Before Cell Phones along the AT

 Pics next to the former AT Route in Massachusetts.

As the lime kiln faded from operation, the Appalachian Trail was being built across the Sheffield valley.  An early description of the trail and kiln is found in The Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England that was published by the Appalachian Trail Conference shortly after completion.  The trail followed an unnamed dirt road by the “old deserted limekiln which is worth examining” (ATC 1939:113).  Early hikers had the opportunity to observe the site shortly after operations ceased.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy. 1939. Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England. Publication no. 13. Washington, DC: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 8

Summary

The lime kiln was a significant feature in the western Massachusetts economy for many years, and provided dozens of jobs for local residents. With the reconstruction of these large kilns, we have pieced together a puzzle of our past, so future generations can study and learn from their history.

Here we have a modest industrial site, that contributed to the economy of the local citizens, yet the marble stone and limestone had far reaching uses in America.  The land is protected now, as the National Park Service owns the land around the Appalachian Trail.  The lime kiln lies on the edge of the property adjacent to a public road and is at present, not visible to the hikers since the trail has been relocated off the road traversing the ridgeline above.  Yet despite this fact, the operation of the kiln does provide a glimpse into American life 100 years ago.  We gathered what little information was available about the industry, and recreated the visual history to preserve the story first described to hikers in 1939 as an “old deserted limekiln which is worth examining” (ATC 1939:113). 

So if hiking north on the AT and you pass Shays' Rebellion Monument, continue north until you cross a private driveway.  The trail continues uphill, but turn east, to paved Lime Kiln Road, then left 100 meters or so till you see the kiln complex. to enjoy some local history.

Remember take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints and waste nothing but time.

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 7

 

Present Day Conditions

After years of neglect, the NPS was assigned the responsibility of protecting a permanent route for the Appalachian Trail.  In 1968, the National Trails System Act (NTSA Public Law 90-543) recognized the importance of the trail to the nation. Through an amendment of the Act in 1978, the National Park Service was provided with funds to secure a permanent corridor that would preserve the route of the AT.  Two separate purchases by the National Park Service that began in 1991 were needed to secure protection of the AT that included Lime Kiln site.  Appalachian Trail Parcel 249-67 (locally known as Sheffield Parcel ID:267/033.0-0003-0011.0) is found on Lime Kiln Road. It is a 40.44-acre NPS property bought on 3 January 1991 for US$240,000. Embedded within this parcel is a 1-acre property, (with a Parcel ID: 267/033.0-0003-0011.1) that is also found on Lime Kiln Road and is labeled by the NPS as AT 249-66.  The 1-acre lot was purchased for US$23,000 on 9 September 1998. Both properties provide a 41.5-acre buffer for the AT.  On the larger 249-67 (40.44 acres) the five brick kilns are found in the southeast corner of the property near the road frontage along Lime Kiln Road.  At the point of purchase in 1991 the condition of the kilns was noted as “(t)wo of these are still standing and partly intact. Two others have fallen down, and one is about half collapsed.”  (National Park Service Deed: APPA 14/1_249-67, 1991). 

Property lines are found at MassGIS.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=47689963e7bb4007961676ad9fc56ae9

Finally, most tax maps are found online so you can find the trail and the neighbors.

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 6

Post Kiln Period and the Appalachian Trail

Shortly after the establishment of the NPS in 1916, a regional planner named Benton MacKaye wrote “The Appalachian Trail:  A Project in Regional Planning” for the Journal of the American Institute of Architects (MacKaye, 1921).  His paper proposed a land management philosophy for the eastern mountain range of the nation and spurred enthusiasm to create the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) in 1925 by MacKaye and like-minded environmentalists.  

The trail was constructed during the 1920s and was completed in 1937.  The general route of the trail meandered north from Georgia to Maine through Berkshire County of Massachusetts. As a linear feature, Lacy and Roenke (1998) remark the trail passes through a variety of heritage sites, including those with industrial activities. 

As the lime kiln faded from operation, the Appalachian Trail was being built across the Sheffield valley by the Berkshire Hills Conference in 1928 (Waterman & Waterman, 2019).  An early description of the trail and kiln is found in The Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England, published by the New England Trail Conference in 1933. The kiln is described in the guide as “(r)oad crosses low wooded range, descends, passing abandoned lime kilns on L” (NETC, 1933, p. 23).  A few years later the Trail followed an unnamed dirt road by the “old deserted limekiln which is worth examining” (ATC, 1939, p. 113).  Early hikers had the opportunity to observe the site shortly after operations ceased.

