The Mountain Times

The Vermont Marble Museum annouces it will close its doors in October

This summer will be the last for the Vermont Marble Museum located in Proctor. After 80 years in business, the electric bill to power the 100,000 sq. ft. facility are simply too much, say owners Marsha and Martin Hemm.

The Hemms experienced a huge jump in the museum's monthly electric bill after Central Vermont Public Service Corp. purchased Vermont Marble Power Division from Omya Inc. last year. The current rates, which are more in line with what neighboring towns pay for electricity, increased the Museum's monthly bill over $1000 compared to the same month the previous year.

Since it opened in the 1930's, vistors came to learn about the owners, investors, innovators and the hard working people that quarried and moved huge slabs and produced everything from Supreme Court pillars to gravestones.  Located in the original manufacturing plant, the exhibits include early photographs, samples of many products and information about the evolution of the marble industry.

The Museum will open for its final summer on Friday, May 25, and be open 7 days/week until mid-October. It's most famed exhibits will all be on display including: The Hall of Presidents, Earth Alive Geology Room and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier exhibit. Resident Sculptor Allen Dwight will also be back for this final season.

The museum is also seeking homes for some of our more important collections so they will still be available to the public. Among them are the original blueprint for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its documentation, our Hall of Presidents, Mineral and Geological collection, Fossil Collection, Stone Library, 1,000 original industrial photographs.

While the museum will be closing, the Hemms will continue their wholesale buisness online at vermontlifestyles.com. Their marble gifts will also still be available at many retail outlets throughout Vermont. The business office in Proctor will also remain open.