Marble, Colorado

{{short description|Town in Colorado, United States}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox settlement  | official_name = Town of Marble, Colorado | other_name = | native_name =  | nickname = | settlement_type = Statutory Town | motto =  | image_skyline = DSCN2642 marbleblocksinmarble 600.jpg | imagesize = 250px | image_caption = Blocks of cut marble at the historic quarry in Marble | image_map = File:Gunnison County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Marble Highlighted 0848555.svg | mapsize = 250px | map_caption = Location of Marble in Gunnison County, Colorado. | image_dot_map = | dot_mapsize = | dot_map_caption = | dot_x = | dot_y = | pushpin_map =  | pushpin_label_position =  | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize =  | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{USA}} | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Colorado}} | subdivision_type2 = County<ref name=COMun>{{cite web|url=http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html |title=Active Colorado Municipalities |publisher=State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs |access-date=September 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212060308/http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html |archive-date=December 12, 2009 }}</ref> | subdivision_name2 = Gunnison | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 =  | government_footnotes = | government_type = Statutory Town<ref name=COMun/> | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 =  | leader_name1 = | established_title =  | established_date = | established_title2 = Incorporated | established_date2 = 1899 | established_title3 =  | established_date3 =  | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_08.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 0.93  | area_land_km2 = 0.93  | area_water_km2 = 0.00 | area_total_sq_mi = 0.36 | area_land_sq_mi = 0.36 | area_water_sq_mi = 0.00  | population_as_of = 2020 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 133 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_sq_mi = auto  | timezone = Mountain (MST) | utc_offset = -7 | timezone_DST = MDT | utc_offset_DST = -6 | coordinates = {{coord|39|04|18|N|107|11|27|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}} | elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/> | elevation_ft = 8009  | postal_code_type = ZIP code<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url=http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |title=ZIP Code Lookup |format=JavaScript/HTML |publisher=United States Postal Service |access-date=November 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104123722/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |archive-date=November 4, 2010 }}</ref> | postal_code = 81623 | area_code = 970 | blank_name = FIPS code | blank_info = 08-48555 | blank1_name = GNIS feature ID | blank1_info = 2412952<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412952}}</ref> | website = {{URL|https://www.townofmarble.com/}} | footnotes = }}

The '''Town of Marble''' is a Statutory Town in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 133 at the 2020 United States census.<ref name="Census 2020">{{cite web| url=https://www.census.gov| title=Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2020 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Marble town, Colorado| publisher=United States Census Bureau| access-date=August 16, 2011}}</ref>

==History== The Town of Marble was first incorporated in 1899. Marble remains a statutory town of the State of Colorado today.

===The quarry=== The town is the location of a historic Yule Marble quarry along the mountains that began operations in the late 19th century, and from which the town draws its name. It has been used for the Tomb of the Unknowns, as well as for parts of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and civic buildings in San Francisco. It was also used for the construction of the Equitable Building, a historically important early skyscraper in New York City.

The marble of the quarry is considered to be of exceptional quality, praised as one of the purest marbles ever quarried and a rival to classical Italian and Greek marble. It is nearly pure calcite marble with minor inclusions of mica, quartz, and feldspar, and has irregularly shaped calcite grains ranging from 100 to 600 micrometers in diameter. According to physical tests of the marble, its strength is comparable to marble typically used in building construction.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McGee |first=Elaine S. |date=1999 |title=Colorado Yule Marble—Building Stone of the Lincoln Memorial |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pdf/bulletin/b2162/b2162.pdf |journal=U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin |issue=2162 |pages=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709122117/https://pubs.usgs.gov/pdf/bulletin/b2162/b2162.pdf |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |access-date=September 8, 2018 }}</ref>

The quarry has enjoyed a renaissance since its acquisition in 2004 by Polycor, a Canadian-based dimension stone company, and subsequent sale to Italian group R.E.D. Graniti S.p.A. In spite of significant transportation costs, this high-quality stone is now exported in large quantities to Europe and Asia for transformation and use throughout the world, as well as being sold into the US market.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stoneworld.com/articles/88162-a-diamond-in-the-rough-red-graniti|title = A diamond in the rough : R.E.D. Graniti}}</ref> {{clear|left}}

===Tourism=== In the late 20th century and the 21st century, Marble has become a summer tourist destination. It is also the gateway to the nearby Crystal townsite. It is the site of the Marble/marble sculpting symposium held every summer since 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marbleinst.org/ |title=MARBLE/marble Symposium |author= |date=n.d. |website= |publisher=Marble Institute of Colorado |access-date=August 15, 2022}}</ref>

Eight sites within Marble have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

* Haxby House * William D. Parry House * St. Paul's Church * Marble City State Bank building * Marble High School * Marble Jailhouse * Marble Mill Site * Marble Town Hall

==Geography== According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|0.4|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.

The community is located in a valley of the upper Crystal River along the Elk Mountains, accessible by a paved road from State Highway 133. Unlike most of Gunnison County, the town is located on the north side of Schofield Pass which is inaccessible to most cars and thus is separated geographically from the rest of Gunnison County.

==Demographics== {{US Census population | align=left |1900= 101 |1910= 782 |1920= 81 |1930= 217 |1940= 240 |1950= 8 |1960= 5 |1970= 13 |1980= 30 |1990= 64 |2000= 105 |2010= 131 |2020=133}} {{Clear}}

==Education== Marble Charter School (MCS) is a public, tuition-free charter school located in Marble. The school serves K-8 students in the Crystal River Valley.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marblecharter.gunnisonschools.net/ |title=Welcome to Marble Charter School |author= |date=2022 |website= |publisher=Intrado Corporation |access-date=August 15, 2022}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Colorado}} *West Elk Mountains *Yule Marble

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== {{commons category|Marble, Colorado}} * {{Official website|https://www.townofmarble.com/}}

Category:Towns in Gunnison County, Colorado Category:Towns in Colorado Category:Colorado Mining Boom