The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-08-26
The Fire Brick Business in Hancock

10 q conversation IASL CNCHANh "A'A 49,
old friend BUcKNBR J. SMITH, ESQ., Of
Hancock, VIC learned some facts respect
ing the Fire Brick business in that coun'
,y which may be Of sufficient interest and
value to justify mention here. &c.
The manufacture of FIRE clay into brick
and drain Pipe in Hancock is more ex'
tensive industry than many persons away
from the locality are aware Of. The brick
yards lie along the river above and below
New Cumberland for distance Of five
or six miles. The fire clay is supplied
from the hill adjacent 10 and parallel with
the river. 1t lies in a vein averaging
abou. six feet thick, Immediately under
the coal, and is mined just as coal is.
The coal used in burning is taken from
the vein undermined by taking out the
clay, and is very easily brought down,
small blast often knocking down
several hundred bushels. a small pro-
portion Of sand is mixed with the clay.
This sand used to be supplied, and is yet
in some cases, by burning sandstone as
limestone IS burned and then crushing it;
and as this furnishes the purest sand It
makes the hest brick; but the practice
has generally obtained Of using the
substratum Of the clay, which is largely
composed Of sand, to furnish the required
admixture The process Of fire brick max.
iugis otherwise not unlike that oIordina-
ry brick. Some qualities are burned in
temporary castings and some in permanent
kllns. Wood and coal are used jointly
in burning, which occupies about week.
About twenty cords Of wood aud 700
bushels Of coal are required for each l00,.
900 brick.
There are about dozen and half OF
these fre.clay worksin Hancock, Of which
our informant was able to recall the
names OF the following: The firm OF
SMITH, PORTER & Co. (ot which our
friend SMITH is the senior member) have
five yards, three above New Cumberland
and two below. One Of these manutac'
lures both brick and drain pipes. These
gentlemen make about eight million brick
annually. W. B. FREEMAN has one brick
yard; JAMES FREEMAN s. BROTHERS, one.
They have also pipe works on the othe7
side of the river) The rHEEaAN ee~
Germs each make about million brick an
nuslly, The FREEMAN Bros, are en-
larcing their works and will probably
make two millions next year. The Mon
RYPESEY Bros. have three works and
make near two million brick per year;
THOMAS ANDERSON makes probably a mil.
lion; HUDSON s WILSON some seven hum
dred thousand; SoUTER & BRIcE about
the same; PORTER & ANDERSON a million;
MCGEE & THOMPSON near q million;
STEWART s. FRANcY a million.
1t takes from $25 600 to $4,000 capital
to run a yard successfully. Mr.. SMITH
thinks the total capital invested in Han
cock county in this business is not much
less than halt million dollars. The
whole yearly production OF bricks about
twenty millions, bringing in market not
far from quarter OF million dollars.
The brick are shipped in all directions,
by river and rail, though the great bulk
Of them by river. They SO from the crest
OF the Alleghenies on tho Pennsylvania
Central 10 New Orleans in the southwest
and 10 Chicago and Milwaukee in the
northwest. Messrs. SMITH, PORTER Il
Co, shipped near 100000 Trick to
Milwaukee last spring Three or four
thousand tons year Of fire clay are
shipped, bringing g per ton at home.
Messrs. SMITH, PORTER s. Co. employ from
twelve to sixteen barges to do their ship
ping by river. The lack Of railroad
direct 10 the works makes it troublesome
and costly to get their brick 10 the cars Of
the Panhandle road; and Mr.. SMITH
thinks Il they could be loaded on the cars
at the works the sales in the West and
Northwest could be multiplied many
times beyond present sales. When the
river is low shipments are greatly embar.
raised. At such times It is estimated the
production OF all the works in the county
would average enough to load twenty
cars day.
Each yard employs on the average
twenty men, three hundred and fifty
probably being engaged in the business
in tie county. Most ofthe brick making
Is done in the summer when the brick
can be sun dried. Messrs. Smith, PoR=
TER & Co., run two yards in the winter,
but artificial drying is necessarily more
expensive and will not become general so
long as the market can be tOlerably well
supplied by summer work. Tho clay is
usually mined in winter by the same men
who work it up in summer, thus giving
the men work all the year round.
There are several establishments for the
manufacture OF fire clay on the Ohio side
in the same neighbOGhood, the vein oil
clay appearing on both sides OF the river,
Messrs. GARLIC Is sIGLER have a pipe
works opposite New Cumberland, and,
as we have already mentioned, the FIRE.
MANS have another. There are also some
brick works above or below.
Messrs, Smith, PORTER s Co. own the
brick works at Nuzum's Mills, formerly