Austinville Limestone operates on the site of the oldest continuous mining operation in the eastern United States. The current owners acquired the Austinville site as an ongoing business concern on 1996 from James River Limestone Company, a privately-held limestone mining company (no longer in business), headquartered in Buchanan, Virginia. The primary business was bulk agricultural limestone until early 2007, when production of pelletized limestone began.
Prior to James River's acquisition of the Austinville property in the mid 1980's, the site had a rich history, playing a key role in supplying lead and zinc to the United States (and later the Confederate States of America) since the time our country was born. Previous ownership included Gulf & Western, New Jersey Zinc, and Bertha Minerals Company. Below are links to some interesting articles about our history.
Entrance to Austinville Mill site.
Our 1000+ acres of property contains much undeveloped land... but also many old buildings and lots of history.
Operating since the late 1700's, the Austinville mine was an important source of metals early in our nation's history.
Entrance to the New River Trail - once an old railroad bed, where limestone and metals from the mine were loaded onto rail cars, now is a beautiful and historic nature trail bordering our property along the river.
Stephen Austin Memorial located along New River across from entrance to New River Trail.
