Tate marble trail: a self-guided day in Georgia marble country

Tate is the old company village of the Georgia Marble Company, in Pickens County, Georgia. By our routing estimate it’s about 6 miles by road from Lee Newton Park in Jasper, roughly 11 minutes without traffic. Most of the stops sit on or near GA 53, close enough together for a morning. The quarries, the Polycor plant and the Tate House are private, and we mark them that way below.

Tell the planner how much time you have and what you care about, and it puts the sourced stops in order with drive times (our estimates) and a Google Maps route.

Getting to Tate

GA 53 ties the trip together. From Jasper, Tate is east along GA 53. Coming from Dahlonega or Dawsonville, the Chamber’s festival directions run GA 53 West to Tate, then right at the 4-way stop in Tate to stay on GA 53 West into Jasper (Pickens County Chamber). That 4-way stop is the landmark to remember.

The Georgia Marble Company and Tate Historic District

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It’s centered on GA 53 between GA 5 and Long Swamp Creek (National Register nomination). The building to look for is the company’s main office, built in 1884 in the Mission Revival style and clad in white marble. The same nomination says the Tate quarries yield 30 kinds of marble, the Etowah pink among them.

The quarries are working private property. The Chamber says they open to the public once a year, for guided bus tours during the Georgia Marble Festival. See quarry tours for how the 2026 tours ran.

The historical marker in Tate Cemetery

The Georgia Historical Society erected its marker, “Georgia Marble Company and the Village of Tate,” in 1999. It stands in Tate Cemetery on GA 53 (Georgia Historical Society). It gives the short version: the company started in 1884, Colonel Sam Tate was president from 1905 until his death in 1938, and the company provided housing, recreation and schools for its workers. A company power plant made Tate the first electrified town in the area.

The marker also says the company’s stone is in the Lincoln Memorial and the 24 columns on the U.S. Capitol’s east front. The National Park Service is narrower: only the Lincoln statue is Georgia marble. The Architect of the Capitol says Georgia marble clads the East Front connecting corridors. Our Georgia marble history page goes claim by claim.

A company town you can still read

By 1900, 110 men worked in the marble industry in Tate (New Georgia Encyclopedia), and the village was built around their employer. The Chamber says Tate Elementary School is built entirely of Georgia marble (Visit Pickens). It’s a school, so look from the road. The Chamber’s listing for the Tate Day Festival in downtown Tate mentions tours of the Tate House and Tate Elementary, along with a parade and BBQ lunches, but it publishes no date. Our article on Tate as a company town has more.

The Tate Depot

The historic depot at 5151 Hwy 53 houses the Tate Depot Train Society’s HO-scale model railroad. The society opens it for public viewings and open houses, and one was listed for October 17, 2026 (Visit Pickens). Check the Tate Depot Train Society for the next date before you plan around it.

The Tate House: private, except at Christmas

Colonel Sam Tate’s mansion at 61 Marble Mansion Ln was built in the 1920s from rare Etowah pink marble set aside from the quarry behind the house. The exact year depends on the source: the 1974 National Register nomination says 1923, while the house’s own history says building began in 1921 and the colonel lived there by 1926 (Tate House). Today it is a privately owned, adult-only wedding venue, and it does not offer drop-in tours.

The Tate House is privately owned and is NOT open for drop-in tours, except during its annual Christmas Open House. (Tate House, checked Oct 18, 2026)

The public window is the Christmas Open House. For 2026 the Tate House lists a Christmas Lunch Tour at $68, Mondays through Saturdays from November 30 to December 23 (book at 770-735-3122), and tour-only tickets at $25 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under, Monday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., sold December 1 to 23 with no reservation (Tate House). Those are the Tate House’s published 2026 details; confirm before you go. More in our Tate House article.

The Polycor plant: not a stop

Polycor places its Georgia Marble quarry in Tate (Polycor). It’s an active industrial site, private and not open to visitors. Polycor-Georgia Architectural Stone is one of the supporters the Chamber thanks for the festival quarry tours, which remain the public’s only way in.

Nelson and the finishing plant

The Chamber says the Georgia Marble Company bought John Nelson’s property on the railroad near the Cherokee County line for a finishing plant, in what is now the city of Nelson (Visit Pickens). Nelson is one of Pickens County’s three incorporated cities, with Jasper and Talking Rock.

Close the loop in Jasper

Back in Jasper, the Georgia Marble Museum at the Visitor Center (500 Veterans Memorial Blvd) keeps weekday hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. per the Chamber; call (706) 692-5600 first. Downtown, the Pickens County Courthouse is marble-veneered, and the Old Pickens County Jail’s marble came from the Southern Mill in Marble Hill. Both are on our things to do in Jasper page.

Stops on the trail

• Historic site

  The Tate House (Pink Marble Mansion / 'Pink Palace')

  Colonel Sam Tate's Etowah pink-marble mansion from the 1920s. Now a privately owned, adult-only wedding venue, open to the public only during its annual Christmas Open House.

  • Not open for drop-in tours. 2026 Christmas Open House tour-only: Mon-Sat 11:00am-1:30pm, tickets sold Dec 1-23, 2026. Group luncheon tours (50+) Mon-Thu 11am-2pm by booking.
  • Christmas tour-only: $25 adults, $5 children 10 & under. Christmas Lunch Tour $68 (2026).
  • 61 Marble Mansion Ln, Tate, GA 30177
  • 770-735-3122

  Source: tatehouse.com, checked Oct 18, 2026

• Historic site

  Georgia Marble Company and Tate Historic District

  The company village of Tate and the Georgia Marble Company complex (1884 marble main office; quarries yielding 30 kinds of marble including Etowah pink). The quarries are private; the public sees them only on Marble Festival quarry tours.

  • Centered on GA 53 between GA 5 and Long Swamp Creek, Tate, GA 30177

  Source: National Register (NPS), checked Oct 18, 2026

• Historic site

  Historical marker: Georgia Marble Company and the Village of Tate

  Georgia Historical Society marker erected in 1999, covering the company's 1884 start, Colonel Sam Tate, the company town and Tate's early electrification.

  • Tate Cemetery, on GA 53, Tate, GA

  Source: georgiahistory.com, checked Oct 18, 2026

• Historic site

  Historic Tate Depot (Tate Depot Train Society)

  Historic depot housing the Tate Depot Train Society's HO-scale model railroad, open for public viewings and open houses (one was listed for Oct 17, 2026).

  • 5151 Hwy 53, Tate, GA 30177

  Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026

• Town

  Tate

  Marble company village built around the Georgia Marble Company. Home of the Tate House, Tate Depot and the Tate Day Festival. About 6 miles by road from Lee Newton Park (computed).

  • Tate, GA 30177

  Source: Visit Pickens (Chamber), checked Oct 18, 2026

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