Description

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Sylacauga--Alabama's "Marble City"--is blessed with an abundant natural resource that nurtures both its economy and its cultural heritage. Thirty-five miles long, at least four hundred feet deep, and more than a mile wide, the Sylacauga Marble Belt yields crystalline white marble frequently compared to the Parian marble treasured by Greek sculptors and the Italian Carrara marble often chosen by Michelangelo. Artisans have quarried Sylacauga marble for tombstones since the early 1800s, and architects prized it for years as dimension stone for buildings like the United States Supreme Court. In the early 1900s, Giuseppe Moretti and Gutzon Borglum both chose this marble for magnificent sculptures.

When granite, better able to withstand industrial pollution, overtook marble as the preferred architectural stone in the 1930s, Sylacauga's quarry owners shifted their focus to the production of ground calcium carbonate (GCC), a fundamental ingredient in manufactured products from toothpaste, foodstuffs, and disposable diapers to paints, caulks, and sealants. Many cringe at the idea of blasting and grinding marble into fine powder, but GCC is a vital factor in the local economy. Thankfully, the Magic of Marble Festival, first held in 2009, has revitalized interest in the artistic value of Sylacauga marble, inspiring sculptors from across the United States and masters from Italy to apply their skills to cream-white blocks of this beautiful stone and share their creativity with thousands of residents and visitors each year.

This is the story of quarry pioneers, investors, artists, and artisans. It's also the story of their families, who fondly remember their lives along the edge of "the hole" that provided for them.

About the Author

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RUTH BEAUMONT COOK was born in Bedford, Ohio, and is a graduate of The Ohio State University. She has lived in Alabama since 1970 and has served on the boards of the Writing Today conference at Birmingham-Southern College and the Alabama Writers' Forum. Previous books include North Across the River (1999 and 2000) and Guests Behind the Barbed Wire (2007 and 2012), which was awarded the bronze medal for outstanding historical writing by the Independent Publishers Group. She is the author of several corporate histories and numerous feature articles for Birmingham magazine, Alabama Heritage, and other publications. She lives in Birmingham with her husband Barney, near her two sons and their families.