Georgia’s Marble Capital

Renowned for its exceptionally pure marble, Pickens County has a vein of marble 5 to 7 miles long, a half mile wide, and up to 2,000 feet deep.

While the marble was used by Native Americans as early as 800 AD, Henry Fitzsimmons established the first marble quarries and the first marble mill in the 1830s.

The Georgia Marble Company was founded in 1884 by Samuel Tate. Tate leased out all the land in Pickens County, Georgia, United States, that contained rich Georgia marble.

The coming of Marietta & North Georgia Railroad into Pickens County in 1883 opened outside markets for Georgia marble.

Notably, our marble was used in the construction of:

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  • Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales FL
  • New York Stock Exchange Annex, New York NY
  • The Abraham Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
  • National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C.
  • East Wing of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cleveland OH
  • Civic Virtue Triumphant Over Unrighteousness sculpture group and fountain, New York NY
  • Buckingham Fountain, Chicago IL
  • National McKinley Birthplace Memorial, Niles OH
  • Our Lady of Victory Basilica, Lackawanna NY

Did you know that Georgia Marble was used to replace the columns on the U.S. Capitol? This engineering marvel required the marble columns be within 1/10 of an inch of the original sandstone columns. A huge saw over 1,260 long was needed to cut the marble. A lathe the size of the columns was used to turn and carve these magnificent supports.

Locally, the Tate House, which has four 22 feet columns, marble balustrades and fountains designed by Georgia Marble Company designer J. B. Hill. The Tate House was listed on the National Register in 1974. The Georgia Marble Company and Tate Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Today, visitors can learn more about the history of Pickens County Marble at the Marble Museum located at 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd in Jasper.

Did you know that every morning you use Georgia Marble as an essential ingredient in toothpaste.  See video below.