Clark County, Indiana - Chapter 37: The Lime and Cement Industry of Clark County, 1909

As early as 1818 the burning of lime was begun in the \-icinity of Utica, and with varying degrees of success and profit was continued until 1907. The first lime burned by the early settlers was on brush and log fires and even at tlial early date was shipped down the river on flat boats. There must have been a good deal of lime burned in the early days of the industry. Soon after the possibilities of the business began to be apparent and the profits began to make it attracti\-e, the settlers began to burn lime in kilns dug in the ground. The earliest lime burned at Utica was often shipped south as far as New Orleans, not however, as a separate cargo, but only to fill out and complete a load of flour, pork or whiskey. It was shipped in flour barrels and a barrel of lime often sold on the Mississippi river at the same price as a barrel of flour.

.\bout the year 1826 a coal burning kiln was built here, un what is now known as the Nicholas Lentz place, one-half mile above Utica on the river front. The coal used in this kiln was brought from Pittsburg in flat-boats, carrying only five thousand bushels each, and this kiln was used until 1847, when it was abandoned.

About the year 1830 a man named Peabody came to Utica from Pennsylvania and introduced a better plan for burning lime in the "Ground Hog." or "Pot" kilns. His plan saved fuel and made the business more profitable besides turning out an excellent grade of lime. In 1849 or 1850 N. B. Wood made a great improvement in the kilns by erectitig a temporary wall in front of the furnace, leaving a space for the fuel to go in over the top of the wall.

About 1830 Robert S. Wood, James Sweeney and William Brendel boated lime to Louisville. In the forties Allen Somers and James Sweeney, and later on James Hogg went into the business. In 1857 H. C. Emerke and Meshac James entered the boating trade to Louisville.

In 1868 Moses H. Tyler, who had been in partnership with P. Howes, built a patent kiln which added greatly to the output of lime. This kiln was

The lime industry was the life of Utica for many years, and the little town was known from Pittsburg to New Orleans on account of the commodity which she manufactured. The principle men who burned lime, both in the ground hog kilns and in the patent kilns, were the Woods, Sweeneys, Somers, Hogg, E. Enierke, James, Lyman Parks, Keys, Jack Howard, Floyd Ogden, T. Rose, Redford Pern,- and Jacob Robinson.

The principle men who were engaged in boating lime were Jacob Robmson. \\'illiani Wei)!), Sweeney and Hobson, and a Air. Barber, an up-river man.

About 1882 an up-river boatman loaded a boat at Utica for the Atakapas country, and this was tiie last of the flatboating. It was not until 1868 or 1870, however, that lime burning was considered a profitable industry here. The burnings previous to this time were on a limited scale. Within the above named year the Utica Lime Company, with headquarters at Louisville, erected two kilns, with a capacity of one hundred barrels per day, and \-alued at $10,000. This company was actively engaged during fifteen years in burning lime, employing from ten to twenty hands regularly. Wages averaged $1.50 per day. The lime stratum is fourteen feet in thickness here.

The first man prominently engaged in the manufacture of lime at Utica was 'SI. H. Tyler, who had built a kiln and made additions until at last its capacity was about two hundred barrels daily. In 1870 the Louisville Cement Company bought out 2\Ir. Tyler, also the firm of H. C. Emerke, whose capacity for burning was about one hundred and twenty barrels per day. This company had four kilns, two for coal, which turned out one hundred barrels daily, and two which burned wood, making in all a capacity of five hundred and twenty barrels a day. Lime was selling, December i, 1881, at fifty-five cents per barrel. The cost of burning was twentv-five cents not including the stone. The property at th.at time was valued at twenty-five thousand dollars. Thirty-five hands were employed, wages ranging from $1.40 to $1.75 a day.

The rocks used for lime belong to the Niagara epoch. The following section of the Niagara group was obtained at Speed's quarry : Corniferous limestone, twelve feet; yellow rock, impure limestone, twenty feet; building stone, four feet ; gray crystalline limestone, burned for lime, fourteen feet ; upper bed crinoidal limestone, two feet; crinoidal bed containing Caryocrinus ornalus. etc., four feet: gray limestone, eight feet; magnesian limestone, five feet ; total, ninety-six feet.

