12--PRESQUE ISLE COUNTY VISITORS’ AND RESOURCE GUIDE--2018
Limestone quarry key to development of the area
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498 S. 6th St
Rogers City, MI 49779
A visitor to Rogers City
notices two things immediately:
Lake Huron and the huge
limestone quarry to the south
of town. The two have had
much to do with the growth of
the area over the course of 100
years.
The story of growth of the
limestone quarry parallels the
growth of the area.
In June of 1912, the mining
of limestone began at a place
called Crawford’s Quarry, just
south of what is now Rogers
City. What began as a small
operation quickly became the
life-blood of the community.
Limestone is a basic raw
material in a number of chemical
processes. Large quantities
of limestone are used for the
reduction of iron ore into pig
iron.
Limestone is also used in
production of steel in openhearth
furnaces. Lime is important
in the manufacture of
abrasives for bleaching powders,
paper, strawboard, toothpaste,
water treatment plant
glass, leather, sand brick, acetylene,
insecticides, fungicides,
disinfectants, soaps, plastics,
paint pigments, synthetics and
There are many other
uses for limestone such as in
the cement industry, for sugar
products.
Since its inception, several
companies have owned what
came to be known as Calcite,
providing residents with
steady jobs and the community
with economic well-being.
In addition, the Calcite
Plant has assisted the area
in many charitable and civic
projects over the years.
Carmeuse Lime & Stone,
which operates several other
facilities around the Great
Lakes, is the current owner of
Homemade
Pie
and
Soup
Friday
Night
Fish Fry
Cod or Perch
the Calcite Plant.
The local plant has come
from a pick and shovel operation
to a multimillion dollar,
computer-guided concern.
Work in the quarry began
-
ing crews started clearing the
land.
Efforts of an estimated
work force of some 1,000 men
made the construction come
alive. In the early days, as
many as 800 men were on the
job on any given day.
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