Grounded in Generations, Rocks, and Resiliency: The Story of Mayville Limestone, Inc. - Part 1

The following is a multipart historical piece on Mayville Limestone Incorporated. The information was compiled using these sources: “From Mayville to Milwaukee: The Visual Culture of the Iron and Steel Industry in Southeastern Wisconsin” by John H. Kopmeier, Jr., “Wisconsin Iron” by James C. Percival, “Lime Industry in Wisconsin” by the Wisconsin Historical Society, “Mayville’s Oldest Industry Celebrates 125 Years in Business” by Mayville Limestone, Inc., The Dodge County Pionier, The Mayville News, Daniel Seurer, Mayville Limestone, Inc., and these books: “Fifty Years in Business: Golden Jubilee Souvenir of the Chas Ruedebusch Co. Mayville, Wis.” by Chas Ruedebusch, “When Iron was King in Dodge County, Wisconsin 1845-1928” by George G. Frederick, and “Kilns and Crushers Vol. 3: Dodge County WI” by Daniel Seurer and Joel Valle.
When one thinks of Wisconsin today, beer and cheese often come to mind. But at the turn of the 20th century, two other industries stood near the forefront of production in Southeastern Wisconsin: iron and limestone. Both materials have come to connote strength due to their use in construction, but only limestone symbolizes resilience and grounding. These qualities of strength, resilience, and grounding are the same reflected by Mayville Limestone, Inc., on its historic path to reaching 150 years as a family-owned business.
On June 28, 2025, Mayville Limestone, Inc. in Town of Hubbard will celebrate this milestone anniversary with the public, offering quarry tours, live music, fireworks, and history displays. However, the history of the quarry extends beyond 150 years ago and the Ruedebusch-Smith family.
Around 1847, Henry Mace, a pioneer settler originally from New York, began developing a limestone quarry and lime kiln to heat the stone into quicklime (also known as calcium oxide) for construction purposes. The quarry and kiln were located at Brown’s Corners, where Mayville Limestone is currently.
“On three of the four corners, there were separate lime kilns that existed. The key one, though, was that of Henry Mace,” said lime kiln historian and photographer Daniel Seurer, “It was pretty small, like all the lime kilns at the time... It served very local businesses for all the buildings and their mortar needs.”

The same year, Charles (Chas) Ruedebusch, Sr., then fifteen years old, immigrated to the United States from Huntlosen, Germany. He first settled in Charleston, South Carolina, where he begrudgingly worked as a store clerk. Ruedebusch remained in Charleston for only a few years, disgusted by the state’s stance on slavery.
In his book, “Fifty Years in Business: Golden Jubilee Souvenir of the Chas Ruedebusch Co., Mayville, Wis.,” Ruedebusch recalled seeing a slave revolt:
“Near our place of business an encounter followed which ended disastrously for the mulatto, who was wounded, captured and hung three days later. I witnessed the execution. Never more did I care to witness anything so horrible again. This last incident only added to my dislike for the South, where the crime of slavery with its horrors confronted me everywhere.”
In 1850, Chas Ruedebusch left the South and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he again worked in stores. While in Milwaukee, Ruedebusch met a Mr. Herman Naber, who accompanied him to visit his dying father in Germany later that year.
Naber conducted business in Mayville and invited Ruedebusch into a partnership with him to open a general store there. Despite his previous begrudging of store employment, Ruedebusch agreed to enter the partnership. Naber and Ruedebusch opened on June 1, 1853.
Over the first years of business, Naber Ruedebusch saw considerable increases in customers, but not in profits.
“Upon looking into the affairs more closely, we found that our mode of giving almost unlimited credit and other causes had brought about a net loss instead of gain,” wrote Ruedebusch. “So, we resolved on a change to enlarge our field of action, and my partner, H. Naber, decided to open up a branch of our business in Shawano.”
The same problems plagued the new store location, increasing the debt, and eventually leading to the end of Ruedebusch and Naber’s partnership in 1868. Naber kept the store in Shawano, while Ruedebusch kept the store in Mayville, changing its name to the Chas Ruedebusch Co.
The department store found success after changing locations. In fact, “it grew so rapidly” that Ruedebusch “was forced to move again on account of too close quarters at the old place.” The name of the Chas Ruedebusch Co. is still on the “new place” building in downtown Mayville to this day.
Despite the store later finding success, Ruedebusch’s firm anti-South views during the Civil War had led to comparatively lower profits than other businesses because of the large number of South-symphathizing Copperheads in the area.
“During the war and the time following immediately thereafter, the foundation was laid to those immense fortunes that astound the world even to-day. I was among those less fortunate ones who had been unable to profit by these advantages owing to the lack of cash. So instead of being able to retire from business and leading a life of comfort, I was obliged to start working with feverish activity,” stated Ruedebusch. “In the year 1875, I was forced to enter a new industry, much against my will and inclination.”
This industry was the limestone industry–the industry that would shape the profession of his family for generations to come.