Vermont Marble Museum, Vermont

A large museum of the local marble industry, located in the former showroom and warehouse of the Vermont Marble Company. In the early 1900s, when marble was still a major building material, the Vermont Marble Company, headquartered here in Proctor, dominated the trade, and was one of the largest companies in the nation. Its legacy can be found in scenic abandoned and flooded quarries, mostly around the central southern part of the state, and in former production sites like this. The museum, said to be the largest marble exhibit in the world, rambles in the rustic shed building, through the former showrooms for the marble company, where kitchens, bathrooms, and other displays made as far back as the 1930s provide a refreshingly authentic view of the industry. Outside, barely visible, the Sutherland Falls quarries plunge diagonally a couple of hundred feet downward, underneath the building, flooded for eternity. Only a few marble quarries are still active in the state, and are operated by other companies. Vermont Marble Company was bought by OMYA, which has sold off many of the company's assets, but still is active in the state.