In May, 1907, the Speeds, who had secured control of the industry at Utica, ceased manufacturing lime here, and since that date all the lime burned bv them has been at Milltown on Blue river.

The patent kiln was not responsible for the death of the lime industi-y in and near Utica ; it was rather the ultimate result of the battle between the small burners and the wealthy company which finally controlled the industry.

Ihe extent of the shipments of lime was wide. Utica lime was used in great quantities in Pittsburg in the early fifties ; the Louisville and Kanawa packets carried great quantities of it on their up-river trips. A great deal went up into the state of Pennsylvania as far as water transportation could take it ; and the down-river packets, the Cincinnati and New Orleans, and the Cincinnati and Memphis boats carried quantities. Those were the palmy days of steamboating and the excellent transportation facilities made Utica lime a standard article up the Wabash, Green, Cumberland, Tennessee, Red, and Arkansas rivers. It sold in the Atakapas country and in Te.xas, and eastward along the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and west Florida gulf coast. The location of the strata of rock from which lime is made is peculiar. The layer of rock at Utica is the same as the top layer of rock found at the Falls at low water mark. At Charlestown landing the choice strata is about one hundred and sixty feet higher than at Utica ; at Riley's Point, opposite Eighteen Mile island, this strata is still higher and only six feet thick. Three miles further up the river it is only four feet thick and it ends there.

The first cement mill in Clark county was owned by William Beach and it was located in Clarksville, about opposite the Tarascon mill in Louisville. Li 1866 the Falls City Cement Company started the manufacture of cement by the erection of a mill on the James W'ell's farm, about one-half mile south of Sellersburg This mill has been running ever since. In 1869 the Louisville Cement Company purchased land from Louis Bottorff at Speed's. In September, 1869, they purchased the mill of Sabine & Gilmore, about six miles north of Jei¥ersonville, and in 1870 moved this mill to Watson, where its remains still stand. In 1882 the mill at Speed's was enlarged and in 1890 it had a capacity of about four thousand five hundred barrels of natural cement per day. With the discovery of shale in 1905 a Portland plant was erected at Speed's, having a capacity of about five hundred barrels per day. At present the capacity of this plant is one thousand eight hundred barrels per da}-.

The next mill was the Silver Creek mill. Then came the Ohio Valley mill, the Kentucky and Indiana mill, the New .\lbany mill, the Clark county mill, the Indiana mill, the United States mill, the Hoosier mill, the Standard mill, the Golden Rule mill and the Oueen Citv mill. Of these the Silver Creek and the Queen City have been dismantled. The Falls City, th Clark countv and the Speed's mill are the only ones in active operation at this time. In 1900 the output of these mills was over two million barrels, but on account of the advent of Portland cement in the market this output fell, in 1908, to about two hundred thousand barrels.

In 1898 there were seventeen mills in active operation in Clark county. The Speed's mill had a daily output of three thousand five hundred barrels, Belknap's one thousand eight hundred, Ohio Valley six hundred. Kentucky and Indiana six hundred, Watson one thousand. Standard four hundred. Globe three hundred. Clark County seven hundred. L'nited States five hundred, Black Diamond one thousand five hundred and Gheens six hundred.

In 1870 the output was three hundred twenty thousand barrels. In 1880 the output was six hundred twenty-seven thousand barrels. In 1890 the output was one million eight hundred thousand barrels.

Originally the cement rock was cjuarried, but in later years tunneling was resorted to. and the caverns left by the companies are in some cases c|uite extensi\e. The quarrying in early days resulted in more or less rock being stripped off of the cenlent rock and this was used in building roads. During the busy epoch of the cement industry the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio. Southwestern ran regular cement trains and employed scores of men to handle this class of freight.

The natural cement business in Clark county is about as dead as the lime business, but the Portland business is maintainig a steady growth to meet the demand for the supply. The new Portland plant at Speed's, running at its full capacity, and with the increased demand, will, nn doubt, be enlarged to increase its output.

The remains of the old mills stand as mute landmarks to the glory of departed enterprise, and their abandonment has in many instances obliterated the little settlements which had sprung up around them. Their discontinuance was a severe blow to the localities in which they lay and it is to be hoped, for the sake of the county, that commercial enterprise enough may be created to revi\e the industry as a Portland business wherever it is possible and profitable.