The Lawrence

The Lawrence. Cement Works at 5th Binnewater (Williams Lake). , The Lawrence Cement works was by far the largest cement company operating in the Binnewater area., The above image shows multiple buildings that formed part of the Lawrence Cement Company at 5th Binnewater Lake (Williams Lake). The cement works at 5th lake were comprised of 23 kilns, 8 crackers, 14 grinders and 8 packers, with a capacity to produce over 2,000 barrels of cement a day. At peak manufacturing (circa 1892), the company produced 5,500 barrels of cement daily and about 1,000,000 barrels per year. This represented about 1/8 of the total amount manufactured in the United States at the time., The brick building in front of you and shown in the image just above the railroad tracks held the former offices of Lawrence Cement. During the operation of the Williams Lake Hotel, the office building was reused as a hotel suite known as the "Honeymoon Cottage." Also in the image to the left (north) of the office building was the cooperage for the company., The image inset below shows the magnitude of this early industrial operation. The huge stacks of wood in the foreground are bundles of barrel staves used by the coopers to build shipping barrels. Beyond the factory buildings, you can see a massive stone kiln wall, which was used for baking the local dolostone extracted from the many nearby mines. Remnants of this kiln wall are visible today and will be preserved for future generations to enjoy., The future Williams Lake Project will restore and expand this brick building as a historic interpretive center open to the public. Interactive exhibits will chronicle the history of the 19th-century Natural Cement mining and manufacturing operations, the 20th-century operation of Williams Lake Hotel, as well as the property's unique geology and ecology. The Lawrence Cement works was by far the largest cement company operating in the Binnewater area.