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Post operations view of the Round Top Cement Mill. By the time this picture was taken the mill had been rebuilt after its third fire which destroyed the whole mill in 1903. However, the company was not able to recover financially after rebuilding the mill and Round Top Cement Mill closed in 1909.
127.4 Mile
NPS File 1444
See also Round Top Cement Invoice, 1882
The Round Top Cement Mill was constructed in 1837 by George Shafer and was sold to Robert Bridges and Charles W. Henderson in 1863. The cement mill would burn to the ground and be rebuilt in 1846, 1897, and lastly in 1903. During the time the mill was operating, it claimed to produce up to 300 barrels a day of natural rock cement with a crew between 50–100 men. The cement was used up and down the Potomac Valley, especially during the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. It wasn’t long after the 1903 fire and the construction of the Western Maryland Railway that the company officially ceased operations.