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The Rise and Fall of one of Vermont's Largest Lime Industries |
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This photo shows the Kiln Building (center) and Processing Plant after the operation was abandoned.
Four kilns measuring 50 feet high and 17 feet in diameter were present in the kiln building. The building eleveates the kilns above ground on a massive cantilevered concrete platform resting on large concrete piers. The raw limestone arrived at the kiln building by way of the conveyor, which moved horizontally across the top of the kilns, depositing lime into each. The final stage of lime production took place in the processing plant. Lime, in lump form, would be crushed through one of the two crushing bins inside the plant.
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Throughout the 19th and 20th century, lime production on the Winooski River in South Burlington and Colchester underwent many changes of ownership and stages of development. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first operations in this area began sometime prior to 1810 and were located on the South Burlington side of the Winooski River.
Later in the 19th century, lime production companies were built on the Colchester side as well. By 1907, operations on the Colchester side were known as the Champlain Valley Lime Company. The facilities then consisted of three wood burning kilns with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons in which a considerable amount of the crushed limestone was used for agricultural purposes.
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 Click here for larger image Historic photo showing the Kiln Building as it neared completion. Taken by Louis McAllister in 1925 and courtesy of the Wilbur Collection, Bailey-Howe Library, University of VT, Burlington.  >Click here for larger image Photo of quarry circa 1925. Taken by Louis McAllister and courtesy of the Wilbur Collection, Bailey-Howe Library, University of VT, Burlington.  Click here for larger image View of the West Quarry prior to draining. |
In the early 1920's, these structures were completely rebuilt "when the market for lime was strong enough to warrant extensive investment in modern equipment." Placed in operation by 1926, the new production facility of the Champlain Valley Lime Company "possessed the largest kilns, the largest work force, and the greatest output-some 30 tons of lime per day."[Excerpts from Louis Berger and Associates, 1989].
After nearly 150 years of successful lime production in this area, the Champlain Valley Lime Company was sold in 1970 and closed the following year due to the loss of a government contract to supply lime for agricultural purposes. It gradually began to fall into disrepair but much of its function could still be interpreted at the time of the National Register Assessment in 1989. It was agreed that the site retained enough of its integrity to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and was significant as one of the largest lime kiln industries in Vermont representative of the 1920's style. Unfortunately, there were many problems that surrounded the question of how to best preserve the site and before any decisions could be reached, the Champlain Valley Lime Company structures were stripped of their steel and completely demolished leaving only piles of brick, scraps of broken metal and glass and the concrete foundation of the kiln building. As a result of this action, the site no longer retained the elements necessary to meet the criteria to be considered eligible for the National Register. |
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Quarry draining began in mid November of 2001 and took twelve days. Four pumps drained a total of 2,304,000 gallons of water from the quarries. Vtrans Archaeologist, Jen Russell, visited the site on November 28, 2001 along with others working on the project. Kate Kenny from UVM CAP was also at the site to photo-document the quarries.
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 Click here for larger image View of the East Quarry drained with the tunnel now visible.  Click here for larger image Several cars and remains of excavating equipment were discovered at the base of the drained quarries. |
An underground tunnel used transporting lime to the plant connected the two quarries. This tunnel was recently uncovered after draining both quarries. This tunnel, located beneath Lime Kiln Road was once used for transporting lime to the plant. A full-size excavator in the center of the tunnel illustrates the massive size of these quarries. Several cars and pieces of excavating equipment were discovered along with other remains that may be directly associated with the quarrying activities.
UVM CAP completed the photo-documentation and additional archival research during the winter of 2002. They are currently publishing a report titled "Photodocumentation of the Lime Kiln Quarries, MOA Amendment to the Lime Kiln Bridge Replacement project, BRM 5600(6), Colchester and South Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont". Please contact Jen Russell at jeannine.russell@state.vt.us if you wish to obtain a copy of this report. |
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Sources: National Register Assessment for the Champlain Valley Lime Company, Louis Berger and Associates, Inc., November 1989. Rolando, Victor R. 200 years of Soot and Sweat: The History and Archaeology of Vermont's Iron, Charcoal, and Lime Industries. 1992. |
