Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1888-09-20
MEXICO, MISSOURI THURSDAY, September 20, 1888
FROM DIRT TO DOLLARS.
Wonders Wrought From Vir.
gin Clay.
Thirty Minutes in the Works of the
Mexico Fire Brick and Stove
lining Company.

Few persons living in Mexico |
have an idea of the extent of the
operations carried on by the Mex
leo Fire Brick and Stove-lining
company. Half a hundred hands
are employed in the factory alone,
and from morning until night the
busy hum of machinery is heard in
the works.
This manufacturing establish
ment is located on West Jackson
street and its site has been, almost
since Mexico was founded, the To-
cation Of manufacturing estab-
lishment. None of the numerous
concerns that have been brought to
light and ceased to exist on this
ground were at any period in their
existence as successful as the pres
ent one. y
The factory proper is long, two
story brick building. Little steam
power is needed, and a 25 horse
power engine under Walter Smith.
furnishes that. The material from
which the products of the works
are made is fire clay, which is
found two hundred yards east of
the works, at depth of so feet, in
endless quantity. The clay is
mined by half dozen men skilled
in their work, and when brought to
the surface in large, gray, shapeless
chunks is placed on small cars, in
which it is hauled over a narrow
gauge track to the main factory.
The mine has been operated sew
eral months and is now an immense
cavity in the bowels of the earth.
The miners are supplied with air
from the surface by artificial means.
Several men unload the cars as
they arrive at the works and col
ored man, with huge scoop,
shovels the clay into an immense
steam crusher, or "wet pan" The
great chunks rapidly turn to pow
der under the iron wheels and with
the addition of lite water, form a
pulp, which is the material from
which all the fire brick, stove-lin-
ings and cupola blocks are made.
The man who shovels the raw clay
into the wet pan handles just 60
tons of the stuff each working day.
The moulding room, with it's
score of busy boys of sixteen or so,
is one of the most interesting fea-
lures of the establishment. Here
the damp, sticky clay is thrown in
to moulds and made inte stove
Innings or fire brick. Like in other
work of this character, the product
must undergo drying process be-
fore going into the white hot kilns.
The drying never interferes with
the work of the factory, for large
yard room is utilized for that pur-
pose.
The kilns are four in number,
and are situated east of the main
building. One of them has a capa-
city for $4,000 brick, while the
other three, nearly as large, are
used exclusively for the burning of
stove-linings. From the kilns,
which are each kept burning
from fifty to sixty hours, the
produce goes to the packing room,
Ijust east of the kiln yard. The
Innings and cupola blocks are most
ily packed in barrels with straw
and are sold in Chicago. The fire
brick go to Kansas City. One car
load ofthe product of the works is
shipped every day.
Still further east the mould room
lis found. Here are carefully stored
and kept the hundreds of moulds
used from time to time. They re-
present scores of brands of stoves,
manufactured in all parts of the
| United States. New moulds are
made as fast as ordered in the COM
|pany's carpenter shop, which is on
the ground under the management
of G. F. Holmes. The works are
weeks behind now on all kinds OF
orders.
I The average daily run of the
works is as follows: 5000 fire
brick, 500 circular stove-linings,
5000 odd Innings and 700 cupola
blocks.
By the resignation of Mr.. G.
Dixon, Mr.. R. E. Elliot became
superintendent. John J. Steele is
assistant superintendent and book
keeper.
The fuel used at the works il
wood, of which fifteen or twenty
cords are used each day, all of il
being supplied by farmers who
live near Mexico. Cars are now
loaded with the brick and Innings
by wagon, but the Alton will short.
/ by way of Jackson street.
For Nominee Always.
Frem the Bowling Green Traes.
| DnE. lFLsta IF t1a hn..n. r