Georgia Marble
Tate, Georgia — quarrying since 1884.
Index of named varieties
| Variety | Colour & Veining | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| White Cherokee | White to grey — Random charcoal veining; reads lighter in diamond satin or textured finish | Polished · Diamond Satin · Textured |
| Solar Gray also recorded as Solar Gray Etowah Fleuri | Light to dark grey — Swirling charcoal veins | Polished · Diamond Satin · Textured |
| Pearl Grey | Light grey — Swirling charcoal veins; subtle in diamond satin, nearly gone when textured | Polished · Diamond Satin · Textured |
| Etowah Fleuri | Light to dark pink — Swirling charcoal veins; same finish behavior as Pearl Grey | Polished · Diamond Satin · Textured |
| Commercial White | Quarry-run — a cross-section of several varieties — Wide colour and veining variation expected in panels and floors | Polished · Diamond Satin · Textured |
This table carries colour, veining and finish information only — no density, absorption, compressive-strength, or other technical-test figures are recorded in the surviving archive material for these varieties. See the contact page to request a current technical data sheet.
Georgia Marble is quarried at Tate, Georgia, in the north Georgia marble belt. The deposit was found in 1835 by Henry T. Fitzsimmons, an itinerant Irish stone cutter, on Samuel Tate's north Georgia property near what became Marble Hill, Georgia. The Georgia Marble Company was founded on that land in 1884, and quarrying has continued from that date to the present. This site is a documentary reference to the quarry, its stone, and its history.
Ownership today
Georgia Marble is owned today by Polycor Inc., which acquired the dimension-stone division from Imerys in 2003 and operates the Georgia Marble Quarry and Georgia Marble Plant at Tate, Georgia, along with the Marble Hill Quarry, actively quarrying and marketing Georgia Marble varieties. The Georgia Marble Company and Tate Historic District, Tate, GA, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The full ownership account, including the company's earlier corporate history, is recorded on the history page.
More in this record
This site also documents the quarries themselves, the historical industrial minerals business built on the deposit's pure calcium carbonate, the consumer and landscape products once sold under the Georgia Marble name, and the company's full corporate history from 1884 to today.
A quarry pit at Tate, Georgia, photographed under flat, overcast light — a plain documentary reference, not a promotional image.
In the national record
Georgia Marble is present in a number of documented national landmarks. The seated Abraham Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC — carved by the Piccirilli Brothers after Daniel Chester French's design — is Georgia marble. Buckingham Fountain in Chicago, completed in 1927, is constructed of Georgia pink marble. Georgia (Creole) marble is also documented in the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington DC. The fuller record of commissions is kept on the landmarks page.
Working with Georgia Marble
Architects, specifiers, and memorial professionals seeking dimension stone or memorial work in Georgia Marble can start an enquiry directly.