The Vermont Marble Museum or Vermont Marble Exhibit is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

commemorating the contributions of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

and the Vermont Marble Company, located in

Proctor, Vermont Proctor is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,763 at the 2020 census. Proctor is home to the Vermont Marble Museum and Wilson Castle. History In the early 19th century, small high-quality marble deposits w ...

, United States. The museum is located in a wing of one of the former Vermont Marble Company buildings.

Vermont Marble Company

The Vermont Marble Company was founded in 1880 by businessman and politician

Redfield Proctor Redfield Proctor (June 1, 1831March 4, 1908) was a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as the 37th governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880, as Secretary of War from 1889 to 1891, and as a United States Senator for Vermont from 18 ...

, who served as the company's first president. Marble was

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

from several locations in the town of Proctor, then called Sutherland Falls, and the surrounding communities of

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, West Rutland and Danby. As railroads arrived in Rutland and Proctor, the Vermont Marble company became one of the largest producers of marble in the world. The company provided marble for the construction of such notable icons as the

USS Arizona Memorial The USS ''Arizona'' Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. The ...

, the

West Virginia State Capitol The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the List of Governors of West Virginia, Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, We ...

, the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...

, the

United States Supreme Court Building The Supreme Court Building houses the Supreme Court of the United States. Also referred to as "The Marble Palace," the building serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of th ...

, the

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

to name a few. The

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...

was also created there. The surrounding town was named after Redfield Proctor and became a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

. The buildings and quarries of the Vermont Marble Company are now owned by OMYA, a supplier of industrial minerals.

Exhibit

The exhibit offers self-guided tours focusing on the company's history, the geology of marble and other local stones, and the uses of marble in art, architecture, and industry. A short video narrates the history of the Vermont Marble Company, and historical photographs of VMC workers quarrying, carving, and shipping Vermont marble are displayed throughout the exhibit. Several geologic exhibits, including an artificial cave and a preserved ''

triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...

'' skeleton are also on display. A display contains large slabs of decorative stone, including the local Danby white and deep green verde antique. This display also includes local

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

s and imported marbles. Numerous sculptures, including busts of nearly all the

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

, and other works are scattered throughout the museum. An artists' studio allows visitors to watch carving demonstrations and ask questions of local

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s. The architectural uses of marble are displayed in a small chapel and a modern kitchen and bathroom surfaced in stone. Visitors may also get a balcony view of one of the large 19th-century warehouses of the Vermont Marble Company, now used by OMYA. A nearby

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

(now defunct), located about a quarter mile from the museum itself, has recently been added to the exhibit. The grounds around the exhibit hold large chunks of quarried, unfinished marble. The Preservation Trust of Vermont acquired the Vermont Marble Company in 2014. Also, the town of Proctor has many sidewalks made of marble, and the high school and Catholic church are both faced in local stone. Most of the buildings of the former Vermont Marble Company still stand, and many are constructed of Vermont marble.

References

Website

Vermont Marble Museum
{{authority control Museums in Rutland County, Vermont Mining museums in Vermont Industry museums in Vermont Natural history museums in Vermont Buildings and structures in Proctor, Vermont Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in the United States Art museums and galleries in Vermont Marble Monumental masonry companies