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. Here, workers dug up limestone and turned it into lime. They also made wooden barrels to ship the lime.
Today, part of this old factory is a special place called the Cowell Lime Works Historic District. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. This historic area has four old lime kilns (big ovens), a cooperage (where barrels were made), and other buildings. It also includes structures from the Cowell Ranch, like barns, a blacksmith shop, a ranch house, a cook house, and workers' cabins.
The historic district covers about 32 acres (130,000 square meters). It is located on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus, right near the main entrance.
The site is named after the Cowell family. They owned and ran the lime works, quarries, ranch, and lots of nearby timberland. Henry Cowell bought the ranch and lime works in the late 1800s. His family owned it until 1955, when S. H. (Harry) Cowell, the last family member, passed away. His large estate went to the S. H. Cowell Foundation. The Foundation later 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 updated and are now used as university offices. For example, the Cardiff House, which was once the ranch manager's home, now hosts the university's Women's Center.
The Cowell Lime Works is just one of many old lime-making sites in Santa Cruz County. You can find other old lime kilns and quarries in places like the Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Wilder Ranch State Park, and Pogonip.
Contents
History of the Lime Works
The lime works started in the early 1850s. Two partners, Isaac E. Davis and Albion P. Jordan, began the business. They both came to California in 1849, hoping to find gold. But they soon realized that making lime offered a better chance to succeed. At that time, many people were moving to northern California. This meant a huge need for lime, which was used to make mortar for new brick buildings.
Starting in Santa Cruz
Davis and Jordan arrived in Santa Cruz around 1853. They found plenty of good quality limestone there. It was also close to shipping facilities. Their company, Davis and Jordan, leased land that would later become part of the Cowell ranch. They started digging for limestone. They built lime kilns, a cooperage, 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 connected their kilns to the wharf. The wharf was used to load the lime onto ships. Their business did so well that they soon bought the land where the lime works stood. 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. He set up a sales office and warehouse there. Jordan stayed in Santa Cruz to manage the production.
The Cowell Family Takes Over
In the next ten years, Jordan's health got worse. In 1865, he sold his share 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 died in 1888, Cowell bought the rest of the company. It became Henry Cowell and Co.. Over the next twenty years, the business grew even more. They made more lime and also raised cattle. They mined for bituminous rock and collected tan oak bark, which was used to make leather. They also grew grain and fruit. In 1898, the company officially became the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company.
After the early 1900s, the lime industry started to decline. 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 Find New Life
By the time UC Santa Cruz opened in 1965, many of the old lime works buildings were in bad shape. They were mostly made of wood and had been empty for over twenty years. The ranch buildings were in better condition because 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 old cookhouse became the admissions office. The blacksmith shop was turned into an art studio. The ranch house, called Cardiff House, now houses the university's Women's Center.
Saving the Lime Works
The old buildings continued to fall apart. This made local people and university staff want to save and restore them. An organization called the Friends of the Cowell Lime Works Historic District was created. They work to achieve these goals.
The Friends group includes teachers, staff, students, and people from the community. They have made the cooperage building stable. They have also done archaeological studies of the site. They have started to restore six workers' cabins. You can find a self-guided walking tour brochure on their website.
See also
- History of University of California, Santa Cruz
- Limekiln State Park
