Work Archives | Page 3 of 6 | Bedrock of Beachville: The History of Our Limestone Quarries

The Crusher on the Edge of the Pit

This image depicts the tramway, a ramp with a track running up it. Stones were carted up from the quarry pit to a building on the pit’s edge. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

Dye and Drill Set

Steam drills were more efficient than hand drills, as they broke through rock, though they quickly expended drill steel. This made a lot of work for the quarry’s […]

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 […]

Reporting the Losses

In these news articles, Bill Eluchok brings the quarry workers’ flood experiences to the forefront of the natural disaster. He offers first-hand accounts of the tragic losses that […]