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Lime Kiln Limestone might not be the first thing one associates with a kiln. Perhaps clay pots, plates, and mugs come to mind more readily. Yet, lime kilns were important for converting limestone to powdered lime for making mortar and plaster in the 1800s. This kiln, with the interior (top left), entrance (bottom left), and a diagram of its dimensions (right) shown here, was dug into an Iowa hillside. It is a periodic kiln, which would have cycled with a firing time of 72 hours followed by 12 hours of cooling (Mansberger and Straton n.d.). The upper third of the kiln was constructed of cut limestone blocks, and the lower two-thirds were cut out of bedrock (boundary marked by red arrow). The limestone blocks were either dry-laid, or if mortar was used to cement them together, it has decayed. Historical sources point to the kiln’s operation prior to 1870 (Andreas 1873; United States Department of the Interior, Census 1870; United States Department of the Interior, Census 1880).

Andreas, A.T.
1873    Illustrated Historical Atlas of Des Moines County, Iowa. Andreas Publishing Co. Lakeside Building, Chicago, Illinois.

Mansberger, Floyd, and Christopher Straton
n.d.      The Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln at Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area, Pike County, Illinois. Brochure based on a report prepared for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

United States Department of the Interior, Census Office
1870    Ninth Census of the United States. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office.
1880    Tenth Census of the United States. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office.