Vermont Marble Museum facts for kids
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| Location | 52 Main Street Proctor, Vermont, United States |
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| Type | Art, industry museum |
The Vermont Marble Museum is a cool place in Proctor, Vermont, United States. It's all about the amazing story of Vermont marble and the company that made it famous, the Vermont Marble Company. This museum is inside one of the old buildings where the company used to work.
Contents
The Vermont Marble Company Story
The Vermont Marble Company started way back in 1880. A smart businessman and politician named Redfield Proctor created it. He was also the company's first leader.
Marble was dug up from the ground in many places nearby. These included the town of Proctor (which used to be called Sutherland Falls) and other towns like Rutland, West Rutland, and Danby.
When railroads came to the area, it became much easier to move the heavy marble. This helped the Vermont Marble Company grow super big! It became one of the largest marble makers in the whole world.
Famous Buildings Made with Vermont Marble
Vermont marble was used to build many important and famous places. Imagine these incredible structures:
- The USS Arizona Memorial
- The West Virginia State Capitol building
- The Oregon State Capitol building
- The United States Supreme Court Building
- Parts of the Arlington National Cemetery
- Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The famous Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was also created using marble from this company.
The town of Proctor was even named after Redfield Proctor. It became a "company town," meaning many people who lived there worked for the marble company. Today, the old buildings and quarries of the Vermont Marble Company are owned by a company called OMYA.
What You'll See at the Museum
The museum lets you explore on your own! You can learn all about the company's past and how marble forms. You'll also see how marble is used in art, buildings, and other industries.
There's a short video that tells the history of the Vermont Marble Company. You can also see old photos of workers digging, carving, and shipping marble.
Cool Exhibits to Explore
The museum has some really neat displays about geology, which is the study of rocks and the Earth.
- You can walk through an artificial cave!
- There's even a preserved skeleton of a triceratops, a type of dinosaur!
You'll see huge, beautiful slabs of different kinds of stone. This includes local white marble from Danby and deep green "verde antique" stone. There are also local granites and marbles brought in from other countries.
Art and Architecture
The museum is full of amazing sculptures. You'll find:
- Marble statues (called busts) of almost all the U.S. presidents.
- A carving of The Last Supper.
- Many other beautiful artworks.
You can even watch local sculptors at work in an artists' studio. They can show you how they carve marble and answer your questions.
To show how marble is used in buildings, there's a small chapel and a modern kitchen and bathroom. Both are covered in stone! You can also look down from a balcony into one of the huge old warehouses of the Vermont Marble Company. This warehouse is now used by OMYA.
Outside the Museum
A short walk from the museum, you can visit an old marble quarry (where they used to dig for marble). It's not used anymore, but it's now part of the exhibit. Outside the museum, you'll see big pieces of unfinished marble that were dug from the ground.
The town of Proctor itself is a cool place to see marble everywhere! Many sidewalks are made of marble. The high school and the Catholic church in town are also built with local stone. Most of the old Vermont Marble Company buildings are still standing, and many are made of Vermont marble too.
Find Out More
- Vermont Marble Museum Website
