Fred Conklin is proud of his rock, the stuff he and his family have been digging out of the ground in Lincoln for decades.
He boasts about its makeup – it is calcitic limestone, not dolomitic, he explains, meaning his rock is more desirable for gardeners because it has a higher calcium content to improve the soil.
And then there’s the color. “We have the whitest rock around,” Conklin says with pride. “It’s pure white; everybody else’s is gray.”
Rock is important to Conklin because he is the president of Conklin Limestone Co., the latest in his family to operate the business, which includes a now water-filled quarry along Route 146, since his grandfather bought the 50-acre property at the intersection of Wilbur Road and Route 146 in 1946.
The quarry’s origins actually date to the 1600s, when the first owners of the land, the Harris family, mined limestone and pounded it into a powder for nearby farmers to put in their soil.
The pulverized stone was also cooked in kilns and used to make mortar – an essential building material in Colonial times and later when the young country grew rapidly.
In fact, Conklin says, Old Louisquisset Pike – otherwise known as Route 246 – was initially cut through the forests from Lincoln to Providence in order to make lime deliveries to the city easier.
Times have changed.
The rock from Conklin Limestone isn’t used to make mortar or cement anymore. Ancient kilns surrounding the property haven’t been used in many generations.
And because agriculture has largely faded from Rhode Island, Conklin’s powder limestone is used mostly by gardeners and homeowners looking to raise pH levels in the soil around their house.
Fred Conklin recalls how from the early 1980s to the late ’90s, the company had as many as 36 employees working in the quarry and in the nearby mill in two shifts.
But because groundwater continually seeped into the 250-foot pit, the company was pumping a million gallons of water a day. The expense of pumping combined with consolidations in the industry made it difficult for Conklin to compete for shelf space with national retailers.
It didn’t help when ailing discounter Ann & Hope, one of Conklin’s biggest customers, decided to close stores in 2001 in the face of stiff competition.
About five years ago, Conklin decided to shut down the pumps in the quarry to cut expenses. It took two years for the pit to fill with water, but before it did, Conklin removed enough limestone to last the company for another 10 years.
Now Conklin has turned the company’s focus to other things.
Wholesale and retail sales of “hardscapes” – pavers, stamped concrete and statues produced by manufacturers elsewhere – make up 65 to 70 percent of the company’s total sales, he says.
But Conklin Limestone’s core business hasn’t vanished. The old crushing and hammer mills are operated every few days, run by Conklin’s six employees.
The company still sells limestone to seed stores and independent hardware stores. And landscaping stones remain a big seller, because of that pure white color. “I could sell a ton of this a day,” he says.
In a tour of the company property, it’s clear many things haven’t changed much since the Conklins purchased the quarry from the Harris family in the late 1940s.
The wooden mill, a landmark to motorists passing on Route 146, is dusted with 60 years of limestone powder produced inside.
Conklin also shows off the rusted hulks of power shovels that have worked the quarry since the 1950s. He keeps each one working – producing his own parts — just in case he decides to pump out the pit and start mining again.
Conklin said his grandfather, Charles, and his five sons operated Conklin Limestone Co. – which also owned another quarry and a warehouse in Connecticut – for years. The Connecticut quarry was split off years ago, and Fred Conklin says his cousins and his brother had no interest in continuing in the business.
So Fred Conklin says he bought out his relatives and became president in 1996. “Not everybody’s cut out for it,” he says. “Now we’re running out of Conklins.”
Not quite. More recently, Conklin’s daughter graduated from college and his son was discharged from the Marines. They both work in the company.
“That’s really cool,” Conklin says of having two of his four children working with him. “I didn’t think that was going to happen.” •
COMPANY PROFILE
Conklin Limestone Co.
OWNER:Fred Conklin, president
TYPE OF BUSINESS:Quarry and landscaping material company
LOCATION:25 Wilbur Road, Lincoln
EMPLOYEES:6
YEAR ESTABLISHED:1946
ANNUAL SALES: ND
