MARBLE, COLORADO SCHOOLS, STORES, RESTAURANTS, AND CHURCHES
No one buys property in Marble because they want to be around throngs of people. If that were the case, you’d be better off buying real estate in Manhattan, San Francisco, or even Aspen. People buy real estate in Marble to get away from crowds. Marble is a town of only 100 or so year-round residents, with another 200-300 residents within a 5-mile radius. Redstone, 12 miles away, has only 200 or so full-time residents, so there aren’t a whole lot of folks in the upper Crystal River Valley.
People buy real estate in Marble and Redstone because of the spectacular scenery, the elk hunting and fly-fishing, peace and solitude, not the nightlife, restaurants, and cultural opportunities. Consequently, some services and amenities are either simply not available or a fair distance away. Here’s a run-down of services and amenities in Marble.
Marble Restaurants
Woody’s Rollin’ Smoke Barbecue has opened in “downtown Marble” and offers brisket, smoked pork, and chicken. Woody caters for private parties as well. Stephanie Perrin has run the Elk Mountain Sandwich shop on County Road 3 at the Darien Ranch for the past three summers, but she’s not excited about opening for the summer of 2008. We’ll keep you posted if someone else takes over the lease. The Redstone Inn has a fairly good menu and somewhat spotty service 12 miles away. Carbondale, 30 miles away, has several excellent and highly rated restaurants, including Russet’s and 689.
Marble Gas stations
There is no gas station in Marble. The nearest gasoline is in Redstone, 12 miles away, and prices are pretty high. Otherwise, there are several stations in Carbondale, 30 miles away.
Marble Grocery Stores
Marble has the very rudimentary Marble General Store, where you can purchase beanie-weenies, ice cream, and other basic supplies in the summer only. It’s closed in the winter. The Redstone General Store, 12 miles away, has a few more items, but it’s still pretty limited. Carbondale’s City Market has a good grocery store, 30 miles away.
Marble Newspapers
The Crystal Valley Echo, based in Redstone, is a feel-good paper that covers local artists and community happenings, with no hard news. The Glenwood Post Independent (45 miles northwest) and the Aspen Times Daily (60 miles northeast) do the best job of covering valley-wide, regional, national, and international news.
Marble Retail Stores
The only retail store in Marble, other than the Marble General Store, is the Marble Gallery, on West Park Street (the main drag). They have marble art works and gift ideas. Glenwood Springs, 45 miles northeast, has quite a few big-box stores and many specialty retailers. Carbondale has many nice gift shops and essential stores such as the Roaring Fork Co-op, purveyors of essential items such as fencing materials, winter boots, horseshoeing supplies, dog food, blue jeans, tires, and fuel. Paonia and Hotchkiss are 45 and 60 miles away, respectively, over McClure Pass, and prices are much more reasonable for items such as tires, fuel, and agricultural products such as fruit, beef, hay, and lamb. Real estate is reasonable as well. Check out my website, paoniacrawfordrealestate.com for more information.
Marble Churches
The only church in town Is the Marble Community Church, a lovely historic structure originally imported from Aspen in 1910. It’s been totally renovated, and has a nice community room and parsonage. It is a non-denominational Christian church.
Marble Schools
The Marble Charter School offers K-9 education right in Marble. With two teachers and a principal/science teacher, the school is well staffed for 25 students. Students learn a strong program of fundamentals—reading, science, language, and math—but sports programs are lacking. High school students have the choice of attending Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale; the Carbondale Community School; or the private Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale. Schools in the North Fork Valley, an hour away in Paonia, are known for academic excellence, terrific sports teams, and a small-town atmosphere.
Marble Medical Facilities
The nearest medical clinic is Roaring Fork Family Physicians in Carbondale. They are excellent family practitioners. 970 963 3350. Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs is an excellent regional hospital, and Glenwood Medical Associates has a wide variety of dermatology, urology, neurology, and other services available. Orthopedic Associates in Glenwood and Aspen is known as one of the best orthopedic surgery centers in the United States.
Marble Police and Fire
Marble is part of Gunnison County and is patrolled by two sheriff’s deputies stationed in Somerset, 45 miles distant. If you need to contact a deputy, you can call the main dispatch at 970 641 1113 or the Somerset substation at 970 929 6146. Marble has an excellent fire station with wilderness search and rescue vehicles and a dedicated local volunteer staff. Carbondale Fire Chief Ron Leach lives in Marble and takes his duties very seriously and does a great job of pro-active wildfire mitigation. The fire station is right in the center of town and there are good hydrants situated throughout most of the town limits.
Marble Water and Sewer
The town limits of Marble are served by the private Marble Town Water Company, which provides excellent treated water and has capacity to issue many more taps. The system was newly built in 2004 and is high quality. Because of geological constraints, Marble and the surrounding area is not served by a sewer system. Homes and businesses are served by individual septic distribution systems (ISDS) and must be regularly pumped. All building parcels in Gunnison County, outside the town limits of Marble, must be serviced by septic systems.
Lot Sizes and Well Permits
Marble allows construction on ½-acre lots in the original “old town” of Marble, and restricts construction to 1-acre lots on newer “Marble ski area” platted lots. There are many Marble Ski Area lots that are only 1/3 acre or less, so some skill and planning is required to assemble 3 or more lots to build upon. In Gunnison County, which surrounds the Town of Marble, lots must be at least 1 acre to build upon. Well permits are typically easy to obtain, but some lots yield sulphurous water and do not assure a good water supply. Be advised that building regulations in Gunnison County can be difficult, and that I advise you to make sure that all correspondence with the Gunnison County planning department is in writing.
Marble Recreation
Cross-country skiers are welcome to ski on the Marble Airstrip, where planes land in the summer and fall. A group of local citizens builds an ice rink every fall on the Marble Millsite, where you can enjoy excellent ice skating for free. Just be prepared to pitch in and shovel the rink if there’s new snow. There’s a pretty good outdoor basketball court just west of the fire station, and the town’s Millsite Park is a beautiful 25-acre park on the banks of the Crystal River, where the old marble finishing mill used to be. There are tall columns of marble left over from the old building, and many large blocks of marble on the site, as well as a sculture garden. OutWest Guides offers horseback riding, guided fly-fishing, elk and mule deer hunting, and blue grouse and ptarmigan hunting. Of course, all the other recreational amenities, such as fly-fishing, mountain biking, and climbing are all available on nearby public lands. Check out my Marble recreation page for more information.
Marble Mining
The Yule Marble Quarry is still in operation and brings huge blocks of marble down the mountain to be shipped to processing centers far from Marble. The quarry employs anywhere from 6-10 workers. They give tours only on a couple of weekends a year. It is, after all, a working mine. DON’T call me to ask about quarry tours! DON’T! Call Kimberley Perrin at 970 963 9815. There is very little, if any, active gold and silver mining in the upper Crystal River Valley. Any more questions? I bet I have an answer for you. Call me and let’s arrange a time to meet in Marble. I’ll show you some great real estate.
