Heading out towards to Augusta, there is an amazing St. Charles County park that encompasses the old Klondike Sandstone or Silica Quarry.
Originally owned by German immigrant Wilhelm Engelage, the property was purchased by the Tavern Rock Sand Company in 1898, which first had to blow off the top 85 feet of bedrock before the St. Peter Limestone was reached.
Interestingly, the first 18 feet was stained by clay (it’s Missouri, after all!), so that was used to make yellow glass, but the remaining 100 feet of stone was mixed with soda to create clear glass.
Not surprisingly, due to the need for glass during World War II, the greatest period of production was in 1945, after which it slowly declined until closure in 1983.
The Tavern Rock Sand Company was actually a subsidiary of the Owens Illinois Glass Company, which still exists to this day as the O-I Corporation.
The quarry is quite striking to see in person, and the water is crystal clear due to the white sand under the lake. There is great fishing, according to someone we talked to on the banks. Do not climb the cliffs!
The company even designed its own special railcars to transport the sand and keep if from becoming wet, which would have caused problems with processing at its final destination.