(see the early USGS maps from 9 August 2022 in this blog)

Personal note:  since I was hiking without a map or guide, plus the summer vegetation blocked my view, I do not recall see the ruins.  Above is a present day photo from the road, the previous route of the AT.

Eighty years later, evidence at the site indicates five kilns were in operation at any given time, and one kiln is presently in relatively fair condition. One other kiln has the base elements remaining and the three center kilns have essentially been entirely dismantled to rubble.  While the presence of commercial fire bricks provides some date information, unfortunately, due to the proximity to a local road, many of the bricks have been carted away, presumably for neighboring chimneys. 

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 5

Kilns 

Little photographic evidence survives the operation, so the recreation of the site is based on other examples of the period and region, plus the recollection provided by an oral history.  During the early decades of the 1900’s the kiln was a major employer in the community, supporting the local Pitcher School Number 8, built in 1874 on Lime Kiln Road (https://mhc-macris.net/details.aspx?mhcid=SHE.56) and a neighboring community of workers to operate the kiln year-round. As many as ten men were employed.  Limestone from the Goodale Quarry and timber from the area fed five kilns.  

The kilns were a vertical shaft continuously-fired design.  See a link for the period design of this type of kiln, known as a round kiln (Emley, 1913).  Kiln designs of the period included a firebrick lining, surfaced with regular brick and an iron sheath and/or band wrapped on the outside.  The lime kilns were individually top-loaded by limestone-filled quarry side dumping rail cars that travelled from neighboring quarries. Rail trestles abutted the kilns from the higher grounds northwest and utilized a narrow-gauge rail system.  At the base of the kilns, draw tunnels permitted the quicklime to be extracted from the kiln and allowed to cool on a 57 m (190 foot) platform before being placed in wooden barrels for transport.

Quicklime, the finished product was shipped off-site by another rail system.  Barrels to transport the lime were also manufactured nearby. 

Present day foundations can be measured and give us the size of the structure.  A raised stone foundation that the five kilns rest is 60 meters (197 feet) long and about 8 meters (24 feet) wide (the width varies since it is built into the hillside).  A flat platform where the quicklime could cool is the same length and 15 meters (45.5 feet) wide.  The entire structure is on a north-north-east axis (26 degrees north) and stretch 60 meters (190 feet).  

Looking SW on edge of platform.  AT on right, up hill.

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 4

Geology in Western Massachusetts

Geologically the western region of Massachusetts includes rich deposits of what is called Stockbridge Limestone named after the neighboring Stockbridge Valley in New York (Emerson, 1917).  Rock outcroppings, locally known as cobbles, are found along the Berkshire Mountains and the limestone was used for many applications.   The limestone had been quarried as early as the late 17th century yielding a high-quality marble that was used in buildings along the east coast of the US. For example, Hitchcock (1838) reported that marble mined in Sheffield was used in Girard College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Along the spine of the county, multiple limestone quarries are found.  Records indicate that the first lime kiln arrive in Sheffield, Massachusetts in 1829 (Preiss, 1976).  It is likely though that farmers may have built smaller kilns to burn the limestone for their immediate needs.

As the growth of the industry prospered, the need for additional raw limestone meant quarries were increasingly in demand.  Most were unmapped until T. Nelson Dale (1923) prepared a comprehensive inventory of limestone and the associated industries for the U.S. Geological Survey. The document is found in at this link.  

On record, the main quarry that supplied the Sheffield Lime Kilns is the Goodale Quarry founded by Sheffield Businessman Chester Goodale in the early 19th century (Holland, 1855; Bryan, 1887; Preiss, 1976).  The quarry remained in operation for approximately 120 years and provided the raw material for several local lime kiln businesses.

Early maps mark the site of the complex (https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0744/plate-3.pdf). (refer to the maps from 9 August 2022 I posted on this blog) Additionally see the portion of the 1904 map that shows the details of the northern Sheffield and the proximity of the Goodale Quarry and Barnes and Son’s Lime Kiln (Barnes & Farnham, 1904). Compare this map to the AT route highlighted a few days ago.

The Chester Goodale Quarry and the Berkshire Hills Company partnered in 1905 and remained in operation until the 1929 with a transfer of ownership to the Berkshire Hills Lime Company, Inc. and one year later to the United States Gypsum Company when the business transferred the operation to a modern day rotary lime kiln located one half mile east at the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad tracks.  The property transferred to private ownership in 1943 and continued to exchange ownership several times until 1991 when the US federal government acquired the property to secure open space lands for the Appalachian Trail.  

