This Sheboygan park had a 200-foot waterslide and now is home to summer swimming and fun

SHEBOYGAN — For a little more than 20 years, Jaycee Quarry Park featured a waterslide that thrilled those seeking fun and relief from the few hot days Sheboygan experiences each summer.

The waterslide was installed in 1986 when the Jaycees, in cooperation with the City of Sheboygan, erected the 200-foot waterslide that rose 30 feet above a splash pool at the park.

A Sheboygan Jaycee Foundation Committee headed by Steve Scharrer submitted the project to the capital improvements commission in August 1985. In spring 1986, the Common Council approved the funding for the $120,000 project, according to Sheboygan Press clippings.

Water for the waterslide would come from the Quarry lake, pumping to the top of the structure. The water would go down the flume and then arrive at a 14-foot-by-28-foot splash pool where the overflow would be returned to the lake via a spillway.

The Sheboygan Jaycees Foundation donated $20,000 and the city bonded for the remaining $100,000. At the time, the Jaycees Foundation agreed to make an additional $40,000 available, spread over 10 years, to the city if the waterslide revenues fell short of expenses.

In addition, The Press Publishing Foundation agreed at the time to make an additional $10,000 available to the city, again spread over 10 years, should the revenues fall short. The foundation was operated by the Werner Family, owners of the Press at the time.

City of Sheboygan citizens would have the lowest prices to attend and use the waterslide, according to a 1986 Sheboygan Press clipping.

City residents would pay $3.50 a day while non-residents would pay $4.50. Evening rates from 5 to 8 p.m. were $1.75 for residents and $2.25 for non-residents.

Originally, in 1981, the city did a study on a wave action pool for the quarry, which was later ruled out.

As the structure aged, some raised the concern of the safety of the facility. In 2008, the steel frame of the waterslide started to show corrosion during an inspection and it was closed as a result.

At the time, Public Works Director Bill Bittner said the city would examine the structure to determine whether to replace or repair the waterslide. It was estimated in 2008 to cost about $300,000 to replace it.

In the end, the city decided in to take down the waterslide in 2012 and to allow swimming at the quarry sans the waterslide feature. There would be no lifeguard and swimming would be allowed at a very specific area at the quarry.

City officials were reluctant to allow swimming at the quarry because of liability fears. It was pointed out by others in the Press article, there would be no more an issue of liability than if the area were at the lakefront.

In 2017, former EOS shop owner Mike Miller took over managing the swimming area and utilized safer alternatives to the former waterslide. Plans at the time included an inflatables swim area, and kayak and paddleboards rentals.

In a 2017 Press article, Miller said: "It's a piece of Sheboygan history. I went there as a kid. I think it has more potential than what is there right now."

Miller continues to manage the facility today.

The history of the quarry, in fact, goes back to the city's infancy in the mid-19th century. The Sheboygan Lime Works opened for business in 1885. The company's main product line consisted of lime, which was used for plastering walls and in brick and stone masonry work. Lime was also useful for whitewashing walls and buildings. Another product, crushed stone, was used on many of Sheboygan's earliest streets.

To see a slider on the quarry from 1850 to today,click here.

The firm originated earlier from the partnership of Henry E. Roth and Frank Schwartz, who purchased 10 acres of land containing the limestone deposits from Mr. and Mrs. John Foster of Chicago. In 1885, the firm incorporated.

Limestone was a popular building material, and Sheboygan's big connection to Chicago is the amount of lime that was shipped in barrels to the Windy City. In 1868, the company sold 7,605 barrels of lime to one customer in Chicago, according to information from the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

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Much of the hand-hewn stones you see in the towers of Holy Name Catholic Church come from the quarry. The land that contained the limestone was purchased by Holy Name's the Rev. Michael Halder. He had a goal to build a monumental church from the stones at the quarry some 2 miles away. Sometime after 1875, Halder sold the quarry acreage to Henry Roth.

Eventually, the area became known as Jaycee Quarry Park and today continues to offer an an inland summer water experience.

Gary C. Klein can be reached at 920-453-5149 or gklein@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter, now known as X at @leicaman99.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Swimming in Sheboygan: Jaycee Quarry Park had a 200-foot waterslide