History
1886 Thomas McWilliams noted the economic potential of the clay hills of this area and filed for homestead property here. It is felt his original intention may have been to sell the clay to Wellington White brick plant in Moose Jaw.
1909 the Canadian Northern Railway built a branch rail line near the Dirt Hills. Thomas McWilliams supplied the Moose Jaw Fire Brick & Pottery Company as early as 1904. Moose Jaw investors constructed the Claybank brick plant under the name Saskatchewan Clay Products with its official opening held June 16, 1913. The Brick Plant closed briefly during World War I and re-opened in 1916 as Dominion Fire Brick & Pottery Co.. Redcliff Pressed Brick purchased the Brick Plant in 1954 and renamed the operation Dominion Fire Brick & Clay Products (1954) Ltd. Soon after this takeover the operations were purchased by AP Green Fire Brick Company and many of the fire kilns were converted to gas. 1971 saw the last takeover bid by AP Green Refactories Ltd. The Brick Plant owned by A.P. Green Refractories closed in 1989. In 1992 the Claybank Brick Plant was acquired by The Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation.
The plant produced T-P Moka brick that saw extensive use on the prairies such as the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon. The factory also supplied bricks for the construction of the Château Frontenac in Quebec City.
Read more about this topic: Claybank Brick Plant
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the Creation, because as a result of what happened in this week, the world is bigger, infinitely.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1995)
“What would we not give for some great poem to read now, which would be in harmony with the scenery,—for if men read aright, methinks they would never read anything but poems. No history nor philosophy can supply their place.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)