Description: Table Rock is located on the northeast peninsula of Kelley’s Island. Kelleys Island is in fact a mass of solid limestone rock, lifted about twelve feet out of the Lake Erie, and rising in some points to an elevation of 40 or 50 feet above the level of the lake. Geologically, the island consists of successive strata of Columbus limestone with as many as 60 layers which vary in thickness from 2 to 8 inches and full of marine fossils. The eastern shores of the island have mostly been worn smooth from a westbound glacier, producing gentle shores full of rocky beaches. Western facing shores are more sharp and jagged, with erosion caused from the waves of lake. Table Rock is an excellent example, having been separated from the mainland from wave erosion. Standing on a single pedestal, it has undermined to such an extent that is almost ready to topple over. Columbus limestone can be found in a north-south line from Kelleys Island in Lake Erie to south of Columbus and many quarries are, or have been, actively removing this high-calcium limestone for use in production of cement, rip-rap, driveway gravel and road base, agricultural lime, and other uses. The unit was formed in a clear, shallow, tropical sea that covered the state. Fossils of marine animals are abundant in the Columbus Limestone. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F08_003_001
Subjects: Limestone--Ohio; Formations (Geology)--Ohio; Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Lake Erie Islands (Ohio); Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the West Side Dock on Kelley’s Island. The West Dock was built in 1906 by the Kelleys Island Lime & Transport company and was located roughly in the middle of the west shore of the island. Sometimes called the Stone Dock, it is elevated pier made of steel and wooden trestles, with railway tracks running along the top, and designed to load crushed limestone into barges from either side. Within six years of being built, more than 500,000 tons were being shipped each year with as many as 8 steam locomotives needed to pull up to 150 full train cars. The company's island quarrying operation comprised more than 1,000 acres; especially impressive considering the whole island is only 2,888 acres. The lakeside ore dock was modified to a "pocket" structure in 1910. This greatly improved efficiency, as it allowed limestone to be stored in large bins until it could be loaded onto ships. While quarrying continues to be a major industry on the island, The Kelley Island Lime & Transport Company, founded in 1896, and which was once the largest producer of limestone and lime products in the world, closed the early 1960s. Numerous ruins of these operations and quarries now dot the island. The East Quarry closed in 1940 and is now a state park. The whole of Kelley’s Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F08_004_001
Subjects: Limestone--Ohio; Quarries and quarrying--Ohio; Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the West Side Dock on Kelley’s Island. The West Dock was built in 1906 by the Kelleys Island Lime & Transport company and was located roughly in the middle of the west shore of the island. Sometimes called the Stone Dock, it is elevated pier made of steel and wooden trestles, with railway tracks running along the top, and designed to load crushed limestone into barges from either side. Within six years of being built, more than 500,000 tons were being shipped each year with as many as 8 steam locomotives needed to pull up to 150 full train cars. The company's island quarrying operation comprised more than 1,000 acres; especially impressive considering the whole island is only 2,888 acres. The lakeside ore dock was modified to a "pocket" structure in 1910. This greatly improved efficiency, as it allowed limestone to be stored in large bins until it could be loaded onto ships. While quarrying continues to be a major industry on the island, The Kelley Island Lime & Transport Company, founded in 1896, and which was once the largest producer of limestone and lime products in the world, closed the early 1960s. Numerous ruins of these operations and quarries now dot the island. The East Quarry closed in 1940 and is now a state park. The whole of Kelley’s Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F09_012_1
Subjects: Limestone--Ohio; Quarries and quarrying--Ohio; Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows, what is most likely, gravel from the quarry on Kelley's Island, being loaded from a railcar onto a cargo barge. The Kelley Island Lime & Transport Company, founded in 1896, and which was once the largest producer of limestone and lime products in the world, closed the early 1960s. Numerous ruins of these operations and quarries now dot the island. The East Quarry closed in 1940 and is now a state park. Kelley’s Island, originally known as Island Number 6 and later Cunningham Island, was renamed in 1840 for brothers Datus and Irad Kelley, who were largely responsible for cultivating the island's quarrying, logging and winemaking industries. In 1975, 23 acres on the island's southern shore were designated a historic district, the "Kelleys Island South Shore District," and added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1988, the district was renamed to the "Kelleys Island Historic District" and expanded to include the entire island. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F09_032_1
Subjects: Limestone--Ohio; Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Quarries and quarrying--Ohio; Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Engraved print titled "View of Inscription Rock on South side of Cunningham Island, Lake Erie." Cunningham Island is currently known as Kelley's Island. The print is based on a drawing by Seth Eastman created in 1850. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01154
Subjects: Lake Erie; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works
Places: Cunningham Island, Lake Erie
 

Description: View of the Glacial Grooves on the north side of Kelleys Island, Ohio, ca. 1930-1960. These are the largest such grooves in the world that can be easily seen. They were created in limestone bedrock about 18,000 years ago during the Ice Age. A trough 400 feet long, 35 feet wide, and up to 10 feet deep remains today. The ice, probably hundreds of feet thick, moved from the north into what is now the Lake Erie basin. The grooves contain marine fossils that are 350 to 400 million years old. Other grooves on the island were destroyed by quarrying. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02982
Subjects: Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Geology--Ohio; Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; Glacial erosion--Ohio; Kelleys Island (Ohio)--Description and travel
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Five photographs document the glacial grooves found on Kelleys Island as they looked in the 1930s or 1940s. The photographs measure 6" x 3.5" (15.24 x 8.09 cm). The glacial grooves on the north side of Kelleys Island are the largest easily accessible such grooves in the world. They were scoured into solid limestone bedrock about 18,000 years ago by the great ice sheet that covered part of North America. Remaining today is a trough that measures 400-feet long, 35-feet wide, and up to 10-feet deep. The ice, probably hundreds of feet thick, flowed from the north in what is now the Lake Erie basin. The Devonian limestone containing the grooves contains marine fossils that are 350 to 400 million years old. Many other grooves were quarried away during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3274_6059734_001
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Rocks; Glaciers; Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; Tourism
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Inscription Rock on the shoreline of Kelleys Island, Erie County, Ohio, ca. 1886-1888. This photograph is part of a collection compiled by Henry Howe while researching the 1889 edition of his book "Historical Collections of Ohio." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00504
Subjects: Historic sites--Ohio--Kelleys Island--Pictorial works; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio
Places: Kelleys Island (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)