The Saylor Park Coplay Cement Kilns are a historic industrial remnant in the borough of Coplay in Lehigh County. They are beautifully preserved and have been taken care of by the Lehigh County Historical Society. They are very much NOT abandoned and advertising as such by some clickbait money hungry travel blogs has led towards some vandalism of them in recent years. Thankfully enough resources have been devoted to preserving and securing them after they have been advertised as abandoned. A fence was recently added to keep people away from the the base of the kilns and from climbing within them.
They are located right along the Lehigh River in Coplay and they were built by the Coplay Cement Company, a pioneer in the creation of modern Portland Cement. The materials to create concrete were in abundant supply in the area and the transportation network of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Reading Railroad were located in the immediate area, allowing for shipments to the nearby New York City and Philadelphia metropolises that were booming and went into the building of roads, structures, subways, bridges, aqueducts, docks, jetties, and so much more. Concrete is used in basically everything that makes the infrastructure of a city work.
The same prime location factors also helped Bethlehem Steel, whose nearby former flagship plant also has beautiful industrial remnants, become a powerhouse. Cement requires the use of rocks containing lime, silica, and alumina and the region's limestone contained all three.
These nine Schoefer style kilns are 90 feet tall and date back to 1893 and were a huge technological advancement in efficiency, and only lasted til 1904, since further advancements in production proved these to be inefficient. They are the last remaining of their kind. This was Mill B at the plant and they were initially enclosed. David Saylor founded the company on the location of Saylor Park in 1866 and he received the first patent for Portland Cement in 1871. His company still lives on, though it has been acquired. At the peak of these mills, the Lehigh Valley was home to 72 percent of the nation's production of Portland Cement.
Thank you so much for your support over these many years with these calendars. The proceeds help to keep the lights on here. The 2024 edition is available now!
Our 2024 Pennsylvania Wall Calendar features scenes from across the state, including views of:
-The old growth forests in Cook Forest State Park
-Center City Philadelphia
-Knoebels Amusement Resort
-Gettysburg Battlefield in the snow
-Sailing in Erie
-PA's Elk Herd
-Canyon Vista at Worlds End State Park
-Kinzua Bridge
-Cowan's Gap State Park
-Downtown Pittsburgh
-A vista on the PA 144 Scenic Byway -A holiday scene from Sunbury PA.
The calendars open up to be 17 inches tall by 11 inches wide (8.5 by 11 pages) and all photos have been taken by us, and the calendars are produced in the USA. The proceeds help us to continue what we do to highlight and bring attention to the many great adventures that this state has to offer.
It makes for a great gift for someone or for yourself. It is available for purchase through the PayPal dropdown menus at the top of the page and the bottom of this article.
Also available is our book on Pennsylvania's historic amusement parks, Great Pennsylvania Amusement Parks Road Trip. It features Knoebels, Kennywood Park, Hersheypark, Dorney Park, Waldameer, DelGrosso's, Lakemont, Dutch Wonderland, Idlewild, and the sadly former Conneaut Lake Park.
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