Lime is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in Baker County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States, north of Huntington on

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

/ Interstate 84. It is near the confluence of Marble Creek and the Burnt River on the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. The

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

passes through Lime.

History

The Lime post office was established in 1899. The deposits of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

in the area were manufactured into

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

that supplied a large area of

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...

and western

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The Acme Cement Plaster Company built a plant at Lime in 1916 to produce

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

. The Sun Portland Cement Company bought the plant in 1921 and built another facility for producing

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...

. In 1926, the company merged with Oregon Portland Cement Company from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

; by the 1960s, the Lime facility produced 1,200,000 barrels a year. In 1940, the community at its peak had a population of 18. The town began to decline when the post office closed in 1964. As the nearby limestone deposits were depleted, limestone was brought from the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

area near Durkee. A new plant was built at Nelson in 1979 and the facility at Lime was closed in 1980. Oregon Portland Cement Company merged with the

Ash Grove Cement Company Ash Grove Cement Company is a cement manufacturer based in Overland Park, Kansas. It is the sixth largest cement manufacturer in North America, and was the largest US-owned cement company until it was acquired in 2018 by CRH plc, a global build ...

in 1983. In 1999, Baker County took possession of the site of the closed factory for back taxes. In 2018, the plant was scheduled for demolition. Demolition crews arrived in Lime in April 2018 to begin the work.

References

External links

Images of abandoned cement plant at Lime
from

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

* Populated places established in the 1890s Unincorporated communities in Baker County, Oregon 1899 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1899 Unincorporated communities in Oregon Cement industry {{BakerCountyOR-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links