The following excerpt was presented by the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation at the 2013 Local History and Historic Preservation Conference in early October. This excerpt is the fourth in a series of eight stories we will publish to the WTHP blog over the next few weeks. Please check back often for more. You can find the whole series here.
Lime Kiln Park is graced with the town’s namesake falls of the Menomonee River. It is also the site of two National Register-listed lime kilns, erected in 1890 to service the nearby limestone quarry. By 2010, the Lannon stone kilns were in desperate need of restoration; the Village of Menomonee Falls funded repair work on the lime kilns beginning in 2011. The original scope of the repair was to clean and re-point all mortar joints on both structures. It soon became apparent that one of the kiln’s load bearing arches was near the point of collapse. Masonry Restoration, Inc. was tasked with the careful removal and documentation of the stone façade, the dismantling of over eight feet of crumbling backup walls, and the rebuilding of the load bearing arches. These repairs have extended the life of the structures so that they may continue to convey an important piece of early Menomonee Falls history.
Download the PDF of this story here.