Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-09-07
RUTLAND HERALD.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 81, 1885.
Rutland IIarbie--No. z.

huge derricks used TO hoist the blocks
OF marble from their ancient beds being
one Of the noticeable features. Large
piles OF good marble, and immense en-
bankments of waste are also discover
able. There Is an immense quantity of
marble blocks OF an inferior quality,
which are nevertheless well suited TO
various kinds of building purposes, The
large culverts and drains which have
been in the process of construction for
some months through some of the
streets of Rutland under the supervis-
ion of III. r. Dyer, Esq, have been built
almost entirely of Rutland marble. The
waste blocks lie near the branch rail
road that runs along the quarries; they
can be had for transporting, or for a
small sum in addition, and constitute
the cheapest and best material that can
be obtained
The land in which the marble is found
was purchased of Deacon Asa Hale
about the year 1914, by William Denni-
son and Medad Sheldon, father of the
present Sheldons, for the sake of the
marble. There were about twenty-three
acres Of land, which was afterwards
sold to son of the celebrated colored
preacher, Lemuel Haynes, with reser-.
walton of the right to quarry marble.
This land came into the hands of DR., L.
Sheldon about the year 1912, who also
bought the marble of the former owners.
1t was sold for nominal sum-" for
there were no marble mills, and nobody
had any experience in quarrying or
splitting.
Subsequently DR.. L. Sheldon sold one
half of the land to Mr.. w. F. Barnes,
and the other half to the Porters, which
last includes the property Of the present
Rutland Marble Company.
Messrs. Ripley and Barnes commenced
in 1S43, and in 1916 Messrs. David Nor
gan, Lorenzo Sheldon and Francis sla-
son bought 1000 feet 'front.' where their
principal quarry is now situated, and
sold $50 feet to Adams and Allen. Sub
seeuently the Messrs. Sheldons and Sla-
son purchased 400 feet farther north,
and they are at present owners Of about
1850 feet of front.
Mr.. Barnes first commenced alone in
1889. He employed three or four hands,
but being without experience in opening
hedges, he worked for three years with
out obtaining any sound marble, after
which he obtained few blocks that
We're good. His first purchase OF a re
serve or right to quarry was one-half
of reserve of fifteen acres. for which
he paid twenty-six dollars. He then
bought the sol Of the same half, for
which he paid three hundred and ten
dollars. Afterwards he bought the
other half of the fifteen acres and paid
three thousand dollars. After some 9TH
er purchases and sales, and after exten-
sive quarrying he finally sold out his
entire interest to the Rutland Marble
Company Tor one hundred and twenty
five thousand dollars.
Mr., Barnes put up the first derrick
that was ever erected at the quarries.
All the improvements for cutting out
marble, with the important exception of
the steam cutter, ! " ' s+S>N nv e"l,
ter, were introduced under MI Barnes
administration. Neither he nor any one
else in the vicinity had ever seen marble
uuarried. and the only method Of OBJ
tanning block was to blast all around
1t, which of course was very Wasteiul
operation. AS the falling apple first led
the thoughtful Newton to the discovery
of the laws of gravity, 50 while Mr..
Barnes was "a thinking, a thinking,
the accidental discovery of three seams
on as many sides Of certain mass Of
marble led him to conceive the idea of
cutting channel down on the fourth
side, and thus take out a regular block
Of sound marble. .H
He therefore took long "churn drill,
made a cut or channel across from one
seam to the other and thus extricated
his block. From that time he determin-
ed to abandon the ruinous practice OF
blasting, and to drill deep grooves
around the blocks to be taken out. "Peo'
Pile at first, said Mr.. Barnes, laughed
at this slow process, accomplishing per
haps not more than a foot day, but
after the lapse of some days or weeks
they saw that got something for my
labor, and it was not long before all WHIT
were engaged in the business adopted
the same method. In the language o
Prof. Hager, at is an interesting seen
to behold two hundred quarrymen rang
ed in rows, in those deep quarries, eacl
with his long sharp drill steadily cut
ting deeper and longer those groove
that are destined to sunder the fetter
that bind those valuable blocks to thei
parent bed. The musical ring of tn
uuarrymen's drill that reverberates t
the ear from the deep vaulted quarry,
pleasing to the spectator, as he stand