Since 1859

Vermont Structural Slate Company is a family owned and operated business established in 1859. For over 150 years we have quarried and fabricated top-quality natural Vermont slates into custom architectural applications. In the last half-century, we have complemented our range of stones by adding highly selected quartzites, marbles, granites, limestone, basalts and sandstones from around the world. In July 2013, we formed James River Slate Company to quarry and fabricate Grayson Slate, the classic domestic unfading gray black slate from Buckingham County, Virginia.

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Quarries & Mills

  • Fabrication Facilities
  • Quarries
Vermont and New York

Vermont Structural Slate Company® was founded in 1859 and incorporated on November 14, 1866 by an act of the Vermont legislature.  The Company started with a small quarry and modest production facility in Fair Haven, Vermont.  Over many decades of investing in our business, we now own 61 quarries and operate 3 mills in the 3 primary slate-producing states:  Vermont, New York and Virginia.

  • Fabrication Facilities
  • Quarries

Quarries & Mills

  • Fabrication Facilities
  • Quarries
Virginia

In July 2013, Vermont Structural Slate Company formed James River Slate Company to quarry and fabricate Grayson Slate, the classic domestic unfading gray black slate from Buckingham County, Virginia. James River Slate operates a quarry and mill on 562 acres in central Virginia.

  • Fabrication Facilities
  • Quarries

Quarriers

We remove blocks from the ground by sawing, drilling, blasting and the use of heavy equipment and hand tools. We operate multiple ‘benches’ in several quarries and quarry for specific production requirements, not for inventory. This allows us to select block sizes and color ranges on a custom basis from certain beds in our quarries. And since our rock splits much better when fresh out of the earth, we waste less material. Our slate actually “freezes” and “dries out”, making splitting extremely difficult if not impossible. So, prior to splitting, we heat our blocks in the winter and keep them cool and damp in the summer.

Architectural Stone Producers

For over 150 years, we have specialized in custom architectural stone. Our production process is a combination of technology and craftsmanship. After the stone is quarried, it is directed to one of several mills, each with its own production specialty, where we saw the stone to dimension with diamond-tipped saws, hand-split it to thickness, perform special labor items and carefully pack the finished product for transport. We intensively sort our work-in-progress at several stages of production. Our process is both labor and capital intensive. A true family business, we are especially proud that we have several second and third generation employees.

Partners

We enjoy working with architects. From initial conversations about a particular stone’s capabilities and limitations, to analyzing various installation methods, we strive to give designers the most accurate, complete information possible. We are proud that many architects cite Vermont Structural Slate Company as a key partner in their project.

Quality Measures

Our goal is to produce first-rate products. By doing all of our own quarrying and fabricating, we control production at every stage - from quarry planning to packing finished pieces. Four primary factors distinguish us in terms of quality:

  • Our Deposit
    The stone we extract from our quarries is exceptionally high quality and has surpassed all ASTM requirements for slate.
  • Equipment
    We have the specialized equipment and facilities necessary for the custom stone business.
  • Experience & Mindset
    Many people at Vermont Structural Slate have worked here for more than 10 years (a few over 40 years); several of their fathers worked here most of their lives as well. Custom stone production requires experience, skill and an appreciation for the stone. We have these qualities and care about what leaves our mills. We know this is crucial to our success.
  • Constant Sorting
    We constantly sort work-in-progress and we are particular. We remove pieces that stray out of the desired color range, contain defects, are cracked or uneven, or have chipped corners or edges.

Featured

Our stones have been used in many prominent buildings and have appeared in numerous publications