More details can be found on Sanborn maps that are protected by copyright.

 Figure 3. Portion on Barnes and Farnham map (Plate 38), dated 1904 showing the Goodale Quarry and to the southeast Barnes’s Sons Lime Kiln (Barnes & Farnham, 1904).

(recall, the bib is found a few days earlier.)

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 3

Sheffield, Massachusetts

Sheffield is a town in southern Berkshire County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Sheffield became one of the first settlements in western Massachusetts in 1726 (Preiss, 1976) and is named after Sir Edmund Sheffield, the second duke of Buckingham (Palmer, 1900). Along with farming, a small industry of mineral extraction was found. The manufacturing of iron was possible due to the rich iron ore deposits and plentiful timber for charcoal.  A related demand for lime was likewise supported by the abundant deposits of limestone in the area (Chew, 1988; Dale, 1923).  

In addition to the building and construction use of the stone, limestone was burned in kilns yielding powdered lime that exhibits overwhelming versatility for construction, agriculture and other needs (Hockensmith, 1996). Strategically, the kilns have been placed near the mines and quarries where limestone is found in order to minimize transport of the raw material to the place of processing (Dale, 1923; Rolando, 1994).  

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 2

 The Sheffield Lime Kilns

This short summary provides a brief history of the Sheffield Lime Kilns, located on public lands protected by the National Park Service (NPS) lands that provide a corridor for the Appalachian Trail (AT).  The kiln complex ceased operation just prior to the routing of the AT across the Housatonic River Valley in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  The NPS lands of the Sheffield Lime Kilns were purchased in the 1990s to secure a permanent corridor for the AT.  The purchase of the property provided a wooded trail experience for the hikers taking them off the roads that weave through the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts.  

In this inventory, we first offer background material of the study area, reviewing the historic link to the geologic resources that fueled the 16th to 20th century industry.  Using archived documents, maps and oral histories from local residents, important details of the kiln complex are next discovered.  

Recall the bibliography was posted yesterday.

Cultural Resources on the AT. part 1

 Hiking the AT in Massachusetts is a great experience.  I shared some photos, so how about historic sites that were found along the trail prior to 1990.  Over the next few blogs, I will share an edited version of a cultural resource inventory.  All the information is documented in the bibliography below.

Why is this important?

Trail Significance

The Trail corridor is one of the nation’s most significant cultural landscapes, revealing the history of human use and settlement along the Appalachian Mountain range and the resulting distinct regional traditions. Visitors to the Trail have the unique opportunity to interact with the communities and resources representing these diverse eras in U.S. history and prehistory. (page 5).

National Park Service. (2015). Foundation Document, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, USDI, NPS.  

Now a bib:

Adkins, L. (2016). Images of America: Along the Appalachian Trail, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.  Arcadia.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy. (1939). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England. Publication no. 13. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Barnes and Farnham. (1904). Atlas of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Barnes and Farnham.

Bryan, C. (1887). The Book of the Berkshire describing and illustration its hills and homes and telling where they are, what they are and why they are destined to become the most charming and desirable summer homes in America for the season of 1887. Clark W. Bryan & Co. Publishers.

Berkshire Hills Conference. (1939). The Berkshire Hills, Members of the Federal Writers'

Project of the Works Progress Administration for Massachusetts. Funk & Wagnalls Co.

Chew, V. C. (1988). Underfoot: A Geologic Guide to the Appalachian Trail. Appalachian Trail Conference.

Colwell, R., Avery, S., Berger, J., Davis, G., Hamilton, H., Lovejoy, T., Malcom, S., et al. (2014). Revisiting Leopold: Resource Stewardship in the National Parks. National Parks Advisory Board, 20(2), 15-24.

Crowley & Lunt (1923). South Berkshire Directory 1923-25.  Crowley and Lunt.

Dale, T. (1923). The Lime Belt of Massachusetts. USDI-USGS Bulletin 744. U.S. Government Printing Office. 

Eckel, E. (1922). Cements, Limes and Plasters: their Materials, Manufacture and

Properties. John Wiley and Sons.

Egremont Historical Commission. (2017). Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20160702114140/https://egremonthistory.org/our-town-history/egremonts-historic-citizens/

Emerson, B. K. (1917). Geology of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  Department of the Interior Bulletin No. 597. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Emley, W. (1913). Technologic Papers of the Bureau of Standards, No. 16 Manufacture of lime. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Hitchcock, E. (1838). Report on the Re-Examination of the Economical Geology of Massachusetts. Boston: Dutton and Wentworth. (retrieved from https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/750006 on 4 February 2019.

