FLOOD10515

• County: Gunnison
• Community: Marble and Vicinity
• Stream Name: Crystal River
• Basin: Gunnison
• Title: Floodplain Information Report Crystal River - Technical Appendix
• Date: 5/1/2004
• Prepared For: Marble and CWCB
• Prepared By: ICON Engineering, Inc.
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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The marble quarries are located four miles south of the town in rugged terrain.
Quarried blocks of stone were transported down in a variety of ways. The earliest
method was to haul them behind teams of horses. The horses were soon replaced by
a huge steam tractor andfour wagons. Finally, an electric railroad, called a tram or
trolley, was constructed which ran directly into the finishing mill located along the
Crystal River. Today specially equipped large trucks bring the stone down the
mountain.

At the finishing mill in Marble dozens (or hundreds) of skilled stoneworkers cut and
carved the stone, readying it for uses as varied as tombstones and courthouses.

1) MARBLE HIGH SCHOOL. The Marble High School was built in 1910 when
Marble had 200 school age children. About three-fourths of these children regularly
attended school. In later years, as the town's population dwindled, all twelve grades
met in this building. In the 1940's the school was closed. In 1996, after extensive
renovation, it was reopened as the Marble Charter School. The building also houses
the museum of the Marble Historical Society.

Originally the winters in Marble were much more severe than they are now, and the
school year was April thru October, thus bypassing the winter months. The school
was built without indoor plumbing, and some of the students were charged with
bringing water from the river each morning. The outhouse in the back of the school
is original.

2) TOWN HALL. Across the street from the High School is one of Marble's former
private homes. Most of the original homes in Marble have been lost due to fire, mud
slides, and removal of buildings (generally to Grand Junction, where they remain to
this day). The building stands on the site of the old Marble Grade School. This house

was originally located at West 2nd and Park Streets where it was used as a
schoolhouse during the 1940's. It was moved to its present location after the Marble
Grade School building was demolished in 1942. Today it houses the Marble Town
Offices.

3) CONCRETE V AUL T. Approximately 200 yards east of the High School on the
right hand side of the road stands a concrete vault. Next to it is the foundation of the
offices of the Colorado Yule Marble Company to which the vault was attached. The
office building was occupied only until 1908 when the company moved its offices to
the newly completed finishing mill. This vault was used to protect valuable papers
from theft or fire, and is all that remains of the original office building.

4) THE OLD PERRY HOUSE. One block east on Main Street is the former residence
of William D. Perry, one of the founders of Marble. Perry and William Woods
founded the town in 1881. The house, as well as most others in town, was furnished
with 'outside plumbing'. To this day there is no sewer system in Marble.

http://www.marblecolorado.org/tour.htm

5/3/2004