Limestone was first discovered in Massachusetts in Newbury in 1697; however the history of the discovery of limestone in Bolton is extremely vague. We know that the land where lime was discovered was a part of the large acreage owned by John Whitcomb, one of the early settlers of Lancaster. On his death, it passed to his son Jonathan. Neither of them ever lived on this land or even in Bolton territory. John, of the third generation, seems to have been the first to build in this area. His name is on the list of garrisons in 1711, but not on the 1704 list. This would place the building of his homestead between those dates. As he was married in 1711, that would seem a likely date for the building of his home, which was on the site of John Stephenson's house. Whether the lime quarry had been opened before John Whitcomb lived on the Great Road, or some time later it is not possible to say.
John died in 1720, at the age of 36, leaving four small children. The eldest, who became General John Whitcomb in Revolutionary days, inherited the homestead, as was the custom in Colonial times. According to Henry S. Nourse who wrote "A Forgotten Patriot," John Whitcomb came into possession of the homestead "on which limestone had been discovered".
When (Gen.) John became of age in 1733, he received his inheritance and was soon engaged in the quarrying and burning of lime, which provided him with a substantial income until his death in 1785. Two of his sons Jonathan and Asa, inherited the "lime pasture" and carried on the business. But Asa lived only to the age of 40, and Jonathan bought his brother's half from his heirs in 1806. The business was operated by Jonathan until his death in 1830 and for some years afterwards by his sons.
Around 1845, a spring was struck in the quarry, and the story is that the water came in with such force that the workmen had to flee for their lives, leaving their tools behind them. The ox that operated the windlass was drowned. The quarry was abandoned for many years, but in 1937 a company leased it for manufacturing agricultural lime. This operation lasted only a year or two, and once again the old quarry has filled with water.