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TUCKAHOE, N.Y. -- Crews digging under the Yonkers Avenue bridge came across some buried treasure when they unearthed a natural deposit of Tuckahoe marble.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Frank DiMarco said the village is gathering the marble and stock piling it.
I try to incorporate Tuckahoe marble in all of the projects we do, DiMarco said. But it would be great if we could introduce it for use in other projects in other municipalities.
According to village lore, a high quality of white marble was found in Tuckahoe around 1815. Shortly after in 1820 a quarry was opened in the village.
According to former Mayor Phil White, the quarry had five pits around town, two on Marbledale Road, one on Leewood, one on Young and one up in the north end of Eastchester.
Tuckahoe marble was used in many famous projects like the Washington Monument, in Washington D.C., New York City Hall and St. Patricks Cathedral, DiMarco said.
The quarry in Tuckahoe closed in the early 1930s and was filled in during the 1960s
"What ended the marble business was a fire in the shaping sheds, it burned for days," White said.
The Village has been working on Yonkers Avenue since last summer. The $1 million project replaces a section of road that goes over a narrow portion of the Bronx River and that is supported by a retaining wall estimated to be about 100 years old. The marble was discovered under the retaining wall that was under demolition.
The Yonkers Avenue project is slated to be complete by the spring. DiMarco said his staff will continue to collect the marble found on the site.
We found buried treasure and we want to preserve it, DiMarco said.
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