Industrial Archives | Page 2 of 3 | Bedrock of Beachville: The History of Our Limestone Quarries

Smoke Clouds

Beachville residents were concerned with rising dust levels and its relation to air quality. The image below depicts smoke clouds obscuring buildings and conveyor belts at the Beachville […]

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 […]

Blasting in the 21st Century

Video Clip: (00:25): The limestone industry has long been active in the Thames River Valley. Early on, to loosen the rock, blasting was done with black powder and […]

Option Agreement and Contract Extension

The option agreement and contract extension are documents that both Cyrus Caldwell Poyntz and representatives of North American Cyanamid signed. The option agreement outlines that if the quarry […]

Caprock Stemming at Stelco

In this image, a layer of rock has been cleared of overburden, and workers plan to blast through the “cap rock,” which lies over the desired limestone reserves. […]

The Locomotive in the Pit

This locomotive was used in the quarry pits of Beachville White Lime and North American Cyanamid for about 30 years between 1927 and 1957. It brought limestone from […]

Diverting Water

This image was taken as the top layers of brush, soil, gravel, and sand were cleared from the new quarry site in Beachville. On the right is a […]

Arthur Lightheart Recalls a Loose Load

In this audio clip, Lightheart describes a risky incident his brother and Fred Downing experienced going up a ramp with a load of stone to the top of […]

Cole & Hacker Quarry

Cole & Hacker was a recognized dealer in lime and building stone. The company hired hands to mine, burn, and transport limestone. It was heavily intertwined with other […]

Quarrying West of the Village: 1860 Onwards

At the centre of this map is the Village of Beachville. Above the Canadian National Railroad tracks (marked C.N.R.) are lots numbered 18 to 22. Lot 18 is […]

A Spratt Family Affair

In this audio clip, Sandra Spratt speaks on Ted Spratt, her late husband and how he started as a quarry worker in Beachville. In the photo above stands […]

Standard White Lime Pit

The image depicts a set of 24 large silos standing on the edge of Standard White Lime’s large quarry pit.