Lime City Marker

Huntington, the "Lime City," so named for its many limestone quarries and kilns, the first kiln being built in this vicinity by Michael Houseman in 1843 or 1844. By 1885 there were 31 kilns in operation; eight were perpetual kilns, the others were occasional kilns. The lime was of such high quality it was shipped out of the state as well as being used locally.

A 1910 article from the Huntington Herald, mentioned that Huntington had one of the largest lime producing plants in the state and that the quarries and kilns located in and around Huntington produced annually 1,150,000 bushels of lime. A major product of the lime kilns was quicklime which then was converted to powdered “hydrated lime” mostly used for mortar. Another major product was agricultural lime which was used to enhance soil acidity.

This location was originally a quarry owned by Keefer and Bailey Lime, Brick, Time and Cement Company was abandoned. In 1924, the city acquired the property and E.M. Wasmuth along with the rest of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce worked with the Chicago Landscape company to transform the area. The park was dedicated to the city in 1929. It was featured in the November 1929 Better Homes & Gardens article, “Conquering the New Frontier of Civilized Ugliness”. In 1964 to 1967, the city performed a major restoration project of the gardens. In 2010, a grant provided funds for the restoration of the stonework.

In a tradition that began in the early 1980s, Christmas lights decorate the Sunken Gardens from mid-December until the New Year. The large “Merry Christmas” wreath is a recreation of the 1937 Wolf and Dessauer wreath began hanging on the downtown Huntington store in 1953. It became a part of the Sunken Garden tradition in 1998, was off for a year being recreated in 2018, and was redeployed in 2019.

1. “The Lime City,” IN.gov, accessed June 15, 2021, https://www.in.gov/history/files/35.1979.2LimeCity.pdf
2. “Sunken Gardens – Experience This Beautiful Attraction in Huntington,” Visit Huntington, accessed June 15, 2021, https://visithuntington.org/sunken-gardens-a-must-see/
3. “Sunken Gardens,” City of Huntington, Indiana, accessed June 15, 2021, https://www.huntington.in.us/egov/apps/locations/facilities.egov?view=detail;id=50
4. Huntington City Parks and Recreation, this binder contains newspaper clippings with references to the Sunken Garden. It can be viewed in the Keefer Room of the Huntington City-Township Public Library.
5. “Huntington’s Lime Industry,” The Huntington Herald, 12 May 1910, accessed June 15, 2021, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4329965/description-of-the-lime-kilns/
6. “The Lime City,” IN.gov, accessed June 15, 2021, https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/the-lime-city
7. “Community-wide effort to have Christmas wreath back this year,” The Tab, 4 Apr 2019, accessed 22 Jul 2021, http://www.huntingtoncountytab.com/community/52368/community-wide-effort-have-christmas-wreath-back-year
8. “Agricultural Lime,” Wikipedia, accessed 22 Jul 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_lime
9. “Lime (material),” Wikipedia, accessed 22 Jul 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(material)