LIME KILN PARK

LIME KILN PARK

Waukesha

Menomonee Falls

1890

1979

lime kiln

NA (unknown or not a building)

Limestone

No

A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation.

ALSO MAPPED ON FALLS ON VILLAGE MAP WITH MAP CODE A

Scattered lime kilns survive in Waukesha County, reminding us of a once-thriving industry. A limestone quarry opened here in 1838, and lime production began soon after. Workers heated limestone to about nine hundred degrees, yielding a powdery calcium-oxide residue. They then mixed this lime with sand and water to make mortar for masonry buildings.

Vertical-shaft kilns were common to commercial operations, since they could be loaded, burned, and drawn continuously. Workers shoveled limestone into the shafts at the tops of the kilns and lit fireboxes of cordwood set into the walls. Once the firing was finished, the workers removed the lime through the drawholes.

These three kilns, built by Garwin Mace, date from 1890. Each rectangular kiln, made of rough limestone blocks, has two round vertical shafts lined with firebrick below and iron rings toward the top. Round-arched drawholes (reconstructed in brick for stabilization) pierce the bottom of each structure on all sides. The horizontal bands of wood have been added to stabilize the structure, and a rubber membrane over the top keeps water out.

WAUKESHA FREEMAN, APRIL 23, 1891 Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript.

Mace, Garwin, Lime Kilns

Mar 12, 1982

Jan 01, 1989