Work Archives | Page 2 of 6 | Bedrock of Beachville: The History of Our Limestone Quarries

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.

Diverting the River

The most severe flood recorded along the Thames River occurred in April of 1937. In response to this devastation, Beachville opted to alter the course of the Thames […]

Pierce Arrow Truck

Above is an image of an old Pierce Arrow pickup truck with an open cab. Made between 1911 and 1938, Pierce Arrow trucks had capacities of anywhere between […]

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 […]

The Euclid Rock Hauler

This Euclid rock hauler was used between 1950 and 1972 for active quarrying and stripping at Chemical Lime Limited. It featured a 165 horsepower Cummins, 6-cylinder diesel engine […]

A Blasting Timer

This photograph depicts a blasting timer used by Stelco around the mid to late twentieth century. The device has detailed instructions attached to its open lid and several […]

Charging Holes with Dynamite

Quarry employees, Dick Crestoff, left, and Jack Barker, right, are surrounded by crates of dynamite as they charge holes to prepare for a blast. The Dynamex and Canadian […]

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 […]

Wiring Blasting Caps to a Detonator

In this image from a newspaper article that outlined how quarry blasts were set off, Gordon Holden wires the blasting caps to the detonator.

The River Flats in Beachville

The flats around the Thames River were the perfect place to mine limestone. In this image, notice how shallow the soil is atop a major sheet of rock. […]

Discharging to the River

Around the time that this photo was taken, Chemical Lime Ltd. reportedly pumped 2000 gallons per minute into the Thames River. Their quarry pumps operated for hours, keeping […]

On Route to the Kilns

In this image, the draw kilns are visible on the left side. The gentleman manually pulls the cart up the ramp to the kilns along a cable.