Coplay Cement Company Kilns - Coplay, Pennsylvania - Ovens and Kilns on Waymarking.com

"From 1893 to 1904 these nine Schoefer vertical kilns, constructed of locally made red brick, were utilized by Coplay Cement company for the production of portland cement. Not only do these structures represent the transition in kiln technology from the bottle or dome kiln to the rotary kiln, but they stand as a fitting monument to the pioneering role of David O. Saylor, and Coplay Cement Company, and the Lehig Valley area in the development of the American portland cement industry...

In 1902, eight years after Saylor's death, the Coplay management, faced with growing demand for its product, decide to construct a new mill, Plant B, a few hundred feet south east of the old facility. The company probaly was motivated as well by new advances in cement kiln technology which had led to the developement of kilns that not only made higher quality clicker but producted it on a continuous basis as well. For years the firm had utilized bottle or dome kilns which not only had to be cooled down before the clinker could be removed but which cometimes procuded a product of varying quality.

At the time the Coplay executives made the decision to expand, two types of continuouly operting kiln, the rotary and the upright, were available. the rotary type requred little labor to operate it but had high fuel costs because of its dependence on crude oil. The upright kiln, on the other hand, used cheaper fuel but required a great deal of labor to attend it. Apparently, the cost of fuel swayed the management because they committed the firm to the upright kiln. In 1892-93 the company erected 11 Schoefer kilns, which were a Danish modification of an upright kiln originally developed in Germany.

In 1895, however, a Coplay competitor, whose plant was lcoated nearby, developed a rotary kiln that used powdered coal for fuel. The drastic reduction in fuel costs made possible by this development as well as the cheaper labor cost of the rotary kiln quickly made the vertical kiln obsolete.

In 1899 Coplay constructed its first rotary kiln, and in 1904 the firm shut down all its Schoefer kilns. Eventually, the company constructed its current mill, known as Plant C, a few hundred feet west and demolished all of Plant B with the exception of 10 of the upright Schoefer kilns.

For many subsequent years the Coplay Cement Company used these kilns, constructed of locally made reddish brick, for storage purposes. Originally, they were enclosed in a factory structure and rose to a height of 93 feet. Sometime in the 1920's, the building surrounding the kilns was torn down, and it was probably at this time that the upper 33 feet of the kilns were taken down as well. Late in 1975 the company donated the kilns and a small parcel of land to Lehigh County for a cement industry museum, and early in 1976 a restorative and stablization project was launched." - National Register Nomination

The kilns have been restored and stablized. The museum is open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Type of Oven / Kiln: Other Status: Inactive Operating Dates: 1893 - 1904 Website: [Web Link] Additional Coordinate: Not Listed Additional Coordinate Description: Not listed

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