The earliest marble was quarried by the Humphrey brothers in 1836, followed by successive marble companies. In 1870, Redfield Proctor took over in receivership and brought the Vermont Marble Company to world prominence. Building contracts and work done in the Proctor shops include the US Supreme Court, Jefferson Memorial, and the rotunda columns in the National Gallery of Art. The company employee program established the first Industrial Nurses in 1895. Between 1890 and 1915, workers came from 23 countries and lived in many boarding houses and later in houses rented from the company. Nationalities had social groups and aid societies, and there were two Lutheran churches, one Roman Catholic, one Greek Catholic, and the Union Protestant Church.