Hurstville Lime Kilns
Why was Hurstville the perfect place to build lime kilns?
Huge kilns in Jackson County were once used to turn limestone into lime powder, an important ingredient in mortar.
Transcript
[Abby Brown] At first glance, this interesting spot in Iowa might look like it could be a haunted castle or a medieval fort that withstood fiery battles. There's definitely fire involved in the history of this place, the result of which could be seen in structures all over the Midwest.
(Map marking Jackson County on the eastern side of the state.)
For thousands of years, humans have used kilns to create pottery, tiles and bricks.
A kiln is basically a really hot, and in this case, a really big oven. In Maquoketa, Iowa, the Hurstville Lime Kilns are no longer fired up, but they still stand to tell the story of one man's creative use of local, natural resources and an important part of construction history.
In the 1870s, Alfred Hurst built these kilns to create lime powder. Before cement was invented, lime powder was an essential part of constructing homes and buildings. The limestone in the land close by along the Maquoketa River was the perfect ingredient. And the town of Hurstville was the perfect location.
The entire town became involved in the operation. At the quarry, workers used dynamite to get the limestone from the land, then dumped it into the kilns, which were heated to over a thousand degrees.
The heat would break the limestone down into a powder. Once the powder cooled, it could be loaded into barrels and shipped off to construction sites. The builders would mix it with water and sand to make a pure white mortar. That mortar was used to bind or stick together building materials like boards and bricks.
For decades, the Hurstville Lime Kilns were one of the largest producers of lime in the country. They closed in 1930, but since then the community has created a roadside park for folks to stop and learn about this remarkable piece of Iowa history. It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Every county in Iowa is built on a solid foundation of super smart ideas. This peek at history in Jackson County has been a blast.
Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.