The Cement Kiln

One of the cement kilns on Litchfield Turnpike in Woodbridge. (Photo by Nancy Polk)

In 1874, the Durgy Cement and Umber Company leased mineral rights from local farmers and built a kiln to manufacture cement near the Blue Trail. The operation got off to what seemed a good start—horse-drawn wagons rumbled down Litchfield Turnpike hauling the barrels of cement down to Long Wharf in New Haven. The company was perceived to be successful, and investors in New York eagerly bought ten thousand shares in the company at twenty-five dollars per share. But the cement had impurities and was worthless. It is believed that the company simply dumped the cement into the harbor.

The company had no income and sold some of the mineral rights to another company, the New England Cement Company, which built a second kiln near the intersection of Dillon Road and Litchfield Turnpike. This company sold four thousand shares of stock, but was also unsuccessful, and the long piles of unused coal, now covered with vegetation, are still to been seen along the west side of Litchfield Turnpike. Both operations are believed to have been scams to cheat investors.

Source: "Happy Valley" by Carroll Alton Means

This project was funded by The Connecticut Recreational Trails Program with a grant from the State of Connecticut administered trough the Department of Energy  and Environmental Protection