Belger-Cahill Lime Kiln - San Marcos, TX
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 29° 53.978 W 097° 55.588
14R E 603646 N 3308148
The kiln, namesake for the roadway, was employed to convert local limestone into lime which then used to make mortar for construction of brick buildings in the area.
Waymark Code: WMKK1Y
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/24/2014
Views: 3
Located on the south side of Lime Kiln Road, 0.35 mile northwest of intersection of Lime Kiln Road and Old Post Road. The stone kiln is enclosed by chain link fencing. A Texas historical marker (
Waymark WMKG7D) also flags the location within the trees.
From the NRHP application:
The Belger-Cahill Lime Kiln is a freestanding structure of roughcut limestone blocks, built at the foot of a natural limestone outcrop. The kiln consists essentially of a rectangular chimney 14 ft. deep, 16 ft. wide, and 22 ft. high at its highest point. Extending from the chimney's front corners are two low stone walls, about 23 ft. long on the south and 16 ft. on the north, that seem to act as earth retainers. Within the chimney is a corbelled brick lining of beehive design. The lower course of blocks on the front seem to be part of the stone outcrop in situ.
Important to any building boom is the availability of materials. The Belger-Cahill Lime Kiln, on the town's outskirts, helped make possible the physical prosperity San Marcos enjoyed at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. It is lucky and surprising that this artifact of a rustic industry has survived.
Verbal reports not verified by written documentation or onsite evidence place the kiln's construction in 1856 and 1870. These reports may indicate the limestone seam had been known and used for many years. The 1887 date for the kiln itself is supported by the name "Laclede" which appears on the kiln's lining firebricks. Laclede of St. Louis, was active from about 1868 to 1907, when it consolidated to become Laclede-Christy, and was probably the leading firebrick manufacturer in the country.
J.J. Belger and J.D. Cahill, already experienced in the lime business, bought the land from Major W.O. Hutchison. The limestone belt they exploited was reported in 1887 as "one of the purest and best in the United States" but "their greatest achievement was their kiln for burning the lime." Production was 100 to 120 barrels per day. Great possibilities were predicted, including additional kilns and an I.& G.N.R.R. siding, but the seam was not as plentiful as had been thought and lime became as cheap to import as to make locally. By 1910, the kiln was inoperative.
However, before its demise the kiln had supplied mortar for numerous structures, including the courthouse, Coronal Institute, an 1890 public school, and the 1887 Hotheinz Hotel. A contemporary newspaper article predicted that farmers would use the kiln refuse for fertilizer and bug killer; presumably these uses were realized.
The kiln appears to be a good, but unusable condition. Recommendation is to cut out some of the trees which will ultimately threaten the actual structure if left unchecked.
Parking is available on both sides of the road.