- Collection:
- Beauty in Stone: The Industrial Films of the Georgia Marble Company
- Title:
- Producing America's buried treasures / an International Sound Films production ; presented by Georgia Marble Company ; producer, George M. Kirkland ; writer, Don Nixon
- Creator:
- Georgia Marble Company
- Contributor to Resource:
- Gordon, W. Brockford
Strosnider, Lee
Barry, John
Berry, Jack
International Sound Films
Kirkland, George M.
Nixon, Don - Date of Original:
- 1950/1959
- Subject:
- Marble--Georgia
Georgia Marble Company--Georgia--Pickens County
Georgia Marble Company--Employees
Georgia Marble Company--History
Stone-cutters--Georgia--Pickens County
Stone carvers--Georgia--Pickens County
Fitzsimmons, Henry T., 1802-1845
Stone-cutting tools--Georgia--Pickens County
Georgia Marble Company--Equipment and supplies
Marble industry and trade--Equipment and supplies
Quarries and quarrying--Equipment and supplies
Crushed stone industry--Equipment and supplies
Marble industry and trade--Georgia--Pickens County
Quarries and quarrying--Georgia--Pickens County
Crushed stone industry--Georgia--Pickens County
Stone carving--Georgia--Pickens County
Georgia Marble Company--Machinery
Marble industry and trade--Machinery
Quarries and quarrying--Machinery
Machinery in the workplace--Georgia--Pickens County
Crushing machinery--Georgia--Pickens County
Hoisting Machinery--Georgia--Pickens County
Cutting machines--Georgia--Pickens County
Saws--Georgia--Pickens County
Surface preparation
Grinding and polishing
Public buildings--Washington (D.C.)
Office buildings--Washington (D.C.)
National monuments--Washington (D.C.)
National parks and monuments--Washington (D.C.)
Historic sites--Washington (D.C.)
Memorials--Washington (D.C.)
Monuments--Washington (D.C.)
Monuments--San Antonio (Tex.)
Monuments--Johnson City (Tenn.)
Monuments--California--Los Angeles
Sepulchral monuments--California--Los Angeles
Fairbanks, Douglas, 1883-1939--Tomb
DeMille, Cecil B. (Cecil Blount), 1881-1959--Tomb
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Monuments
Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Pioneers--Tennessee--Johnson City--Monuments
Massengill Memorial (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Pan American Union Building (Washington, D.C.)
Folger Shakespeare Library
National Gallery of Art (U.S.)
United States. Federal Reserve Board
Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building (Washington, D.C.)
Longworth House Office Building (Washington, D.C.)
Industrial films--Georgia--Pickens County
Islamic Center (Washington, D.C.)
City Hall (New York, N.Y.)
Canada House (New York, N.Y.)
Alabama Limestone Company (Russellville, Ala.)
Alabama Limestone Company--Machinery
Limestone--Alabama--Russellville
Limestone industry--Alabama--Russellville
Limestone mines and mining--Alabama--Russellville
Machinery in the workplace--Alabama--Russellville
Tennessee Marble Company
Machinery in the workplace--Tennessee--Friendsville
Quarries and quarrying--Tennessee--Friendsville
Crushing machinery--Tennessee--Friendsville
Hoisting machinery--Tennessee--Friendsville
Grinding machines--Tennessee--Friendsville
Green Mountain Marble Company (West Rutland, Vt.)
