Mine: Michigan Alkali, Alpena, MI

The Michigan Alkali Company was located along the Detroit River in Detroit and Wyandotte, but it was supplied with limestone from this quarry just north of downtown Alpena. This quarry continues to be used today by the cement plant in Alpena. This quarry was served by the Detroit & Mackinac Railway, but most product was shipped by lake freighter.

Photo Info: Top, an early postcard view of the quarry at Alpena. 2nd photo, another view of the quarry in 1950. 3rd view, Michigan Alkali #102 in a scrap yard near the D&M roundhouse in Alpena. The scrap yard had several of these units in the 1980's which had been scrapped after years of use at the quarry. [Dale Berry]

Notes

Time Line

1903. The limestone quarry is created by Michigan Alkali.

1903. The stone quarry plant of the Michigan Alkali works at Alpena, is a very large one," said President J.D. Hawks, who has just returned from Alpena, where he went to attend the annual meeting of the D&M railroad. "It has a stone crusher as large as an ordinary grain elevator. The company is now shipping sugar beet stone and stone for concreting purposes, and will soon begin shipping stone to the works of the company at Wyandotte. When completed the plant will have a capacity of 1,000 tons a day. A large proportion of the total output will be shipped Wyandotte via the D&M and the Michigan Central. The building of the El Cajon Cement Co, is also going up in Alpena. [DFP-1903-1030]

1908.  Michigan Alkali owns the Huron Portland Cement Company. [APN]

1913. The Alpena Portland Cement plant was sold to Michigan Alkali. [APN]

1986. LaFarge takes over operations, later owned by LaFarge/Holcim. [APN]