Hurstville Historic District is a nationally recognized

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

located north of Maquoketa, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. At the time of its nomination it included three areas: the former lime manufacturing works, a farmstead, and the townsite. with All that remains are the four kilns, and an old warehouse. Both the townsite, which was across the road and to the southwest, and the farmstead, which was behind the kilns to the south, are gone. Also gone are the remaining company buildings, with the exception of the old warehouse, which were across the road to the west. The houses in the townsite were side-

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

cottages. Many lacked indoor plumbing into the 1970s and were vacant. The farmstead included 20 structures devoted to domestic or agricultural use. Two large barns were the most notable structures. The farm served the needs of the town. The most significant structures in the district were the lime kilns.

History

Hurstville was an industrial complex and a company town. It was a major lime supplier in the state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

for masonry building and bridge construction in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Alfred Hurst built the first kiln in 1871, and the other three followed soon after. The whole operation grew to include and 50 employees. The property included timber, which was used in the kilns. Hurst organized the Maquoketa and Hurstville Railroad in 1888 to ship the burned lime instead of hauling it by wagon. The

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

was quarried to the east of the kilns across the North Fork of the Maquoketa River. It was brought to the kilns by way of a

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

. A bridge, which collapsed into the river in the 1970s, was built over the river around 1900. By the 1920s the increased use of

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

by the construction industry affected the lime industry. The last time all four kilns were used at the same time was 1920, and the kilns were shut down in 1930 when William Hurst, Alfred's brother, died. The Hurstville Land and Development Company bought the town and of land in 1979. The kilns were restored by the Jackson County Historical Society in the 1980s. The Jackson County Conservation Board operates an interpretive center near the kilns. It is part of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

References

{{NRHP in Jackson County, Iowa Industrial buildings completed in 1871 Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Iowa Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic districts in Jackson County, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Lime kilns in the United States 1871 establishments in Iowa Populated places disestablished in 1985 1985 disestablishments in Iowa

History

See also

References