Editor’s note: The author of this article is a docent at the museum.
The Colorado Yule Marble Company’s mill once ran for 1,400 feet along the Crystal River. At the time, it was the largest marble mill in the world, according to published accounts. Today, the ceiling and walls are long gone and Mother Nature has reclaimed much of the site with spruce, aspen and other growth. The most prominent remaining features are several 20-foot marble piers that held one of the mill’s seven overhead cranes.
In the Colorado Yule Marble Company’s glory years, 1905 to 1915, the mill bustled with hundreds of workers, many from European countries including Italy. After the Colorado Yule Marble Company landed the contract to provide columns for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1913, the mill operated around the clock. The Colorado Yule Marble Company delivered on its contract ahead of schedule in 1915, according to published accounts, and the memorial was dedicated in 1922. In attendance was Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln.
The year 1915 was the high-water mark for the Colorado Yule Marble Company. In 1916, the company defaulted on bonds it issued to finance its operations. Infrastructure for the young company included the mill, an electric trolley from the quarry down to the mill, a power plant, railroad from Platica to Marble and more. The company’s assets were auctioned off in 1917. Another company then took over the quarry. Mill operations started again in the early 1920s, but production was far lower than during the peak years.
In the early 1930s, a block of marble from the quarry was used for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. The late Elmer Bair, who later lived in Carbondale, was a motorman on the trolley that brought down the block. It took three days to haul the block 4 miles to the mill because it was so heavy and the trolley had to be driven slowly.
The quarry closed again in 1941 and reopened under new ownership in 1991. Four companies have operated the quarry since. Today’s owner, the multinational RED Graniti, sends the blocks of marble to Delta to be processed and shipped around the world.
As for the Town of Marble itself, about 100 people lived there pre-1905. It became a boom town with the arrival of the Colorado Yule Marble Company, reaching a population of 1,200 by the time the 1910 census rolled around. By 1918, the population had plunged to 100. Today, the population within town limits is about 100.
The Marble Historical Society will give guided tours of the historic mill site every Saturday in July beginning at 9am.
The Sopris Sun caught up with tour-guide Kimberley Perrin via email for a little Q&A. Some answers have been edited for length.
Sopris Sun: Why is the Marble Historical Society giving these tours?
Perrin: The reason we decided to develop this tour is because so many people don’t have any idea what went on here. Why is there so much marble laying around … the hardships people here faced … and the amount of marble that came from here that was used all over the United States and in other countries. A tour provides a personal experience that you don’t get by walking through the mill by yourself. I’ve given tours to local school classes and the kids are amazing. They love it! And so will you.
Q: How long does the tour last?
A: About an hour, and it’s limited to approximately 20 people. After a quick tour of the museum, we’ll head to the tour site [which is about three blocks away]. After the mill site tour, people are invited to follow me up to the quarry’s visitor parking lot. You can see how the blocks are quarried and I’ll explain the operation.
Note: Perrin worked for RED Graniti, which owns the quarry, for 12 years. Among her duties were assigning quality and measuring blocks.
Q: Describe the mill tour.
A: Pictures in books, including one by Colorado Yule Marble Company photographer Henry Johnson, will be shown so that people can see the full magnitude of the mill and the people who worked in it. Questions are encouraged.
Q: What about the area where the marble drums for the Lincoln Memorial columns were made?
A: Pictures are worth a thousand words but standing in that location is indescribable.
Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for seniors. Kids under 12 are free. The museum is located at 412 W. Main. For details, call 970-963-9815.