighbors promptly, he said, and the Hamblens have frightened residents for no reason, propelling a futile “not-in-my-backyard” mentality.
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The planning board will vote Monday night on sending a proposal to change 14 acres of that 50-acre plot from residential to industrial back to the Town Council for final approval. If the Town Council approves, Shaw Brothers will seek approval to expand the quarry by 6.33 acres, a significant reduction from its original plans to expand by 26 acres.
They plan to build manufactured, affordable housing on the remainder of the land.
Meanwhile, the Town Council in March approved Charlie Hamblen’s request to hire a consultant to compare Gorham’s quarry ordinances to at least 10 surrounding municipalities and recommend changes. The only consulting firm who has applied to do the work, Pinchin, has estimated a price of $40,000-$50,000, and is doing a similar review in Alfred. Residents in that town are pushing back against a quarry proposed by Gorham Sand and Gravel.
Charlie Hamblen has urged his fellow councilors and the planning board to delay or halt the expansion as they wait for the consultant to produce its findings. If the board does not send the item back to the Town Council, it will send it to a subcommittee for further review.
Brickyard Quarry is one of six quarries and 13 gravel pits operated by Shaw Brothers, a business founded in Gorham almost 50 years ago. It also contains a crushing facility and an asphalt plant. Shaw said that the current, roughly 40-acre, quarry will yield material for another 50 years, and the 6.3-acre expansion would add another decade. When the quarry resources run out, the company will continue to crush at the site, hauling in stone from its other pits.
The path to expanding the quarry has wound through a number of obstacles since Shaw’s initial conversation with Hamblen three years ago. Their proposals for a contract zone and zoning changes have been tossed among the Town Council, ordinance committee and planning board and challenged by lawyers representing members of Hamblen’s group.
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A public records request revealed about 25 written complaints related to the quarry over the past 2 1/2 years from 12 different Gorham residents, most with addresses on neighboring Queen Street and Lily Lane. A handful of residents have called the town and spoken at public meetings about their experiences. Hanna and Charlie Hamblen said that their group, called the Gorham Community Alliance, has fluctuated between five and 30 active members.
Hanna Hamblen works in environmental insurance. She said research shows that visible and imperceptible dust from quarries can enter people’s lungs and bloodstream, causing premature lung disease and respiratory issues.
“It’s sort of an unknown, which is very scary when you’re talking about your health,” Hanna said.
Members of the group say the town’s response to their concerns has been insufficient, and blame officials for deferring their complaints to code enforcement and Shaw Brothers without working to tighten ordinances sooner. The council rejected a motion to consider bolstering ordinances in 2024 because the item was too vague. Some neighbors say the town favors the interests of businesses, such as Shaw Brothers, over individual residents.
Various town officials and councilors have organized meetings with the Hamblens, other neighbors and Danny Shaw and Shaw Brothers employees over the years to hear concerns, and some have visited the quarry to observe its operations.
A significant number of Gorham residents attended a Town Council meeting to oppose the Brickyard Quarry expansion in summer 2025. (Robert Lowell/File)
Shaw disputes that the quarry’s dust poses any danger to the public.
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“Drive around the state of Maine and try to find (a quarry) cleaner than this,” Shaw said. “You won’t find it.”
David Madore, deputy commissioner and communications director at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said that the DEP has received six complaints about the Brickyard Quarry since 2024.
Its representatives have spoken with Shaw Brothers representatives, visited the quarry on multiple occasions and have not documented violations of its air license, according to DEP’s records of those complaints. The most recent comprehensive air inspection of the facility was in 2023.
Shaw said his company is a “good neighbor,” citing its recent planting of 400 pine trees around the quarry, installing solar panels to reduce the facility’s energy use and providing outdoor recreational opportunities to residents by opening Shaw Cherry Hill Farm and Shaw Park.
Lee Pratt, general manager at Shaw Brothers Construction, said he drives from the facility to Queen Street after every blast and films to document a lack of dust in the air.
Shaw said the bottom line is that quarries are necessary, their facility operates within regulations, and that they have not heard of the same issues in the other towns where they operate quarries.
“To say we’re going to be able to live life without quarries is absolutely impossible,” Shaw said. “We’re not saying quarries aren’t dusty. We don’t say that. We are not saying you can’t feel the blast. It’s got to be done someplace.”
While Shaw said he is sure that the consulting firm Pinchin will find that Gorham’s ordinances are sound, the Hamblens and other residents said they hope the third-party review will prove otherwise.
“My hope would be that it’s made clear that, if nothing else, the ordinances are not tight enough,” Hanna Hamblen said. “I think that will go a long way in hopefully the town updating the ordinances. The next step is enforcement.”
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Tagged: construction, environment, quarry
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
