By Frank Passic
LIME LAKE HISTORY, Part 1.
A mile south of Spring Arbor is Lime Lake, a popular water sports (including scuba diving) and walking/biking recreation area for area residents. The Falling Waters Trail goes through the middle of the lake. Along the Trail are historical markers giving the history of the area. Lime Lake is actually a dug-out lake, with the work being accomplished in the early 20th century for the mining of marl.
The Albion Recorder reported on January 22, 1903, “A side track is being built at Spring Arbor station; buildings and machinery will soon be put up and in place for the shipment of marl for the manufacture of Portland cement.” Thus began the digging of what eventually became known as Lime Lake.
But what is the background of the discovery of the marl at this site? The Albion Evening Recorder published a very interesting article on July 9, 1919 pg. 2 entitled “Albion Man Discovered Valuable Marl Beds,” which we are presenting here in this column. Unfortunately, it does not name the Albion man who discovered it.
The article begins: “A visit to the marl beds of the Peerless Portland Cement Company of Union City which are located at Spring Arbor station is of great interest not only because of the immensity of the beds themselves and the manner in which the company is handling the natural product, but because of Albion’s connection with this enterprise. The story would read like an adventure or a romance were it not that it deals with such commonplace everyday stuff as marl.
Commonplace, did we say? Rather quite uncommon, for nowhere else in Michigan is found marl so pure, so fine and so adapted to immediate use as is this from the Spring Arbor beds. Uncommon too from a viewpoint other than materialistic and this is where the romance of the story comes in.
Carry yourself in imagination back ages and eons ago into the time of our world’s creation. Picture the myriad colonies of crustacea that some glacial force swept into a shapeless mass, crushing and grinding beneath the debris of rock and earth until they were buried far beneath the surface to lie through countless years before science and industry should bring them once more to the light and utilize them for the pleasure and comfort of mankind.
Pick up a handful and note the tiny shells that housed the tiny tenants. As the dredge goes deeper the shells are no longer distinguishable being crushed to a fine powder by the pressure from above. So much for the prehistoric part of our story. And now we come to the part where Albion enters.”
The article continues: “About 18 years ago a certain gentleman who was a resident of Albion, now deceased, used to make occasional fishing trips to a little lake near Spring Arbor station. This body of water and one other, each about the size of a silver dollar, were surrounded by acres of apparently useless marsh. But our Albion resident had a keen eye and a far seeing one. He noted the white mud that lay at the bottom of the coarse dense marsh grass and imparted his knowledge to certain friends, with the result that one of our foremost chemists was called to pass upon its commercial possibilities. His analysis showed it to be a mine of wealth and immediately a company of Albion and Detroit men was organized who purchased the farms which included the marsh land surrounding the lake.
The work of removing the marl began on a small but rapidly increasing scale and it was not long before the attention of the Peerless Portland Cement Co. of Union City was directed toward the new industry, and negotiations looking towards its purchase were begun resulting in the latter company soon acquiring possession.”
From our Historical Notebook this week we present an early 20th century photograph of mining operations at Lime Lake. On the left we see the scow (a small barge) containing four railroad cars, being loaded with marl by the dredge on the right. Notice the tall wooden “pillars” on the right. These were used to hold the barge in place during mining operations. Some measure 30 feet long and 16 inches square. Today there are still three of them sticking upright underwater, but not at the surface. One of them still has the metal cable attached, which was used to hold the dredge in place. It is pictured here with yours truly who is scuba diving and holding the cable, while viewing this underwater marvel at Lime Lake (Photo by Rick Sass). Next week: Part 2.
