The Domtar Mine, formed from the consolidation of Grand Rapids Gypsum Company mines 1 & 2, is an inactive underground

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

mine in

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, a suburb of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

History

The Grand Rapids Gypsum Company was incorporated in 1860, but the mines pre-dates this incorporation. The mine is located in the city of

, just southwest of Grand Rapids, north of the Grand River. The original mine entrances were both north and south of Butterworth Drive, named after the pioneering mining magnate, R.E. Butterworth, who opened the first

mines north of the Grand River in this area.

Pellerito Cave

A small gypsum solutional cave, known as the Pellerito Cave (named after its founder, Russell Pellerito) was discovered during the mining operations.

Domtar purchase

The mine was purchased by

Domtar Domtar Corporation is a leading, privately held manufacturer of diversified forest products, with a workforce of roughly 14,000 employees in more than 60 locations across North America. While Domtar operated independently for several decades a ...

industries in 1983, and re-opened in 1984 as the Domtar mine. Domtar sold their gypsum operations to

Georgia-Pacific Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of Tissue paper, tissue, Pulp (paper), pulp, paper, toilet and paper towe ...

, who closed the mine in 1999. It was the last operating underground gypsum mine in Michigan.

References

External links

Kent County Inventory of Underground Mines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Domtar Mine Underground mines in the United States Geography of Kent County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area Gypsum caves Caves of Michigan Mines in Michigan