Coal Kiln Trail Traditional Cache

By the mid-nineteenth century some charcoal operations made use of large often circular (and occasionally conical) kilns of brick, stone, and/or masonry construction. These larger operations supplied massive quantities of charcoal. Into the Twentieth Century, charcoal was still burned to be used as a clean heating fuel, and for outdoor cooking. Currently the only extant colliers consist of a very few individuals determined to preserve their nearly-lost art. Low circular mounds (or "bottoms") found in forests and the remains of a few larger kilns are all that remains to be seen today.