It was 150 years ago that the IXL Lime Company made its first batch of lime in its kilns on Fall Creek near Felton, California. In honor of this anniversary, local historian (and Lime Works board chair) Frank Perry presented an online lecture in November on the history of the company and the importance of lime production in early Santa Cruz County history.
If you missed the lecture in live mode, you can still view it on YouTube (see link, below).
Lime was an essential ingredient in making mortar and plaster. Around 1900, the operation was taken over by Henry Cowell, and today Fall Creek is a unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.
Perry, co-author of the book Lime Kiln Legacies, discussed the history of the company, including some new information discovered since the publication of the book in 2007.If you missed the lecture in live mode, you can still view it on YouTube (see link, below).
The online lecture was dedicated to the memory of Robert W. Piwarzyk, who was a co-author of Lime Kiln Legacies, a founding member of the Friends of the Cowell Lime Works, and who spent many years gathering information on the history of Fall Creek and its historic lime kilns. He passed away in January.
The lecture was hosted by the San Lorenzo Valley Museum in partnership with The Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District and Researchers Anonymous.
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