Rutland County

Marble built Rutland County. The Dorset quarry, opened in 1785, was the first commercial marble quarry in the United States, and by the mid-1800s, quarries in Proctor, West Rutland, and Danby were shipping stone across the country. The Vermont Marble Company, headquartered in Proctor, supplied material for the U.S. Supreme Court building, the Jefferson Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The county was organized in 1781, one of Vermont's original four.

Rutland City, the county seat, is Vermont's third-largest city with about 15,000 residents. The railroad made it — the Rutland Railroad's shops and yards were the city's largest employer for decades. When rail declined in the mid-20th century, Rutland reinvented itself around healthcare, retail, and the ski industry. Killington Resort, in the eastern part of the county, is the largest ski area in the eastern United States and pumps millions into the regional economy each winter.

The county's 27 towns hold roughly 60,000 people, making it the state's second-most-populous county. The landscape runs from the Taconic Range along the New York border through the Valley of Vermont to the Green Mountain spine. Farming, tourism, and manufacturing all contribute to the economy. The Rutland County Courthouse, an imposing brick structure on Center Street, has served the Superior Court since 1872. The sheriff's department and state's attorney operate from Rutland City, administering justice across one of Vermont's most geographically diverse counties.