BUILT ON THE FOOTPRINT OF INDUSTRY

In the early 1880s, local industrialist John M. Ross began quarrying here for limestone, popularly called Tennessee Marble. The quarry gained its current name, Mead’s Quarry once Frank Mead took over operations in 1899 with Republic Marble Company.  At its peak, the Ross-Republic Marble Quarry employed more than 100 workers who produced between 25,000 and 35,000 cubic feet of marble per year. In 1906, the Tennessee Marble Lime Company began producing agricultural lime alongside marble extraction on this site. Lime is a material widely used in construction, agriculture, and common products like toothpaste and paint. When demand for Tennessee marble fell sharply following the Great Depression, quarrying operations everywhere hit hard times, and quarries like this one began to transition solely to lime production. This commercial factory included six kilns, which can be seen in the panoramic photograph from the 1920s. A lime kiln is a device that heats limestone to high temperatures to create lime. Today you are standing on the site of these kilns. From Imerys Trail, visitors can still see sections of the kiln foundations and the rail line that once carried stone from the quarry.

​

In the 1970s, the Williams Limestone Company closed. The quarry was abandoned and its isolated location attracted illegal dumping and other crimes. Efforts by local community members, led by Island Home Community Club member Minnie Tharp, encouraged local government and Ijams Nature Center to give the quarry a new role. Knox County purchased Mead’s Quarry in 2001 and began a cleanup effort to address waste and industrial decay, a process that continues today. The lime kilns were demolished in 2004 as a part of this effort.

The restoration transformed the site allowing Ijams Nature Center to open it as a public park in 2005. Two decades later, the nature center and local partners worked together to construct the Ijams Bat House. Where kilns once burned stone for industry, this structure is now a home for wildlife and a gathering place to learn about our community’s resources.

​

​

MEET THE RESIDENTS

This bat house was built specifically to accommodate Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). While some bat species roost alone or in small groups, these bats gather in enormous colonies that can reach into the millions. Measuring 10′ × 12′, this house can support up to 100,000 bats as they roost, rest, and raise their young. Historically Tadarida’s broad range has spanned the southern U.S. and Central America, but rising local temperatures associated with climate change have made our area a more hospitable place for Tadarida to live year-round.

​​

Bats are misunderstood creatures, but in fact they make great neighbors. Bats belong to an order of mammals called Chiroptera, a name that means “hand wing”, reflecting the unique structure that allows them to be the only mammals capable of true flight. Each night, bats emerge from their roosts to hunt for their prey. All bat species found in Tennessee eat insects. A single bat can eat thousands of mosquitoes in one night, helping to control insect populations that affect both ecosystems and human health. Beyond insect control, bats also play vital roles worldwide; nectar-feeding species pollinate plants, while fruit-eating bats help spread seeds to new areas.​​