General Archives | Bedrock of Beachville: The History of Our Limestone Quarries

Domtar Strikers Around Stove Beachville

This image, from the London Free Press, depicts strikers surrounding a stove at the Domtar site. With the cold weather setting in, strikers built a makeshift shack and […]

“No Strike Settlement in View After 3 Weeks”

This newspaper image was published in the Woodstock Sentinel Review in an article titled “No Strike Settlement in View After 3 Weeks,” written by Chris Nixon. The image […]

“The Old Stage Road” Historical Plaque

This plaque was installed on the grounds of Sweaburg Central School on County Road 14, southeast of Woodstock by Ontario Heritage Trust’s for their Provincial Plaque Program. This […]

Beachville White Lime

This image compares to the photograph of the early quarry pit mined by Cole & Hacker. Notice how much deeper the pits were dug in 1923 at Beachville […]

Later Rotary Kilns

During the 1950s, the vertical drums of the shaft kilns were turned on their sides and inclined; the rotary kiln was introduced. By 1960, rotary kilns were installed […]

Loading Trucks at Gypsum Lime and Alabastine

When other forms of power were applied to “steam shovels” through the advents of gasoline and electricity, they became known as “power shovels.”

A Collective Agreement

These pages were taken from Dave Daniel’s copy of a “Collective Agreement” pocketbook from 1966 that shows hourly wages organized into 8 groups at Domtar’s quarry.

The Aftermath of the Flood

Looking south down the flooded sideroad, this image shows the damage caused to the office and the company homes. John Downing’s family home (later the Beachville Museum) is […]

Early Transport Truck

This is one of Byron Downing’s first trucks. It was used at the quarries in the early 1930s. These Mack, B.L. Model trucks were built between 1929 and […]

North American Cyanamid News

North American Cyanamid specialized in producing the compound calcium cyanamide – which is rich in nitrogen and could be used as a fertilizer to feed growing plants. The […]

A Network of Conveyors

This image shows a series of conveyor belts inside the Beachville quarry (Dofasco). Such conveyors were just as crucial as the locomotives, carts and cables for transporting the […]

Drill Markings on the Wall

This image shows a worker near piles of stone that have been blasted off the pit’s walls. Notice the light, vertical lines at regular intervals on the face […]