In the early 19th century, small high-quality marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland.
By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad arrived in 1851.
At the same time, the famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world.

This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that when the present Rutland City was incorporated, most of the remainder of the village was split off as West Rutland and Proctor.
Although the closing of the marble quarries in the area in the 1980s and 1990s cost the town many jobs, West Rutland has attracted artists and families looking for a semi-rural lifestyle.
Because it is a very rural town, much of its economy is dependent on the city of Rutland.
In the early 19th century, small high-quality marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad arrived in 1851. At the same time, the famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world.
This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that when the present Rutland City was incorporated, most of the remainder of the village was split off as West Rutland and Proctor. Although the closing of the marble quarries in the area in the 1980s and 1990s cost the town many jobs, West Rutland has attracted artists and families looking for a semi-rural lifestyle. Because it is a very rural town, much of its economy is dependent on the city of Rutland.
West Rutland, Vermont