In 1900, the scene before you was a smelly, dirty, noisy inferno. Trains roared in, carrying coal from the nearby northern anthracite fields and local cement rock, a form of limestone. Day and night smoke and dust belched from the towering kilns. . . . — — Map (db m85452) HM
The modern cement industry began in 1756 when John Smeaton, an English engineer succeeded in producing a hydraulic cement that would harden under water. In 1824, Joseph Aspdin, an English bricklayer, produced a new cement by burning chalk and clay . . . — — Map (db m85450) HM
David O. Saylor was the first to make portland cement in the United States, at Coplay in 1871. First use of the rotary kiln to manufacture cement on a commercial scale also was here Nov. 8, 1889. — — Map (db m85418) HM
In the Lehigh Valley rock suitable for hydraulic cement had been found near the present locations of Palmerton and Northampton when the Lehigh Canal was built. Mills to produce hydraulic cement were erected at these sites before the Civil War. It . . . — — Map (db m85451) HM
David Oliver Saylor was born on October 20, 1827 in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. In 1866, he organized the Coplay Cement Company for the manufacture of natural cement. He soon began experiments to produce Portland cement in 1871. He was granted . . . — — Map (db m85447) HM
Portland cement is essentially an artificial product. It is made by burning various minerals in a kiln at intensive heat to produce clinker. The upright dome kiln was the first type used in America. An improvement was the Schoefer vertical kiln with . . . — — Map (db m85448) HM
