Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company
Encyclopedia
Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company (a.k.a. "Michigan Limestone") operates the world's largest limestone
quarry
located near Rogers City, Michigan
. It was founded in 1910, however production didn't begin until 1912. Ownership of the quarry has changed a number of times in recent years, but it is still one of the country's largest producers of limestone.
About 1908 or 1909, the geologist Henry H. Hindshaw established the commercial value of Northern Michigan
's limestone. Limestone is a raw material essential in industry for making steel, chemicals, and cement. Hindshaw determined the value due to the especially high grade and purity of the limestone deposit underground in the northeastern part of Northern Michigan near Alpena
just south of Rogers City along the shore of Lake Huron.
The quality of the limestone deposit at Rogers City, the size of the deposit, and the availability of easy water transportation led to the development of the quarry and a port. Both the quarry and the port are named Calcite
after the principal ingredient of the stone.
Michigan Limestone & Chemical Co. was formed in 1910 by New York investment banker William F. White and a group of investors who purchased a large block of land along the Lake Huron
shore just south of the small lumbering community of Rogers (now Rogers City). It was the lumber industry that had brought the first settlers to the Rogers City area around the time of the Civil War. The first settlers arrived at Rogers in 1869 with the establishment of the Rogers-Molitor Lumber Company.
The lumber industry was the backbone of the economy in Rogers City and Presque Isle County until the second decade of the 20th century. By that time, most of the forests had been cut over and the major lumber companies were moving their camps to fresh forests in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and into the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. It was about that time that Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company began mining limestone.
White, who continued to live in New York City, served as President of Michigan Limestone. In 1911, Carl D. Bradley was hired as General Manager of the Calcite Plant. Bradley oversaw construction of the limestone processing plant, which included a powerhouse, crusher, mill or screenhouse, conveyor distribution system, harbor, loading slip, ship loader, repair shop, and office building. Steam shovels were purchased for use in mining, and steam locomotives and dump cars were used to move the stone from the quarry to the crusher. Production at the quarry began in early 1912 and the first cargoes of stone were shipped in June of that year.
Most of the stone mined at the Rogers City quarry was shipped on lake freighter
s to steel mills located along the lower Great Lakes at places like Detroit, Cleveland, Gary, and South Chicago. For most of the plant's history, its biggest customer was United States Steel (Also known as U.S. Steel.), the world's largest producer of steel products. Eventually, additional markets were found for the limestone in the agricultural, construction, chemical, and cement industries. The Rogers City area continued to develop and grow as the Calcite Plant grew. Within 20 years, the quarry at Rogers was the world's largest producer of limestone.
United States Steel Corporation purchased a controlling interest in Michigan Limestone in 1920 and Carl D. Bradley was promoted from General Manager to president of Michigan Limestone. Bradley also served as president of Michigan Limestone's fleet of self-unloading ships used to deliver the stone. Those ships were operated as the Bradley Transportation Co.
Michigan Limestone and Bradley Transportation came under the full ownership of U.S. Steel upon Bradley's death in 1928. At that time U.S. Steel purchased all of the stock of both Michigan Limestone and the associated shipping concern, Bradley Transportation, and made both these companies subsidiaries of U.S. Steel. The company became a division
in 1951 when the operations at Rogers City became U.S. Steel’s "Northern District", since the main offices were moved to Detroit. The operation is still a major employer in northern Michigan. Its ownership has changed several times in recent years. Since 2008 it has been owned by Carmeuse Lime, a major producer of lime-based products.
iron
in the blast furnace
s. It is used to carry away impurities in the process of making steel. The material is also in widespread use in making cement
. The limestone also produces just pure lime
, which is used in everything from glass manufacturing, paint fabrication, baking powder assembly and ammonia production.
. These ships were revolutionary in their own right. They represented the latest technology in "self-unloading" ships, then simply called "unloading ships".
