Link resurrected below:PANIC! on the Titanic wrote:Hey Cathy,
So, it looks like the links I posted above 6 years ago (!) are now obsolete. From hardcover sources not yet available online, I can tell you the mine was operated by the Crystal Carbonate Lime Co. who leased the land in 1901. By 1904 mining was underway and described in MGS Vol 2 by Buckley and Buehler (1904). Mining was apparently still active by 1955 but ended shortly thereafter, by then it was operated by Columbia quarries. They mined lime (calcium carbonate) and crushed rock (think driveway gravel).
Your GPS is wonky... Hurricane is the name of the township of Lincoln county that includes Elsberry, New Hope, and this mine. As for Richwoods...??? No idea. There's a Richwoods MO down by Hillsboro but that's about it.
PANIC! on the Titanic wrote:Then I found the source here http://home.comcast.net/~neal4/moelsbe3.htm that on page 44 tells us that the Crystal Carbonate Lime Co. leased the land in 1901 to begin the underground quarry. It then was in operation until at least 1955, but how long after that I don't know.