Company History

Our Company has its origins as Mississippi Sand Company in Alton, Illinois. Harry B. Mathews, Jr. founded Mississippi Lime in 1907. By 1912 the company grew into the aggregates and lime business. Looking to expand its lime base, the Company purchased its first property in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri in the 1920’s, opening a limestone quarry and building four vertical kilns. By the end of the decade seven more vertical kilns were built.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the company began expanding further by acquiring Western Lime Company and Peerless & Ste. Genevieve Lime Co. Mississippi Lime also began expanding its operation by constructing rotary kilns.

In the 1950s our Vertical Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Plant was completed. Four new rotary kilns were completed providing more production to meet our customers’ growing needs.

During the ’70s, bag-houses were installed at many plant locations. The Rotary Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Plant was completed and a new Hydrator was installed.

The next twenty years saw continued expansion in capacity and products. In 1998 another phase of expanded technology and growth continued when Mississippi Lime commissioned construction of a new Maerz kiln at our Ste. Genevieve site. In July 2001, Mississippi Lime purchased its Springfield, MO lime operation, which operated vertical kiln technologies.

In July, 2003 Mississippi Lime purchased substantially all of the assets of Falco Lime, Inc. of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Falco Lime provides high quality products and services in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas. In addition to terminal facilities in Vicksburg, Falco operates two hydrators and has an extensive fleet of transportation.

Corporate headquarters moved from Alton, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri. Construction of our fifth high-tech kiln began, assuring continued industry leadership in quality products and endless potential for research and development of new commodities.

Mississippi Lime acquired Gallatin Materials in the Cincinnati area in 2008, now the Company’s Verona operation.

Today, over 100 years later, we are still owned by the same family, all of whom continue to be dedicated to our founder’s guiding philosophy.