Arlinton / O'Keefe Gravel Pit
James Green - ...
When he first came to ihe west shore of Lake Maxinkuckee where Long Point is located, there
was no one established there. He bought all the land between Maxinkuckee and the little lake,
including all of Long Point, the gravel pit property and adjacent acreage.
The original Green homestead is still standing to this day, but not on its first site.
It is now on the rise of ground between the two lakes. The house originally stood close to the
lake, where the railroad right-of-way is now. We are told that the railroad came through in s
uch a hurry, moving northward to terminate a while at Marmont station that construction work
had reached the house before the movers could get it moved. In fact, the tracks came pretty
close to being laid right under the house, which was hurriedly moved out of the wav and back on
the hill where it now stands, today untenanted... Citizen Mar 20, 1936
1914 - June - 18 Modern Gravel Pit
Big Plan of the O'Keefe Lumber Company Co. South of Town, Handles Product in Rapid Manner
Editor Boys of the Plymouth Republican visited Culver one day last week and discovered, among the other
good things that he found in the town and its environs,
the gravel pit on the former Green farm, |
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and tells about it in his paper as follows:
The O'Keefe Lumber Co. of Plymouth has just completed, about a miles south of here an, immense plant
which in the course of time, will suck up and load into cars over three million cubic yards of the
best gravel and sand to be obtained.
Just south of the Arlington station this company owns a hill of pure gravel sand covering 70 acres.
Ever since April 3 Arthur O'Keefe has been
here building one of the most notable plants in this part of the state
It is composed of two great cement bins for holding the gravel and sand, and a superstructure on these
bins holding frames and screens for separating the gravel form the sand..
There is a power house in which has been installed a 60 h.p. engine. This engine sucks up the sand and
gravel through an 9 inch pipe as heavy and similar to iron water mains, and sends it through the screens
into the bins.
The erection of this plant has taken much time and the expenditure of a large amount of money, but will
be used to suck up and load into cars all the sand and gravel in the 70 acres of land.
One of the remarkable things about the plant is that water from Lake Maxinkuckee seeps through the ground
and into the bottom of the gravel and throws onto the top of the big frame work an 8 inch stream of
water, sand and gravel.
This stream runs upon the screens which separate the gravel from the sand, letting the sand fall into one
of the big pits and the gravel into another.
The water is conducted ovder the pits in a sluiceway and falls outside to run back into the put again. The
water washes all the dirt out and leaves pure gravel and sand.
Between the pits is a narrow passageway where carrier buckets similar to these used in eleavators, will
operate to carry the sand from the bins into the cars on the track beside the pit.
A few days ago Mr. O'Keefe loaded a flat car with gravel in just 30 minutes.
It takes two men a full day hard at work to load one car with shovels. The big power plant at the O'Keefe
pit can load 40 cars in a day providing it runs steadily.
However, it cannot run all the time, for, so powerful is the suction in the bigh pipe that stones as large
as a man can lift are drawn up against its mouth with cush force that the machinery has to be stopped before
they can be taken away. These stone which occur with some frequency through the gravel, cause considerable
trouble and must be dealt with as best they can whenever met.
Already 40 cars of sand and gravel have been sent out from the new works though it was not ready to do its work
until last Friday afternoon.
Mr. O'Keefe has met and conquered many difficulties in the erection of his plant, but her was determined to build
it, because he knew the amount and quality of gravel in the land and the demand for it.
He will be able not to produce the only washed sand and gravel to be obtained in this section of the state.
Indeed, we do not know of any other such plant in the state.
1915 - Nov 15 - Accident At Gravel Pit.
P. T. Gernand, who has charge of the O'Keefe gravel pit. south of town, narrowly escaped death last Saturday
when the back of his coat was caught by a revolving shaft.
As he felt himself drawn against the shaft he caught hold of a 2x4 crosspiece in front of him and held himself
firmly against the shaft, at the same time calling to his assistant to stop the engine.
By the time this was done his clothing across the back had been burned through and the skin so badly abrased
that the blood was starting through.
His injuries are not serious, but he was sorely bruised and strained.
1916 - Jun 29 - Arlington Gravel Pit
Down at Arthur O'Keefe's Arlington pit the gravel is washed and Arthur surley has some washing machine, says the
Plymouth Republican.
After much experimenting and many disappointments he has worked out a scheme where efficiency puts it best foot
forward and machinery does the work.
A 50 h.p. engine runs an 8 inch pump which sucks the gravel and water though 60 feet of 8 inch pipe, then raises it
35 feet into the air and squirts it against a screen.
The gravel slides down over the screen and lands in a stell gondola car while the sand and water pass into a flume and
down the hillside to a hole in the ground, thence pumped up over a 55 foot hill by a 75 h.p. electric motor down
into Lost Lake.
At first Mr. O'Keefe thought he would pump the sand across the Vandalia into Lake Maxinkuckee, but it only took a
few days to build up a town lot in the lake, and had he kept this up he would soon have built a farm. So he turned
the nozzle in the other direction and now is making Lost Lake deserve its name by filling it with sand.
It is interesting to watch the way in which the cars are placed under the screen. The siding slopes from the main
track and runs down under the screen and on down into the pit. When a engine sets the cars into the siding the
brakes are locked and cars left standing above the screen. When a car is needed, the brakes are released and it
runs by gravity down the screen.
Talk about efficiency!
Four men and two horses wash and load 35 yards of gravel in 45 minutes.
Busart Gravel Pit
1923 - Jan 10 - Notice. - Having bought the O'Keefe farm and gravel pit, parties desiring gravel will please notify
Walter or Mildred Busart
1927 Aug 17 - Busart Purchases Fast Gravel Loader For Pit
A new bucket loader with a capacity of a yard a minute has been put into use by George Busart
and son at their gravel pit.
The loader is of the caterpillar type and can be quickly moved to any place desired.
The machine also has a screen attachment so. that any kind of gravel wanted can be loaded without delay.
1939 -
George Busart
1949 - AUg 31 - Thank you - I wish to express my apprieciation for the prompt and vaulable
service by the Culver Fire Department at my gravel pit fire last week George Busart
The area today -
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