Marble--Vermont--West Rutland
Marble industry--Vermont--West Rutland
Machinery in the workplace--Vermont--West Rutland
Hoisting machinery--Vermont--West Rutland
Quarries and quarrying--Vermont--West Rutland
Alberene Stone Corporation of Virginia
Serpentine--Virginia--Alberene
Machinery in the workplace--Virginia--Alberene
Crushing machinery--Virginia--Alberene
Hoisting machinery--Virginia--Alberene
Cutting machines--Virginia--Alberene - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Long Swamp Valley, 34.493943, -84.372278
United States, Georgia, Pickens County, Marblehill, 34.43065, -84.33687
United States, Georgia, Pickens County, Nelson, 34.38204, -84.37103
United States, Georgia, Pickens County, Tate, 34.41843, -84.3827 - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- Producing America's Buried Treasure is a twenty-one-minute industrial film from the 1950s on the history of the Georgia Marble Company and the company's marble operations in Pickens County, Georgia, West Rutland, Vermont and Friendsville, Tennessee. Also documented in the film are the limestone and serpentine industries and their operations in Russellville, Alabama and Alberene, Virginia. The film begins by depicting Henry Fitzsimmons' serendipitous discovery of the Long Swamp Valley marble vein in Pickens County, Georgia. Next, the development of the marble industry is depicted with a shot sequence that reveals the chronological growth of the marble industry after Fitzsimmons' discovery, included among the scenes are: stone carvers working with hammers and chisels, a length of railroad tracks, two men handling blueprints, a marble stock yard, and 1950s-era finishing machinery. Following the scenes chronicling the growth of the marble industry and interspersed throughout the remainder of the film is footage of several notable Georgia marble structures located throughout the country, including: the Douglas Fairbanks Memorial and the Cecil B. Demille Memorial, both in Hollywood, California; the Alamo Cenotaph in San Antonio, Texas; the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C.; and the Pioneer Tennessean, also known as the Massengill Memorial, in Johnson City, Tennessee. In the next film sequence, footage shows both marble quarrying and finishing facilities in operation during the 1950s. The quarrying facility shots include scenes of the quarry, a channeling machine and a derrick boom. Laborers are shown splitting the marble from the quarry bed by hammering wedges into horizontally-drilled holes. The next sequence includes footage of the finishing operation, and contains shots of a gang saw, a surfacing machine and a polishing machine. The stone carvers' mastery is depicted as they are shown working the marble in great detail using air-powered chisels. The next segment showcases the spectrum of colors found within the marble of Georgia as well as Vermont and Tennessee; specifically, shades of white, grey, green, pink and black marble. Scenes of the Green Mountain Marble Company in West Rutland, Vermont and the Tennessee Marble Company in Friendsville, Tennessee, both divisions of the Georgia Marble Company, show underground quarrying operations and finishing methods, respectively. Following these scenes is a sequence that features distinguished buildings in Washington D.C. that were constructed from the marble of Georgia, Vermont and Tennessee, including: the Pan American Union Building; the National Gallery of Art; the Longworth House Office Building; the Folger Shakespeare Library; and the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building. The following series of scenes describe and depict the uses of marble in the residential housing industry, specifically in the form of split-face ashlar siding, roofing and terrazzo flooring materials. Shown next is footage of the company's underground crushed marble mining operation and the range of modern products that contain significant amounts of crushed marble as an ingredient. Among these are athletic field line markers; paint extenders; rubber fillers; and soil deacidifiers used in the the agricultural industry. Next are film sequences that show the limestone industry in Russellville, Alabama and the serpentine industry in Alberene, Virginia. Scenes of the Alabama Limestone Company, a subsidiary of Georgia Marble Company, depict the company's work facilities, underground mining operations, and distinguished buildings constructed with Alabama's structural limestone. Notable among these are: the City Hall Building and Canada House, both located in New York City, and the National Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. Following are scenes depicting the Alberene Stone Corporation; these include a serpentine quarry, facility operations and popular serpentine products such as laboratory sinks and counters.
Cinematographers, W. Brockford Gordon, Lee Strosnider ; editor, W. Brockford Gordon ; sound, John Barry ; narration, Jack Berry. - External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/georgiamarble/id:gmrb001
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/georgiamarble/do:gmrb001
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: [title of film], Georgia Dept. of Industry and Trade. Tourist Division. Promotional films on Georgia industry. RG 28-4-6, Georgia Archives, as presented in the Digital Library of Georgia.
- Extent:
- 1 film (20 min., 33 sec.) : sd., col. ; 16 mm.
- Original Collection:
- From the Georgia Dept. of Industry and Trade. Tourist Division. Promotional films on Georgia industry. RG 28-4-6, Georgia Archives.
- Holding Institution:
- Georgia Archives
- Rights:
-
