The Nazareth area has a long history in the cement industry. The first cement plant constructed was the Nazareth Cement Company in 1899.

A short distance from the Nazareth plant, the Dexter Cement Company also built a new plant and 29 company homes in a village they named Dexter.

Recently, Heidelberg Materials placed a historical marker on Route 248 remembering the village and the dedicated cement workers who resided there. Many of the workers were immigrants who came to the United States for a better life.

The marker lists families who resided in Dexter. The list of names, as well as the plaque, was researched by Joseph C. Petraglia, whose hardworking family lived in the village.

The Dexter plant operated nine rotary kilns capable of producing thousands of barrels of cement annually. The first cement was shipped in 1901. The president of the company at the time was John Miller.

In 1926, the plant was purchased by Penn Dixie Cement, which operated several plants in the area. The plant was renamed Plant No. 4.

The quarry for the plant was rich in limestone, so they constructed an aerial tramway that moved limestone 2.5 miles to Penn Dixie’s Plant No. 5. Each tramcar contained 0.09 tons of stone and moved 500 feet per minute.

This writer, as a youth, saw the tramway move across the landscape — and it was a sight to remember.

Over the years, the Dexter site has changed ownership several times. In 1976, the Dexter plant was owned by Coplay Cement (Cements Francais of France). Coplay also purchased the Nazareth plant and converted the site into a modern, efficient plant.

In 1980, the plant was renamed Essroc. The old Dexter plant was no longer producing cement, and all the homes in the village were dismantled in 1953.

Today, Heidelberg Materials, formerly Lehigh Heidelberg, owns the Dexter site and the former Essroc Cement Plant. There, they proudly continue the century-old tradition of producing quality cement for their many loyal customers.