Cowell Lime Works facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cowell Lime Works Historic District
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 Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | University of California, Santa Cruz campus; High St. and Glen Coolidge Dr., Santa Cruz, California |
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| Area | 32 acres (13 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 07001220 |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 2007 |
The Cowell Lime Works was once a busy factory in Santa Cruz, California. It dug up limestone from the ground. Then, it turned the limestone into a material called lime. Lime was very important for building things. The factory also made wooden barrels to ship the lime.
Today, part of this old factory area is a special place called the Cowell Lime Works Historic District. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. This means it's an important historical site.
The Historic District has four old lime kilns. These were big ovens used to make lime. It also has a cooperage, which is where barrels were made. Other buildings from the old Cowell Ranch are there too. These include barns, a blacksmith shop, a ranch house, a cook house, and cabins where workers lived. The district covers about 32 acres (130,000 square meters). It is located on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus. You can find it on both sides of the main campus entrance.
The Cowell family owned and ran the lime works. They also had quarries, a ranch, and large areas of forest. Henry Cowell bought the ranch and lime works in the late 1800s. His family kept the ranch until 1955. That's when S. H. (Harry) Cowell, the last family member, passed away.
Harry Cowell's large property went to the S. H. Cowell Foundation. This foundation still exists today. The Foundation sold part of the ranch to the University of California. This land became the new UC Santa Cruz campus, which opened in 1965. Many of the original ranch buildings have been fixed up. They are now used as university offices. For example, the Cardiff House was once the ranch manager's home. Now, it is the university's Women's Center.
The Cowell Lime Works is one of many old lime-making places in Santa Cruz County. You can see other old lime kilns and quarries nearby. Some are in the Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Others are in Wilder Ranch State Park and Pogonip. Pogonip is a greenbelt area in Santa Cruz.
Contents
History of the Lime Works
How Lime Production Started
The lime works began in the early 1850s. Two partners, Isaac E. Davis and Albion P. Jordan, started it. They both came to California in 1849. Like many others, they were looking for gold. But they soon realized that making lime offered more chances to succeed.
At that time, many people were moving to northern California. This meant there was a huge need for lime. Lime was used to make mortar. Mortar is like glue for building new brick buildings.
Davis and Jordan's Business
Davis and Jordan arrived in Santa Cruz around 1853. They found lots of good quality limestone there. It was also close to places where ships could pick up their products. The company, called Davis and Jordan, rented land that later became part of the Cowell ranch.
They started digging for limestone. They built lime kilns and a cooperage. They also built a ranch house and other buildings. By late 1853, they were shipping lime. They built a new road, which is now Bay Street. This road went from the kilns to the wharf. The wharf was a dock where ships loaded the lime. It went down to Monterey Bay from the cliffs near a famous surf spot called Steamer Lane.
Their business did very well. Soon, they could buy the land where the lime works was. They also bought the wharf they used. In 1856, they built a longer wharf and bought a second ship. Around this time, Davis moved to San Francisco. There, the company opened a sales office and warehouses. Jordan stayed in Santa Cruz to manage the production.
Cowell Family Takes Over
In the next ten years, Jordan's health got worse. In 1865, he sold his half of the company to Henry Cowell. The company was then renamed Davis and Cowell. Henry Cowell and his family moved to Santa Cruz. He took over Jordan's duties.
After Davis passed away in 1888, Cowell bought the rest of the company. It became Henry Cowell and Co.. Over the next twenty years, the company grew even more. They made more lime. They also raised cattle and milk cows. They mined for bituminous rock. They collected tan oak bark, which was used to make leather. They also grew grain and fruit.
In 1898, the company became a corporation. It was called the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company. After the early 1900s, the lime industry started to slow down. This was because a new material called Portland cement became popular. Portland cement made stronger mortar than lime. Henry Cowell's son, Harry, finally closed the Bay Street kilns around 1920.
Old Buildings Become Part of the University
By the time UC Santa Cruz opened in 1965, many of the old lime works buildings were in bad shape. Most were made of wood and had been empty for over twenty years. The ranch buildings were in better condition. They had been used until the 1950s.
The university began to fix up some of these buildings. They changed them for campus use. For example, a horse barn became the Barn Theater in 1968. The cookhouse became the admissions office. The blacksmith shop became an art studio. The ranch house, also called Cardiff House, now holds the university's Women's Center.
Restoring the Lime Works
Efforts to Preserve History
The old buildings kept getting worse. So, people from the local community and the university decided to help. They wanted to fix and save these important structures. An organization called the Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District was created. This group helps to reach these goals.
The Friends group includes teachers, staff, students, and people from the public. They have worked to make the cooperage building stable. They have also done archaeological studies of the site. This means they dig to find old objects and learn about the past. They have also started fixing up six workers' cabins. You can find a brochure for a self-guided walking tour on their website.
See also
- History of University of California, Santa Cruz
- Limekiln State Park
