Lime Kiln Bottom - Parkville, MD - Preserved Architectural Remnants and Ruins on Waymarking.com

The plaque says, "The Shanklin Kiln, built in 18y, is the youngest of the three grouped kilns. It is a continuous burn vertical shaft kiln capable of producing 6000 bushels of quicklime per year. The fuel needed to produce this much lime amounted to approximately four acres of trees annually per kiln.

Continuous burn kilns could be operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Wood and Cockeysville Marble were dumped alternately into the top of the kiln and, after several hours, finished lime or quicklime came out of the bottom. This lime was placed in barrels, covered and sent to market.

One feature of this kiln is the increased use of brick. The 4-food diameter burning chamber was lined with firebrick.

The top of this stack is also framed by a square pattern of brick, which was probably a base course of 10-15 foot chimney.

Half way down the kiln, firebrick was extensively used in the poke hole leading to the burning chamber. At the base of the kiln is the three-course brick arch at the entrance of the cooling vault. Inside the vault the curved brick ceiling extends 11 fee back into the base of the kiln. Also, the floor of this cooling vault is hand laid brick.

Large timber braces are shown being held tightly against the stone surface of this kiln by iron tie-rods and bolted spreader caps. This bracing system provided support for the kiln walls so they were not pushed outward by heat and expanding gases of the lime burning process.

The wing walls of this kiln also present an unusual pattern of kiln support. The wall supporting the north poke hole patio extends in a zigzag pattern ending up resting against the wing wall of the Risteau Kiln. The upper wall of the south poke hole patio extends south then bends around to the west.

However unusual in appearance. these walls added support and stability to the Shanklin Kiln. The Shanklin walls are tapered from 14 feet wide at the bottom to 12 feet square at the top. Other than these differences, the Shanklin Kiln is similar to its companion, the Jenifer Kiln, to the north."

The plaque says, "Jenifer Kiln, on the right, was built in 1883 by the partnership of Shanklins and Jenifer, who were nearby residents. This kiln is a vertical shaft continuous burn kiln, which could operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As the initial wood and marble in the kiln burned down, more fuel and marble were added from the top while quicklime was removed from the bottom. This continuous operation could produce up to 6000 bushels of lime per year. The Jenifer Kiln measure 14 feet square from top to bottom and stands 24 feet tall. The entire kiln is rock and mortar with the exception of a 48 inch diameter hollow center core, which is the fire brick lined burning chamber.

Originally, this kiln was topped by a 10 foot brick chimney which carried away the smoke and toxic fumes from the lime burning process. Half way down the kiln there is a brick lined arched "poke hole" on both the north and south sides.

These openings provide access to the burning marble in case more fuel was needed or to move the mass of quicklime and ash into the cooling chamber.

Three courses of common brick were artfully used in framing the arched vault that contained the funnel shaped metal cooler. The brick sides and roof of this chamber extends 7 feet back under the kiln cooling chamber.

Notice also the wood timber held tightly against the kiln walls by a system of metal tie-rods originally built into the kiln walls. The outward pressure of heat and expanding stone was contained by these tie0rods and dispersed onto the timbers by the round metal spreader caps. As shown in the photo below, wood sheds covered the area in front of the Jenifer Kiln. These were probably constructed to protect the quicklime from rain during packing for shipment.

In front of the Jenifer Kiln a stone patio still exists from the 1880s. Presumable this stone patio protected the ground in front of the kiln from damage by wagonwheels and allowed extended use during bad weather."

The plaque says, "The Risteau Kiln is thought to have been built out of local field stone before 1785. This type of kiln is known as an intermittent burn box kiln and it greatly increased the production of lime over its predecessor, the "pit" or "field" kil. The lime burning process involved loading the kiln from the top with alternate layers of fuel, usually wood and Cockeysville Marble, which was quarried less than 200 yards from this site, and transported by mule cart. Pictured here is an original cart that could have been used in this operation.

The bottom layer of fuel was ignited and the lime-making process began. Heat from the burning wood rose through alternate layers of marble above, helping to warm and then bake the rocks. The bottommost layer of limestone was actually burned by the wood fire just below it. The marble and wood mixture was allowed to burn down for several days. Usually, it took from nine to twelve days to complete one cycle of lime burning.

In 1865 the ownership of Long Island Farm and this kiln passed from Dr. Thomas C. Risteau to his grandson Thomas Ristaeu Jenifer. Mr. Jenifer ran the farm until his death in 1915.

In addition to the natural support provided by the hillside into which this kiln is built, looking at the front of the Risteau Kiln you can notice the two curved walls protruding from its face. These are wing walls erected to provide extra stability to the structure. Between these two wing walls there is one large opening and four smaller openings. Unique to this type of kiln, and to Lime Kiln Bottom, the two foot by six foot opening is the "draw hole" by which the finished quicklime was removed from the kiln. On both sides of this man-sized draw hole are upper and lower vent holes. These four holes were used in varying combinations to supply fresh air to the burning chamber within the kiln so heat levels could be controlled. Sometimes grass sod was also placed over the top of the kiln to provide lower heat and a slower burning time.

Around the middle to late 1880s, this type of kiln was gradually replaced by a more efficient, continuous burning kiln such as the Jenifer Kiln to the right."

Type: Ruin Fee: 0 Hours: 9-4 daily Related URL: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   07/17/2022 Searcher28 visited it