Saylor Park Industrial Museum which is the other name of Coplay cement company kilns is a historic site situated at Coplay, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. They are a total of nine kilns that were built from 1892 to 1893. The Cosplay company handed over the ownership of kilns and surrounding land in 1975 to Lehigh County. It is today a historical site having been included in the archives of the historic places in 1980.

Rise of Coplay cement company kilns

The Coplay cement company was founded by David O Saylor who purchased the land intending to establish his future mills of Coplay Cement Company. His aim was to have the project done before his death. Coplay management noticed that there was an increase in demand for their cement in the region and beyond, for that reason they came up with the idea of constructing another mill in Coplay and named it Coplay cement company kilns.  Construction started in 1892 and by 1893 the company was up and running. Initially, the company had dome-shaped kilns that were not effective for that reason they came up with a proposal to construct vertical kilns. Construction of foot to foot would improve the kiln technology and dominate over the dome kilns. They built nine vertical kilns that were used in the production of Portland cement. The vertical kilns were advantageous as they could produce high-quality products continuously as compared to dome kilns.  The location which had abundant limestone mines proved to be the best place to locate a production industry due to its close proximity to essential raw materials. Portland cement was the company's best-selling cement and went down in history as the strongest ever made. 

The downfall of the Coplay cement company kilns

The Coplay Company continued with the production of cement for a decade. It was officially closed down in 1904 when rotary kilns that were more effective were introduced. This advancement in technology rendered the vertical kiln appear obsolete. The Coplay kilns were not abandoned immediately as they were later used as storage facilities. In 1920, the company destroyed the surrounding buildings and got rid of the upper 30 feet of the vertical kilns leaving the 60 feet standing.

Current conditions of the Coplay Company

Lehigh County, after acquiring the kilns in 1975, commenced a restoration and renovation campaign of the cement company kilns. The entire place is currently under the management and maintenance of Lehigh County and the Lehigh County Historical Society. It is a significant historic place opened for the general public for adventure and educational visits. It is a remarkable cement industry museum that is worth visiting on any given day.