In 1912, the company built its first steamship, SS Calcite. It was considerably larger than the first modern self-unloader ever built on the Great Lakes
. That ship was the SS Wyandotte and was built in 1908 for the Michigan Alkali Company of Wyandotte, Michigan, better known as Wyandotte Chemical Co. The ship was used to haul limestone from the company's quarry at Alpena, Michigan, to their manufacturing plant on the Detroit River south of Detroit. The steamships W.F. White and Carl D. Bradley followed over the next few years. All the steamships' hulls were painted grey to minimize the appearance of the limestone dust that accumulated during loading and unloading.
The design of these early self-unloaders was pretty much the same as today. The idea is that the "cargo hold" is built with its sides sloping toward the center of the ship along the keel. Where the two sides come together, a series of steel gates can be opened. This allows the material to drop onto a conveyor belt running the length of the ship beneath the "cargo hold." The conveyor belt carries the material up to an exchanger, where it is transferred to a second belt which runs up to the main deck, then through a long boom on deck. The unloading swing boom hangs over the ship's side to discharge the material load onto the waiting customer's dock. The advantage of self-unloaders is that they can deliver the limestone material directly to a customer's dock without requiring expensive shoreside unloading rigs.
As business grew over the years, the company built several more of these self-unloaders. These ships were operate under the name Bradley Transportation Company after 1920 and were known as the Bradley boats or the Bradley fleet. There are self-unloaders today that carry limestone from the Calcite plant through the Port of Calcite to industrial ports all around the Great Lakes.
The SS Carl D. Bradley was lost in a storm in November 1958 while returning from delivering a load of limestone. 33 of the 35 crewmembers died, most of whom lived in or around the small town of Rogers City. No larger loss of lives has occurred in the lake freighter fleet since the Bradley's sinking.
at a viewing point at the site of Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company that reads:
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....
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
located near Rogers City, Michigan
Rogers City, Michigan
-Commercial airports:The nearest commercial airports are Alpena County Regional Airport an Cherry Capital Airport -US Highway Business Loops:* BUS US 23-Intercounty Highways:* F-21-Demographics:...
. It was founded in 1910, however production didn't begin until 1912. Ownership of the quarry has changed a number of times in recent years, but it is still one of the country's largest producers of limestone.
History
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan , is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan...
's limestone. Limestone is a raw material essential in industry for making steel, chemicals, and cement. Hindshaw determined the value due to the especially high grade and purity of the limestone deposit underground in the northeastern part of Northern Michigan near Alpena
Alpena, Michigan
Alpena is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census...
just south of Rogers City along the shore of Lake Huron.
The quality of the limestone deposit at Rogers City, the size of the deposit, and the availability of easy water transportation led to the development of the quarry and a port. Both the quarry and the port are named Calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
after the principal ingredient of the stone.
Michigan Limestone & Chemical Co. was formed in 1910 by New York investment banker William F. White and a group of investors who purchased a large block of land along the Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
shore just south of the small lumbering community of Rogers (now Rogers City). It was the lumber industry that had brought the first settlers to the Rogers City area around the time of the Civil War. The first settlers arrived at Rogers in 1869 with the establishment of the Rogers-Molitor Lumber Company.
White, who continued to live in New York City, served as President of Michigan Limestone. In 1911, Carl D. Bradley was hired as General Manager of the Calcite Plant. Bradley oversaw construction of the limestone processing plant, which included a powerhouse, crusher, mill or screenhouse, conveyor distribution system, harbor, loading slip, ship loader, repair shop, and office building. Steam shovels were purchased for use in mining, and steam locomotives and dump cars were used to move the stone from the quarry to the crusher. Production at the quarry began in early 1912 and the first cargoes of stone were shipped in June of that year.
Most of the stone mined at the Rogers City quarry was shipped on lake freighter
Lake freighter
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...
s to steel mills located along the lower Great Lakes at places like Detroit, Cleveland, Gary, and South Chicago. For most of the plant's history, its biggest customer was United States Steel (Also known as U.S. Steel.), the world's largest producer of steel products. Eventually, additional markets were found for the limestone in the agricultural, construction, chemical, and cement industries. The Rogers City area continued to develop and grow as the Calcite Plant grew. Within 20 years, the quarry at Rogers was the world's largest producer of limestone.
