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

North American Cyanamid Workers

A group of workers pose together outside of North American Cyanamid in the early 1950s.

Drilling Rig at Beachville White Lime

This image shows a cable forage rig at the Beachville White Lime Quarry in 1928. The hauler holds the end of the forage rod as it rises to […]

The Drilling Rig and Crew

The drilling crew stands before a drill rig with a tall, wooden mast. The mast supports the drill cable. On the floor, at the end of the cable, […]

On the Drilling Crew

When preparing to blast the selected section of the wall, drilling teams create holes vertically through the stone, starting a deliberate distance away from the wall’s edge. Each […]

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 […]

Early Quarry Pits

This image shows a team quarrying on land owned by John Downing. This land was east of the main road, known then as “Monroe Sideroad” and now County […]

The Erie Steam Shovel

William Smith Otis (1813-1839) invented the “steam shovel” in 1836 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a revolutionary invention for the aggregate industry. Before Otis’ invention, almost all excavation projects were […]

Transportation by Team & Wagon

This image shows a work crew and a team of horses at the Downing-Bremner quarries east of Monroe Sideroad (now Oxford County Road 6). Records from early quarries […]