Operation and Development of the Hercules Works
The CPW's Hercules Works operated as a chemical production facility for nearly a century. Exhibits here depict and document the construction, operation and conditions of production at the Works over its lifetime.
Site Topology, Geology and Hydrology
European settlement of Refugio Valley first, briefly, was for agriculture. From 1878 the main production facilities of California Powder Works...
Investment and Expansion
![http://stacks.herculeshistory.org/Still Image/408 WH McBryde/408 12511 - 1905 Mar - Sulphuric Acid Plant - Excavation.tif http://stacks.herculeshistory.org/Still Image/408 WH McBryde/408 12511 - 1905 Mar - Sulphuric Acid Plant - Excavation.tif](https://herculeshistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/13ceaa4606af41e159d20e4d1d949fdb.jpg)
Production occurred on the “Flat” of the Refugio Valley, in rough buildings of wood and metal, each housing a stage...
Transportation
![http://stacks.herculeshistory.org/Still Image/408 WH McBryde/408 12515 - 1905 May 5 - Sulphuric Acid Plant - Excavation.tif http://stacks.herculeshistory.org/Still Image/408 WH McBryde/408 12515 - 1905 May 5 - Sulphuric Acid Plant - Excavation.tif](https://herculeshistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/0506c04ede060447c7347edc261b9c65.jpg)
Transportation was vital. Barges loaded dynamite at a wharf built a half-mile east of Hercules Station; another “Acid Wharf”, extending...