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A tour of the Vermont Marble Museum October 2005 The world's largest marble exhibit On October 13th members of the ACS Green Mountain Section and friends were given a tour of the Vermont Marble Museum in Proctor. Robert Pye, Director of the Exhibit, took us round the extensive displays and explained the geology and history (ancient and more modern) of marble in Vermont. Many millions of years ago Vermont lay at the equator under a vast tropical ocean. Over many ages, coral and the shells of sea creatures were deposited on the ocean floor, which was then subducted into heat and pressure closer to the center of the earth. The continents slowly moved, taking Vermont from the tropics to New England! By now the ocean floor had become marble. Wonderful patterns, and even fossils, tell of its history (the amount of patterning is a function of the heat and pressure experienced by a particular piece of marble - as Robert explained less patterned pieces were "cooked longer and hotter") In relatively recent history (the history of the USA) the marble works at were one of the early success stories for Vermont, and indeed for the whole country. The many historic photos at the exhibit showed how huge slabs of marble were extracted from the ground using fairly simple tools, and much human labor. As Americans started to create major buildings and monuments to signify their pride in their new nation Vermont marble was in great demand. When you walk though the center of Washington DC, and other major cities around the country, you are surrounded by pieces of our state! The works were also a major driver for immigration to Vermont. Employees of the Vermont Marble works were stationed at Ellis Island to intercept any new arrivals . Those that had experience working marble were fed and housed and then sent to Proctor. We wondered about the experience of these, mostly Italian, immigrants transplanted to a country that was so different to their home (especially in the winter). Robert commented that many people visit the Marble Works to find out about their ancestors who worked here - families from accross the continent started out here. On some occasions thay can even identify faces from the old photographs. The exhibit includes a huge range of marble samples from all over the world, it also features art works created by the exhibits resident artist. But, the part of the exhibit that was most fascinating to us (as chemists) was the impressive fluorescence and phosphorescent minerals collection (many collected by Robert himself).  Robert Pye describes one of the many marble art pieces at the exhibit  The entrance to the exhibit. It didn't look like this when we arrived - it was raining!  ACS Green Mountain Local Section members and friends pose in front of an example of local marble. The exhibit includes a wonderful selection of marble samples from all over the world including many from our state. Following the tour we all enjoyed an excellent buffet dinner and a Snow Farm Winery tasting  Retun to the ACS Green Mountain Local Section 2005 Report ACS Green Mountain Local Section Home Page |