Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln
Encyclopedia
The Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln is located near village of Valley City, Illinois
in Pike County
. The periodic lime kiln is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, a designation it gained in August 1999. It is actually within the boundaries of the Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area
. The kiln
represents an example of an 1850s lime kiln, one of the best-preserved examples of such a kiln. In its heyday the kiln's raw product would have been quicklime. The kiln is one of twelve Pike County sites included in the National Register of Historic Places. Some other examples are the Lyman Scott House
, in Summer Hill
and the New Philadelphia Town Site
, somewhere near Barry, Illinois
.
. The Landing was a steamboat
stop on the Illinois River
, which started in the 1830s. It was home to a warehouse
, a boat yard, hotel
and a grist mill. The lime kiln here is a remanent of a commercial operation that would have flourished when the steamboat stop at Griggsville Landing was operational. Such commercial operations involving lime would become impossible after the American Civil War
as the lime
industry became the target of industrial intensification.
s and stone arch bridge
s in the area during the 19th century.
, for fuel, and limestone
blocks on the ground or in a pit. The method is fast but highly ineffcient. Despite these drawbacks, the heap kiln was used as means of lime production in association with land clearing operations. Heap kilns inherent flaw lies in the impossibility of burn-quality control in the log heaps. The product that resulted from this method of lime production was often of variable quality and used for little other than fertilizer
. Heap kilns were being replaced in the more urban parts of the country as early as 1818.
came into vogue. Periodic kilns are much more effcient than the log heap kiln that preceded them. The most effcient type of periodic kiln is a stone
or brick
walled vertical kiln. This walled vertical kiln is what appears at Griggsville Landing. The specific kiln at Griggsville has an opening at the base and at the top, with walls nearly three feet thick. The appearance of the walls of the Griggsville Landing Kiln suggests that they were either dry laid or laid with a mud mortar that has since been dusted away by time. The walls of the vertical kiln at Griggsville Landing rise 17 feet above the forest floor and the inside has a diameter of 13 feet.
, where a periodic vertical kiln remains, Kankakee River State Park
in Will County
, where pieces of an old lime kiln lie in an old limestone quarry. Other kilns can be found in Ogle County
, near Polo
, where a stone kiln remains, a poorly preserved vertical kiln in Port Byron
and a well-preserved kiln in Cordova, Illinois
.
Valley City, Illinois
Valley City is a village in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13 at the 2010 census, making Valley City the smallest incorporated place in Illinois in terms of population.-Geography:Valley City is located at ....
in Pike County
Pike County, Illinois
Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,430, which is a decrease of 5.5% from 17,384 in 2000...
. The periodic lime kiln is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, a designation it gained in August 1999. It is actually within the boundaries of the Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area
Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area
The Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area is a 1,140-acre state park located near Griggsville in Pike County, Illinois. It borders on the Illinois River and is primarily made of steeply sloped bluffland that is part of the river's valley. Heavily wooded, this region is managed for whitetail...
. The kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
represents an example of an 1850s lime kiln, one of the best-preserved examples of such a kiln. In its heyday the kiln's raw product would have been quicklime. The kiln is one of twelve Pike County sites included in the National Register of Historic Places. Some other examples are the Lyman Scott House
Lyman Scott House
The Lyman Scott House, in Summer Hill, Illinois, is one of two houses in Pike County listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The other Pike County home on the Register is the Shastid House in Pittsfield. The Scott House joined the Register in 1983, then and now Summer Hill's only...
, in Summer Hill
Summer Hill, Illinois
Summer Hill is an unincorporated community in Pike County, Illinois, USA....
and the New Philadelphia Town Site
New Philadelphia Town Site
The New Philadelphia Town Site is the original site of the now-vanished town of "New Philadelphia", Illinois. It is located near the city of Barry, in Pike County. Founded in 1836, it was the first town in the United States platted and registered by an African American before the American Civil War...
, somewhere near Barry, Illinois
Barry, Illinois
Barry is a city in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,368 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Barry is located at ....
.
Griggsville Landing
The lime kiln is about one quarter mile north of a town site once known as Griggsville LandingGriggsville Landing, Illinois
Griggsville Landing, also known as Phillips Landing or Phillips Ferry, was located in Flint Township, just south of Valley City, Illinois. It is a former town site on the Illinois River in Pike County. The town was a steamboat stop which began sometime in the 1830s...
. The Landing was a steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
stop on the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
, which started in the 1830s. It was home to a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
, a boat yard, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and a grist mill. The lime kiln here is a remanent of a commercial operation that would have flourished when the steamboat stop at Griggsville Landing was operational. Such commercial operations involving lime would become impossible after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as the lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
industry became the target of industrial intensification.
History
The Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln is one of the best-preserved periodic lime kilns found in the U.S. state of Illinois. When it was built is unknown but it has been established that it is likely it was constructed in the mid-1850s. Local traditions hold that the Griggsville Landing kiln was used by English stonemason William Hobson. It is said Hobson used the kiln in conjunction with the construction of homes, barnBarn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
s and stone arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
s in the area during the 19th century.
Kiln technology
The kiln at Griggsville Landing is known as a periodic kiln. The periodic kiln is an older technology which was used in the United States mostly before the Civil War. The technology utilized at Griggsville Landing, however, is far superior to the so called heap kilns used in lime production.Heap kilns
A heap kiln is a fairly simple kiln. It is made by stacking alternating layers of woodWood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, for fuel, and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
blocks on the ground or in a pit. The method is fast but highly ineffcient. Despite these drawbacks, the heap kiln was used as means of lime production in association with land clearing operations. Heap kilns inherent flaw lies in the impossibility of burn-quality control in the log heaps. The product that resulted from this method of lime production was often of variable quality and used for little other than fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
. Heap kilns were being replaced in the more urban parts of the country as early as 1818.
Periodic kilns
The heap kiln went by the wayside as the periodic kilnKiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
came into vogue. Periodic kilns are much more effcient than the log heap kiln that preceded them. The most effcient type of periodic kiln is a stone
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
or brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
walled vertical kiln. This walled vertical kiln is what appears at Griggsville Landing. The specific kiln at Griggsville has an opening at the base and at the top, with walls nearly three feet thick. The appearance of the walls of the Griggsville Landing Kiln suggests that they were either dry laid or laid with a mud mortar that has since been dusted away by time. The walls of the vertical kiln at Griggsville Landing rise 17 feet above the forest floor and the inside has a diameter of 13 feet.
Other lime kilns
The Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln is one of only a few old lime kilns preserved across the state of Illinois. Some examples can be found in such places as, MaeystownMaeystown, Illinois
Maeystown is a village in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. The population was 148 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land.-History:...
, where a periodic vertical kiln remains, Kankakee River State Park
Kankakee River State Park
Kankakee River State Park is an Illinois state park on primarily in Kankakee and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. Originally, of land was donated by Ethel Sturges Dummer for the creation of the state park in 1938. Another was donated by Commonwealth Edison in 1956, and again donated more...
in Will County
Will County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile . There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile...
, where pieces of an old lime kiln lie in an old limestone quarry. Other kilns can be found in Ogle County
Ogle County, Illinois
Ogle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,497, which is an increase of 4.8% from 51,032 in 2000. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle...
, near Polo
Polo, Illinois
Polo is a city in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census, down from 2,477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Polo is located at ....
, where a stone kiln remains, a poorly preserved vertical kiln in Port Byron
Port Byron, Illinois
Port Byron is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,535 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Port Byron is located at ....
and a well-preserved kiln in Cordova, Illinois
Cordova, Illinois
Cordova is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 633 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cordova is located at ....
.