United States Steel Corporation purchased a controlling interest in Michigan Limestone in 1920 and Carl D. Bradley was promoted from General Manager to president of Michigan Limestone. Bradley also served as president of Michigan Limestone's fleet of self-unloading ships used to deliver the stone. Those ships were operated as the Bradley Transportation Co.
Michigan Limestone and Bradley Transportation came under the full ownership of U.S. Steel upon Bradley's death in 1928. At that time U.S. Steel purchased all of the stock of both Michigan Limestone and the associated shipping concern, Bradley Transportation, and made both these companies subsidiaries of U.S. Steel. The company became a division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
in 1951 when the operations at Rogers City became U.S. Steel’s "Northern District", since the main offices were moved to Detroit. The operation is still a major employer in northern Michigan. Its ownership has changed several times in recent years. Since 2008 it has been owned by Carmeuse Lime, a major producer of lime-based products.
Usage of material
The limestone produced at Michigan Limestone is high quality and almost pure white. Steel mills added limestone to moltenMölten
Mölten is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 60 km north of Trento and about 12 km northwest of Bolzano .-Geography:...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
in the blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s. It is used to carry away impurities in the process of making steel. The material is also in widespread use in making cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
. The limestone also produces just pure 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...
, which is used in everything from glass manufacturing, paint fabrication, baking powder assembly and ammonia production.
Self-unloading ships of the company
Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company built three ships between 1912 and 1917. They were named SS Calcite, SS W.F. White and SS Carl D. BradleySS Carl D. Bradley
The was a self-unloading Great Lakes freighter that sank in a storm on November 18, 1958. Of the 35 crew members, 33 died in the sinking and 23 were from the port town of Rogers City, Michigan. Her sinking was likely caused by structural failure from the brittle steel used in her...
. These ships were revolutionary in their own right. They represented the latest technology in "self-unloading" ships, then simply called "unloading ships".
In 1912, the company built its first steamship, SS Calcite. It was considerably larger than the first modern self-unloader ever built on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. That ship was the SS Wyandotte and was built in 1908 for the Michigan Alkali Company of Wyandotte, Michigan, better known as Wyandotte Chemical Co. The ship was used to haul limestone from the company's quarry at Alpena, Michigan, to their manufacturing plant on the Detroit River south of Detroit. The steamships W.F. White and Carl D. Bradley followed over the next few years. All the steamships' hulls were painted grey to minimize the appearance of the limestone dust that accumulated during loading and unloading.
The design of these early self-unloaders was pretty much the same as today. The idea is that the "cargo hold" is built with its sides sloping toward the center of the ship along the keel. Where the two sides come together, a series of steel gates can be opened. This allows the material to drop onto a conveyor belt running the length of the ship beneath the "cargo hold." The conveyor belt carries the material up to an exchanger, where it is transferred to a second belt which runs up to the main deck, then through a long boom on deck. The unloading swing boom hangs over the ship's side to discharge the material load onto the waiting customer's dock. The advantage of self-unloaders is that they can deliver the limestone material directly to a customer's dock without requiring expensive shoreside unloading rigs.
As business grew over the years, the company built several more of these self-unloaders. These ships were operate under the name Bradley Transportation Company after 1920 and were known as the Bradley boats or the Bradley fleet. There are self-unloaders today that carry limestone from the Calcite plant through the Port of Calcite to industrial ports all around the Great Lakes.
The SS Carl D. Bradley was lost in a storm in November 1958 while returning from delivering a load of limestone. 33 of the 35 crewmembers died, most of whom lived in or around the small town of Rogers City. No larger loss of lives has occurred in the lake freighter fleet since the Bradley's sinking.
Michigan historical marker
There is a Michigan historical markerHistorical marker
A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...
at a viewing point at the site of Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company that reads: