On Newport’s historic Thames Street, the sound of hammer meeting chisel has been part of the streetscape for more than 300 years. Founded in 1705, the John Stevens Shop is believed to be one of the oldest continuously operating businesses in the United States, starting with hand-carved gravestones and growing into a nationally recognized lettering studio.
The shop’s work can be found far beyond Newport, on memorials, monuments, and public buildings across the country. Since 1927, it has been operated by the Benson family, now four generations deep. Today, owner Nicolas Benson and his son Henry carry on the tradition with the same steady focus on patience, precision, and craftsmanship.
That craft is rooted in a clear, hands-on process. Each job begins with a drawing. From there, the letters are carefully transferred onto stone, then carved by hand. In an era when so much design and fabrication has moved to screens and automated equipment, the shop has stayed intentionally small, keeping the emphasis on quality over speed.
For mason contractors, stories like this are a reminder that masonry is not only about walls and envelopes. It is also about the details that give a project its identity, from a monument inscription to lettering on a civic building. Work that relies on hand carving demands time, care, and clear planning from the earliest drawings through the finished stone.
Read the full, original article from WCVB here.