Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Rutland was the "Marble City" — Vermont Marble Company (once world's largest) quarried Danby white marble used in the Lincoln Memorial, Supreme Court, Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, NY Public Library, and thousands of buildings. Quarries and the Vermont Marble Museum (Proctor) preserve this legacy.
Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven, 5 mi west) opened 1967 on a historic dirt oval. Hosts the Vermont Milk Bowl (since 1982) — one of Northeast's biggest modified races. NASCAR legends (Earnhardt, Waltrip, Hamilton) raced here early on.
Renowned novelist, educator, Book-of-the-Month Club selector, and Vermont's "first lady of letters" was born in Rutland (1879). Wrote The Bent Twig, Understood Betsy, The Home-Maker. Advocated Montessori education, adult literacy, prison reform.
National Register district: 19th-c. commercial blocks (Merchants Row, Center St.), Paramount Theatre (1913), Rutland Free Library (Carnegie), Chaffee Art Center. Walkable, revitalizing.
Green Mountain National Forest, Pico Mountain/Killington (ski), Coolidge State Park, Appalachian/Long Trail access, Otter Creek paddling, Chittenden Reservoir.
Annual late-August fair since 1846 — agriculture, demolition derby, concerts, midway, 100k+ visitors.
Rutland Historical Society, Chaffee Art Center, Carving Studio & Sculpture Center (West Rutland), Norman Rockwell's Arlington studio nearby.