Hockensmith, C. (1996). Archaeological Investigations at the Rudd Lime Kilns, Livingston County, Kentucky. Ohio Valley Historical Archaeology, 11, 115-124. 

Holland, J. (1855).  History of Western Massachusetts.  Samuel Bowles and Co.

Lacy, D. & Roenke, K. (1998). Walking through time: heritage resources within the Appalachian Trail corridor. In: H. Vogelsong, (Ed.) Proceedings of the 1997 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 1997 April 6 - 9; Bolton Landing, NY. (pp. 171-173). Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-241. Radnor, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station.

Leonard, R. (1979). Protecting the Long Trail Resource: A Problem Analysis in Burch Jr, W. R. Long distance trails. The Appalachian trail as a guide to future research and management needs. Long distance trails.  Symposium on the Appalachian Trail, 11-13 October, 1977. Yale University.

Leung Y. F., Spenceley A., Hvenegaard G. & Buckley R. (2018). Tourism and Visitor Management in Protected Areas: Guidelines for Sustainability. IUCN.

MacKaye, B. (1921). An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning. American Institute of Architects. 9(10), 325-330.

National Park Service. (1991). “Deed for Property: APPA14/1_249-67.”  USDI-NPS.

National Park Service. (2015). Foundation Document, Appalachian National Scenic Trail,  USDI, NPS.  Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/appa/getinvolved/upload/APPA-Foundation-Document-2015.pdf

The National Trail Systems Act (NTSA P.L. 90-543) https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg919.pdf

New England Trail Conference. (1933). Guide to the Appalachian Trail in New England.  NETC.

Palmer, C. (1900). Berkshire County, Its Past History and Achievements. Charles L. Palmer. 

Palmer, M. & Orange, H. (2016). The archaeology of industry; people and places. Post-Medieval Archaeology, 50(1), pp.73-91.

Pease, C.H. (1898). Scrap Book of North Canaan.  C.H. Pease.

Preiss, L. (1976). Sheffield: Frontier Town. Excelsior.

Rolando, V. (1994). The Industrial Archaeology Study of Vermont: 1978-1993.  The Journal of Vermont Archaeology, 1, 141-152.

Sanborn Maps. (1912, 1923). Sanborn Maps for Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. (Retrieved from http://sanborn.umi.com/).

Scott, F. (1904). Sheffield in the Berkshires. French.

Stone. (1903). Limes and Cements. Stone, May 1903, 26(1), 74.

Waterman, L., & Waterman, G. (2019). Forest and crag: a history of hiking, trail blazing, and adventure in the Northeast Mountains. SUNY Press.

(note, many of the older documents are found online, either from a library or Archive.org)

Happy New Year and Sheffield Lime Kiln

Here is a video I created two years ago with some of my students.  Enjoy! 

To learn more about the area see this connection. or this one. and even another.

Recreating the Massasoit Spring House with 3Dimensional Modelling

For more information about cultural resource management on parks and protected areas, how about this. 

Abstract:

 The history of cultural landmarks has abundant examples for educational awareness and enlightenment. Yet hundreds, if not thousands, of sites have yet to achieve this notoriety, often given the lack of funding to restore the site to its previous condition.  For the sites found within our parks and protected areas, both nationally and within Massachusetts, one challenge for park managers, or property owners, is to preserve its cultural heritage, often with limited funding. It is this challenge that we attempt to propose a process for recreating our historical landscape based on archived materials and using computer animation. Three-dimensional computer modelling software provides one such tool to recreate these historic treasures, and adds to our knowledge of sites for historic preservation and educational opportunities. In this exploration, we recreate the setting of the nineteenth-century Massasoit Spring Water Company in West Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.  Protected watershed lands previously managed for no visitation are now open for tourism and passive recreation. With this analysis, we establish baseline data for educational and interpretive opportunities to aid in the evolving management concerns as the property shifts from a drinking water supply to lands supporting passive recreation, while also noting the significance of local landmarks that are a relic of the past.

 Keywords: historic springs, parks and protected areas, virtual archaeology, 3D modeling, nineteenth-century small industries

Citation?

Bristow, R. S., & Taylor, J. (2021).  Recreating the history of cultural heritage sites with 3Dimensional Modeling. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites. 22:199-214  https://doi.org/10.1080/13505033.2021.1980265

  An image, not found in the journal article, looks like this:

 

Here is the page for the current issue of CMAS.