Chatsworth Calera facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chatsworth Calera |
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| Location | Chatsworth, Los Angeles |
| Designated | June 27, 1977 |
| Reference no. | 911 |
The Chatsworth Calera, also called the Chatsworth Reservoir Kiln Site, is a very old structure from the early 1800s. It is one of the few remaining buildings from the time when people made lime for building. This special kiln was the first place in California to use a European way of making limestone strong and hard. This process is called vitrifying. The strong limestone blocks were used to build the San Fernando Mission and other important mission buildings.
The word "Calera" comes from Spanish. It means "limestone quarry" (a place where limestone is dug up) or "limekiln" (a special oven for making lime). The Chatsworth Calera is located in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, inside the Chatsworth Nature Preserve. Long ago, there might have been as many as five kilns here. Native Indian workers operated them. Today, the Chatsworth Calera is recognized as a California Historical Landmark (No. 911). It is also a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 141), named on April 2, 1975.
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What is a Kiln and How Was it Used?
A kiln is like a giant oven. The Chatsworth Calera kiln was used to burn limestone. This burning process created lime. Lime was a very important material. It was used to make concrete, mortar (which holds bricks together), and whitewash (a white paint for walls). These materials were essential for building bricks and tiles.
Today, the monument site looks like a deep hole in the ground. Its walls are made of very hard, vitrified limestone and brick. The pit is about fifteen feet deep and six and a half feet wide. This kiln was actively used during the early history of California, especially during the Spanish Mission and Mexican periods.
Why Was This Location Special?
The area around the Chatsworth Calera was perfect for operating a kiln. It had many oak trees, which provided the wood needed to fuel the kiln's fires. It also had large amounts of lime deposits, which is the raw material for making lime. In the past, several other lime kilns were operating around the edge of the San Fernando Valley.
You can find the Chatsworth Calera near the intersection of Woolsey Canyon Road and Valley Circle Boulevard in Chatsworth. The address is around 9022 Valley Circle Blvd, Chatsworth, CA 91311. If you look east from the intersection, you can still see the kiln today.
Who Found the Chatsworth Calera?
The ruins of the Chatsworth Calera became known to the public thanks to Helen Treend. She was an environmental quality commissioner for the City of Los Angeles. Helen learned about the kiln from Max Knapp, a stonemason who was one of the early settlers in the Chatsworth Valley.
A geologist and paleontologist named William Warren Orcutt also wrote about the limestone rocks near his ranch, Rancho Sombra del Roble. He believed these rocks were very good for making lime.
Other Nearby Kilns
About two miles south of the Chatsworth Calera, you can find the Dayton Canyon Kilns. These were other kilns used for similar purposes in the past.
