What’s Next ?

 

We have visited abandoned places. Some are pieces of history and can be interesting places to visit. Photos preserve what these places looked like. This was the Carlyle Labold Tile and Brick Company in Coal Grove, Ohio. It evolved from the brickyard constructed along the Ohio River by John Peters in the late 1800s. Tile Company produced its first brick on May 5, 1925. In 1929, a trestle was built over Pike Street in Coal Grove from the brick plant to the N&W railroad tracks. The trestle was used until 1960. The plant was surrounded by abundant resources. Clay was mined from the surrounding hills and donkeys were used to transport the clay to the plant. The bottom photo shows the kilns where the brick was fired at around 2000° F. I took these photos many years ago; they show a piece of Appalachian history that is now gone. 

Ohio was once a major producer of bricks for the nation and the world.  In the 1920’s most streets and alleys were paved with brick. The kilns of Eastern Ohio were constantly working to meet the nation’s never ending need for fire bricks and street pavers.  From the 1880’s to the late 1930’s billions of Ohio bricks found their way to streets and buildings. They don’t make bricks like this anymore, it’s too labor intensive and costly.