In 1878, the Eagle Rock Co-Operational Association No. 325 began an operation for producing lime.   Lime was needed for the iron furnaces in the area, as well as for agricultural use.   In 1881, the Co-Op sold their holdings to F.E. Sheets & Company.   The well-established Moore Lime Company of Richmond, VA, purchased the works in 1885, and continued to operate the business until 1933.   Virginia Lime Products Company took over the operation and ran it until 1942; The Eagle Rock Lime Company then purchased the holdings and continued to operate until 1954.

Three Lime Kilns at Eagle Rock

Kiln 1

Kiln 2

Kiln 3

The three kilns from the other side

Vent / Poking holes on side of kiln

Railed ramp from bottom of kiln

Draw / Removal opening at bottom of kiln

Vent / Poking holes on another kiln

View of the kilns from the railroad. The RR line between Richmond and Clifton Forge was completed in 1881.

Upper - back side of Kiln 2

Eagle Rock RR Depot

In 1883, the Richmond & Allegheny Railroad Company agreed with the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors to build a bridge over the James River at Eagle Rock as part of the construction of its mainline between Richmond and Clifton Forge.   Presumably the bridge was to encourage the use of the railroad by citizens on the opposite side of the river.   The agreement called for the trusses of iron and wood to rest on masonry piers and to be built above the high water mark of 1877. The Eagle Rock Bridge was completed in 1885.   With the modernization of local roads in the 1930s, a new bridge was constructed over the James River at Eagle Rock in 1933, and the RR was released from the expense of maintaining the 1885 bridge.   The latter bridge was heavily damaged in a severe flood on November 5, 1985, and only one truss span survived.

The remaining span of the Pratt truss bridge is covered by underbrush.

These two photos are from the kiln side...

Remaing span of the 1885 bridge from the modern bridge.

View of the two stone piers and remaining truss span from across the James River.

Old postcard of the bridge, taken from the kiln side

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