Window to the Past
The Middle Point Stone Quarry
French Stone Quarry near Middle Point - 1910
The France Stone Company started operations at the Middle Point quarry on Aug. 14, 1888, and ceased operations July 1, 1946. They had been in business for 58 years, and in the height of operations employed 60 people.
Between 90 and 100 acres of what some called the big lake, others a fisherman's paradise and many a familiar swimming spot since 1946, was pumped dry in 1957. Reports were circulated all over the area that a new crusher would be placed in the big hole, which would mean big business again for Middle Point.
In 1956, the owner, George W. France of Toledo, decided that the quarry should be pumped dry. The water averaged between 25 and 40 feet deep including a channel which ran through the area. Four Middle Point men, Harry Showalter, Robert Roodes, Allen Brown and Dale Kline, were assigned the huge task of emptying the hole. When they started, it was predicted that one year of continuous pumping would be required to empty the 78-acre quarry. Pumping took place around the clock with one elevating pump which poured out 2,200 gallons a minute and another pumped 1,000 gallons a minute. The job was completed in a little more than 10 months. The only water remaining in the quarry was in a drainage channel. The water pouring from the quarry was dumped into Dog Creek and finally into the Auglaize River. The pumping was good news to farmers along the stream since it made a clean water supply for livestock which grazed along the stream.
When the quarry was shut down in 1946, the quarry had an output of 50 rail cars a day, which was mostly to the railroads for ballast stone, and to the county commissioners for stone roads. The machinery contained in the huge cement-supported structure was removed in 1946-47. When the quarry went dry, workers were surprised at the small amount of debris found in the bottom. Some large bass which had outsmarted fishermen during the years, fell victim to the operation, while others managed to reach the channel which was nearly 25 feet wide and 20 feet deep and extended nearly a mile.
The total France site consisted of nearly 320 acres, divided by the Middle Point Road with the quarry on the north side. The area north of the main quarry was bisected by a double track main line of the former Pennsylvania Railroad and a small four-acre quarry located north of the railroad. When the quarry was in full operation, cars were filled with stone on a three-track siding. Sometime around 1990, the quarry was considered as a possible site for a "mini-park." The state department's concept of a mini-park was one of about 1,000 acres, providing space for some recreational activities, but not on a scale of a large park of 5,000 acres. This site has been posted against fishing and other activities by the France Company of Waterville, Ohio, for many years.
The above information was taken from "History of Van Wert County" by Floyd O'daffer. In 1888, the Pennsylvania Railroad planned to lay a second track alongside the single track. The France Stone Company contracted to supply ballast for the railroad from Fort Wayne to Crestline. This was when they started the Middle Point Quarry. Around 1914 or 1915, the Middle Point Quarry bought a large steam shovel which was used to help build the Panama Canal.
Between 90 and 100 acres of what some called the big lake, others a fisherman's paradise and many a familiar swimming spot since 1946, was pumped dry in 1957. Reports were circulated all over the area that a new crusher would be placed in the big hole, which would mean big business again for Middle Point.
In 1956, the owner, George W. France of Toledo, decided that the quarry should be pumped dry. The water averaged between 25 and 40 feet deep including a channel which ran through the area. Four Middle Point men, Harry Showalter, Robert Roodes, Allen Brown and Dale Kline, were assigned the huge task of emptying the hole. When they started, it was predicted that one year of continuous pumping would be required to empty the 78-acre quarry. Pumping took place around the clock with one elevating pump which poured out 2,200 gallons a minute and another pumped 1,000 gallons a minute. The job was completed in a little more than 10 months. The only water remaining in the quarry was in a drainage channel. The water pouring from the quarry was dumped into Dog Creek and finally into the Auglaize River. The pumping was good news to farmers along the stream since it made a clean water supply for livestock which grazed along the stream.
When the quarry was shut down in 1946, the quarry had an output of 50 rail cars a day, which was mostly to the railroads for ballast stone, and to the county commissioners for stone roads. The machinery contained in the huge cement-supported structure was removed in 1946-47. When the quarry went dry, workers were surprised at the small amount of debris found in the bottom. Some large bass which had outsmarted fishermen during the years, fell victim to the operation, while others managed to reach the channel which was nearly 25 feet wide and 20 feet deep and extended nearly a mile.
The total France site consisted of nearly 320 acres, divided by the Middle Point Road with the quarry on the north side. The area north of the main quarry was bisected by a double track main line of the former Pennsylvania Railroad and a small four-acre quarry located north of the railroad. When the quarry was in full operation, cars were filled with stone on a three-track siding. Sometime around 1990, the quarry was considered as a possible site for a "mini-park." The state department's concept of a mini-park was one of about 1,000 acres, providing space for some recreational activities, but not on a scale of a large park of 5,000 acres. This site has been posted against fishing and other activities by the France Company of Waterville, Ohio, for many years.
The above information was taken from "History of Van Wert County" by Floyd O'daffer. In 1888, the Pennsylvania Railroad planned to lay a second track alongside the single track. The France Stone Company contracted to supply ballast for the railroad from Fort Wayne to Crestline. This was when they started the Middle Point Quarry. Around 1914 or 1915, the Middle Point Quarry bought a large steam shovel which was used to help build the Panama Canal.