Around 100 years ago, there was a whole community here at Karlsfors. There was a bank, a post office, a school and a store. The industrial community started with alum production as early as in the 18th century. The alum was for example used as an ingredient for red paint. In the middle of the 19th century the industry shifted to mainly produce lime for cement and soil improvement. Today you can only see the remains of the industry.
Inside the walls of the lime kilns, which could be up to 15 metres long and five metres high, alternate layers of limestone and alum shale were piled up. As the kiln was filled, the opening was walled up, leaving only a tiny hole. Through this the kiln was wood-fired until the alum shale became warm enough to ignite. After about ten days at a temperature of 1,000 degrees, it was time for the kiln to be left to cool. The lime, which had merged with the alum shale, was broken up an sold, either as quick lime or slaked lime. The slag was dumped in great piles along the slope.