First Marble Quarry -- Oldest Quarry in U.S., 1785

First Marble Quarry -- Oldest Quarry in U.S., 1785 is a Vermont historical marker in Dorset, Bennington County.

Bennington County · U.S. Route 30 at Kelly Road, Dorset

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Isaac Underhill and Reuben Bloomer opened the first marble quarry here in 1785. Dozens of quarries on the slopes of Dorset Mountain provided small blocks for hearths, lintels, doorsills, and headstones. Beginning in 1839, large blocks were used in the construction of notable buildings such as the Erie Custom House, New York Public Library, Montreal Museum of Fine Art, and Harvard Medical School. At first transported by horse-drawn carriage and the canal system, railroad spurs connecting quarries to nearby marble mills were built in the 1860s. Demand for marble decreased after 1912 and Dorset quarries ceased operations about 1920. This quarry has been a popular swimming hole since 1922.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

First Marble Quarry -- Oldest Quarry in U.S., 1785

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