Making Barrels for Shipping Lime

Making Barrels for Shipping Lime. . , This building is known as a cooperage. It is where workers built the redwood barrels used to pack and ship lime. The barrel-makers, or coopers, assembled and stored the empty barrels upstairs. Once the barrels were filled with lime from the kilns, the barrels were stored beneath the building until they were loaded onto wagons and taken to the wharf for shipment. Each barrel contained 150 pounds of lime. , Built in 1869, the Cooperage is one of the oldest and most interesting buildings in the Historic District. It was built on limerock pillars using a design similar to a covered bridge. The building was originally nearly twice its present length. In the early 1960s, when the University was established, the Cooperage was shortened to make room for the entrance road. , The barrel hoops were originally made from flexible Hazelnut wands. Later, steel hoops were used. , Once loaded with barrels of lime, the wagons were driven down Bay Street to a wharf where the barrels were loaded onto ships. Photo taken in 1866. , This was once the site of the largest lime manufacturing plant in California. Mortar and plaster made from Santa Cruz lime played a vital role in the development of the State's cities and towns.