Charcoal Kilns

The Hathaway-Lamping charcoal kilns, which operated more than 110 years ago, provided coke for blacksmiths, ore smelters, and blast furnaces. Wood charcoal, the most common charcoal variety, used to be prepared in kilns, or conical furnaces, in which piles of timber were ignited. As the wood burned, volatile compounds such as water and pitch were passed off as vapors into the air. Some of the wood was consumed as fuel, and the rest was converted into charcoal. Because charcoal in a restricted-air atmosphere is nearly pure carbon, it yields more heat in proportion to its volume than does a corresponding quantity of wood. Since locomotives used a considerable amount of fuel to pull trains up steep grades, a charcoal-wood mixture was preferred over wood alone. In addition, charcoal had another advantage: as a fuel, it is smokeless.

The remains of eight blackened kilns stand today, ranging in height from five feet to a few inches tall. Originally, these beehive-shaped ovens were 20 to 30 feet high and 40 feet in diameter. Owned and operated by Friscoites Joe Lamping and John Hathaway, they were constructed of local clay and bricks. Near the remains is an interpretive sign.

Kiln owners stayed in business as long as there was demand for charcoal and coke. It is estimated that, annually, more than 16,000 acres of timber were cut for charcoal-making during the height of the business in Colorado. Today's lodgepole pine and aspen forests are secondary growths.

Directions: The Charcoal Kilns are located on the Frisco-Breckenridge bicycle path behind the Summit County High Country Fire Training Center off County Road 1003 in Frisco.