Tenements

In many ways, towns like Proctor and West Rutland especially fit the definition of a "company town".

One of the best ways this is illustrated is seen in the early 1850s, as companies built numerous tenements to house their workers close to the quarries in what became known as “Red City” because of the red paint used on all the buildings. By the 1880s, the Sheldons and Slason company alone owned 140 of these buildings.

In 1891-1892, the Vermont Marble Co. put together a facilities report in their consideration of the Sheldon Marble Co. plant for purchase after leasing it for thirty years. This report photographs and assesses all of the tenements on the property, the state they're in, and sometimes denotes if there are people occupying the space at the time.

The types of size of housing in this report varies greatly, with some large buildings housing multiple families, some single or double family dwellings, and some some buildings that had been extended or repurposed as management and needs changed over time.