West Rutland

Carpenter's shed in West Rutland, VT (Puckhaber 2025)

Though West Rutland makes up only a small part of the greater history of the Vermont Marble Co., the sites of quarries and mills along the primary marble deposit on the eastern side of the anticline has a complex history in and of itself.

According to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation's page on marble, the West Rutland marbles were "noted for their color patterns caused by chlorite veining".

In studying the West Rutland site as an example, we can have a glimpse into the ways in which sites of the marble industry changed rapidly and often informally over time, with facilities being constructed, being demolished, and being renovated entirely out of economic necessity.

Though the Vermont Marble Company's influence reaches across the United States and throughout western Vermont, the focus of much of the company's narrative revolves around Rutland county and the towns that once made up Rutland before West Rutland and Proctor became their own towns in 1886.

Historic Maps

See How West Rutland Has Changed

Sheldon Marble Company

A significant part of what makes up the present day West Rutland quarry site was once part of the Sheldon Marble Company, beginning with the quarrying endeavors of Sheldon and Slason in the first half of the 19th century through its lease to the Vermont Marble Co. for thirty years until it was purchased in 1891.

The report put together by the Vermont Marble Co. assessing the facilities of the property between 1891 and 1892 is incredibly useful in helping paint us a picture of what the property looked like at that time, considering how many changes have occurred between then and now.

To learn about their quarries along the West Rutland deposit, see Sheldon Quarries.

Lithograph illustrating the old Sheldons and Slason mill and Company Store, used as the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center's main building today

West Rutland Quarries

See photographs and information about each of the quarries at the West Rutland deposit at Quarries.

Historic Postcards

See historic postcards of West Rutland's quarries and mills over time located from their approximate viewpoint.

Marble Street Historic District

In 1990, West Rutland's historic business district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Marble Street Historic District" for its significance as the town's economic hub from 1885 to 1935.

Learn more about the district from its nomination form here.

Learn more about the history of Rutland from the Rutland Historical Society, including before West Rutland and Proctor became independent towns.

References

"General Condition of the Sheldon Marble Co.'s Property as leased by the Vermont Marble Co. 1892." Vermont Marble Co. Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, West Rutland, VT.

Georeferenced imagery. Google Earth. "Aerial Imagery." Color imagery, 2025. Google. 2025.

Miglorie, Catherine. Vermont’s Marble Industry. Arcadia Publishing, 2013.

Non-georeferenced imagery. Vermont Imagery. "1962 Aerial Imagery." Black and white imagery, 2019. Vermont Center for Geographic Information. 2025. https://vcgi.vermont.gov/data-release/1962-aerial-imagery-now-available-statewide-non-georeferenced.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from West Rutland, Rutland County, Vermont. Sanborn Map Company, Aug, 1910. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn08959_001/.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from West Rutland, Rutland County, Vermont. Sanborn Map Company, Jan, 1922. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn08959_002/.

State Plane. Vermont Imagery. "VT 1974-1992." Black and white imagery, 1974-1992. Vermont Open Geodata Portal. 2025. https://geodata.vermont.gov/pages/imagery?_gl=1*i137yy*_ga*NjU1NjE1MDQ4LjE3NDY5OTMwMDQ.*_ga_V9WQH77KLW*czE3NTMzNzUxODUkbzMxJGcxJHQxNzUzMzc1MjQ4JGo1OCRsMCRoMA.

State Plane. Vermont Imagery. "VT 1994-2000." Black and white imagery, 1994-2000. Vermont Open Geodata Portal. 2025. https://geodata.vermont.gov/pages/imagery?_gl=1*i137yy*_ga*NjU1NjE1MDQ4LjE3NDY5OTMwMDQ.*_ga_V9WQH77KLW*czE3NTMzNzUxODUkbzMxJGcxJHQxNzUzMzc1MjQ4JGo1OCRsMCRoMA.

Vermont Marble Company - Its Past and Future. Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Co., 1920. Proctoriana Collection. Vermont Historical Society Leahy Library, Barre, VT.

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