Written by Staff

Sep. 17, 2014:  When William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, set about in 1888 to build his "Marble House" in Newport, RI, money was no object. He could have selected any stone he wanted. He chose Tuckahoe marble. Such was the high regard and prestige of the product produced by quarries located throughout Eastchester during much of the 19th century. The quarries were then considered so significant that they were prominently shown on a map published in 1870.

Fast-forward more than a century to present-day Eastchester. Many people living here may have heard about Tuckahoe marble, but few have been aware of the importance and desirability of the white, crystallized rock used to construct buildings and monuments not only locally but in New York and other American cities. Most residents probably do not even know where in Eastchester the marble was quarried. At least not until now.

The story of Tuckahoe marble shares the spotlight with many other moments of local history at Concordia's OSilas Gallery exhibition celebrating the 350th anniversary of Eastchester, Tuckahoe, and Bronxville. The exhibition, Legacies, Landmarks and Achievements, has been curated by Mike Fix in conjunction with the Eastchester 350th Anniversary Committee. It runs through November 9, 2014.

The section of the exhibition highlighting Tuckahoe marble introduces some of the key quarry developers (Alexander Masterton, Abijah Morgan, and A. T. Stewart) accompanied by photographs of several quarry sites as they exist today and examples of surviving buildings, monuments, and works of art made of Tuckahoe marble.

Over the last year, Bob Riggs and Larry Lee traveled throughout Eastchester and New York City to locate and photograph structures using marble extracted from places now camouflaged or obliterated by the streets, homes, and buildings of urban life.  

Quarry sites and vestiges shown at the exhibit include one that had been located along Marbledale Road, another in today's Marbledale Road Park, a third next to Leewood Park, and a fourth now covered and occupied by Dunwoodie Park.

Among the surviving marble structures within the town are Eastchester's Marble School House on California Road and three in Tuckahoe: the building at 101 Main Street and two churches, Immaculate Conception and the Church of the Assumption.

Beyond the local area, photography exhibits of major buildings include:  Wall Street's Federal Hall National Memorial, the façade of the Branch Bank of New York in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington Square Arch, the Old New York County "Tweed" Courthouse, Brooklyn Borough Hall, and the U.S. Custom House in Charleston, South Carolina. 

The exhibition is not only a walk through the past in celebration of Eastchester's history, but a reminder that Tuckahoe marble was a major factor in its development. Given its importance and significance in the 19th century, it is high time Tuckahoe marble be put back on the map. This exhibit does that.

Editor's note:  Marilynn Hill, who contributed much to the research and narratives associated with the Tuckahoe marble exhibits, and Bob Riggs will speak on the theme of Tuckahoe marble as a surviving legacy and landmark at the OSilas Gallery at Concordia College on Tuesday, October 7, at 7:00 pm. 

Pictured here:  The Young quarry, located in Tuckahoe's Marbledale Road Park.

Photo by Larry Lee