Cowell Lime Works, Historic lime production district in Santa Cruz, United States.
Cowell Lime Works is an industrial site featuring four preserved lime kilns, a barrel-making workshop, storage structures, and worker residences spread across the property. The layout reveals the different stages of production, from processing raw materials to manufacturing goods for transport.
The site began operations in 1853 and was later purchased by Henry Cowell in 1865, who expanded it into a major lime production center for the West Coast. The operation remained significant for regional industry for many years afterward.
The worker housing here reflects how industrial laborers lived during the 1800s in a company-controlled setting. You can observe the modest structures and daily routines they reveal about production-focused communities.
The complex is located on the University of California Santa Cruz campus and accessible through self-guided exploration. Allow time to walk through the different structures and understand how each building served the production process.
The works were unique in manufacturing its own wooden barrels on-site for transporting lime products, creating a complete production cycle without needing outside suppliers. This self-sufficiency made it one of the most integrated industrial operations of its era.
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