A city of stone
Rutland earned its nickname, the 'Marble City', honestly. In the 19th century the valley’s quarries — in Proctor, West Rutland and Danby — produced marble that was shipped across the country to build monuments, banks and courthouses, and the wealth transformed Rutland into one of Vermont’s largest cities.
The Vermont Marble Museum
In Proctor, the Vermont Marble Museum tells the whole story — the geology, the immigrant carvers, a hall of presidential bas-reliefs and a resident sculptor at work. It is one of the more surprising museums in the state.
Danby & Wilson Castle
South in Danby sits the world’s largest underground marble quarry, whose stone graced the Jefferson Memorial and the New York Public Library. Near Proctor, the eccentric 19th-century Wilson Castle — marble, brick and turrets — is open for tours.
Downtown Rutland
The marble boom left Rutland a handsome downtown, anchored by the restored 1913 Paramount Theatre and the Chaffee Art Center in a grand 1890s mansion — worth a wander between mountain and lake.
Good to know
What is the Vermont Marble Museum?+
A Proctor museum on the region’s marble industry, with a hall of presidents and a working sculptor.
Where is the big marble quarry?+
Danby, south of Rutland — the world’s largest underground marble quarry.
What’s worth seeing in downtown Rutland?+
The restored Paramount Theatre and the Chaffee Art Center, both products of the marble era.