As a boy in the late 1940s and early 50s, I spent my summers on Orcas Island on property owned by my uncle at the head of West Sound. Occasionally, our family would take a hike up to the top of Turtle Head Mountain aka Orcas Knob. The trail took us through an abandoned limestone quarry on the west side of Turtle Head. I was told that this quarry supplied much of the pavement aggregate for the road system on Orcas which, as a consequence, was light grey in color and very different from the typical dark asphalt highways elsewhere.
One of my favorite factoids over here in Port Townsend is that cement for the forts in the Triangle of Fire, Fort Worden, Fort Casey, and Fort Flagler, was shipped all the way from Belgium back in the early 1900’s, since the quality of cement they needed had to be robust enough to withstand forces of canon blasts and such. Something about the material from Belgium was different than more local cement. Don’t know the details on that, but maybe a story you’d like to pursue.
As a boy in the late 1940s and early 50s, I spent my summers on Orcas Island on property owned by my uncle at the head of West Sound. Occasionally, our family would take a hike up to the top of Turtle Head Mountain aka Orcas Knob. The trail took us through an abandoned limestone quarry on the west side of Turtle Head. I was told that this quarry supplied much of the pavement aggregate for the road system on Orcas which, as a consequence, was light grey in color and very different from the typical dark asphalt highways elsewhere.
Emery Bayley
Fun bit of history. I had not heard that.
Cool story about locally mined cement!
One of my favorite factoids over here in Port Townsend is that cement for the forts in the Triangle of Fire, Fort Worden, Fort Casey, and Fort Flagler, was shipped all the way from Belgium back in the early 1900’s, since the quality of cement they needed had to be robust enough to withstand forces of canon blasts and such. Something about the material from Belgium was different than more local cement. Don’t know the details on that, but maybe a story you’d like to pursue.
Thanks. Sounds like something worth pursuing. Love to go down them rabbit holes of research.
Excellent piece, David. Lime Kiln Point is a great place to vist in itself, but walking on these exotic rocks adds to the enjoyment.
Very cool!