A piece of Michigan history is being dedicated as a historical marker site Friday evening in the small town of Bellevue in Eaton County.
The Dyer Limestone Kiln operated in the late 1800s burning limestone to produce quicklime. At the time, lime had a great number of uses. Pat Tirrell with the Eaton County Historical Commission said people would use it for cleaning, tanning hides, bleaching, scouring and making mortar which was used for building.
Tirrell said some 5,000 bushels of lime from Bellevue were used to build the Michigan Capitol building.
"It was very important because the limestone in Bellevue was tested and it was very, very pure. It was almost 96% pure," Tirrell said. "It was the best for the Capitol. It was the most pure limestone that would make a harder mortar. That’s why they came down to Bellevue to get it."
According to Tirrell, the Dyer Kiln was known as a "perpetual kiln" because it operated continuously for eight months of the year. That meant workers had to constantly feed fuel into the 1,700-degree fire.
"In some of the old history recollections, it says that the guys' who worked the kilns hair was singed red and their clothes were always dripping with sweat," Tirrell explained. "It must have been a miserable job, but they made like 25-cents more a day, so it was a good job."
The Dyer Limestone Kiln will receive a state historical marker at 6:30 p.m. Friday at 8610 Sand Rd. in Bellevue.
