Chapter 18 The Brick Makers

Transcription

1 Page 136 Chapter 18 Chapter 18 The Brick Makers Humphrey family tradition has John Humphrey and son Jay Lee Humphrey owning and operating a brickyard in Clarks, NC. This chapter gathers information on the early brickyards in the Craven County area. Elijah Clark owned one of the earliest brick companies. A large abandoned clay pit identified in The Whitford Papers, was located in New Bern near Lawson s Creek. 1 Elijah Clark s daughter, Matilda D. Clark, married Henry J. B. Clark (not related) of Washington, NC on October 4, 1837 in Craven County. 2 Henry Clark also served as an officer in the Confederate army and saw action in the battle of New Bern. Henry and Matilda Clark are buried in the Cedar Grove cemetery in New Bern. 3 Henry Clark supplied the brick for the First Baptist Church on Middle Street in New Bern in the 1840s. 4 At some point before 1860, the brick making operation was moved to an area west of New Bern where clay was suitable and obtainable. This area eventually became known as Clarks. One of the earliest known records is the Guion Map of 1864, showing Clark s brickyard, along the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, eight miles west of New Bern. 5 In the 1850 Craven census Schedule 5, only Council B. Wood is listed as brick maker (location unknown), with an investment of $2700, 81 cords of wood, and an unknown headcount he produced 25,000 bricks valued at $ In 1850 Lenoir census Schedule 5 Lenoir, Joseph Bergman is listed as brick maker, with an investment of $500, using 200 cords of wood and 2 employees to produce 200,000 brick valued at $ In the 1860 Craven Census Schedule 5, H. J. B. Clark s brickyard is listed with a capital investment of $5,000. The operation used 600 cords of wood for fuel and used steam and 15 horses for power. The yard employed 15 men and 5 women with an average monthly wage of $10 for the men and $5 for the women. It 1860 it produced 1200,000 bricks at a value of $7, Figure 85 North State Brick Ad, 1862

2 The Brick Makers Page 137 Henry J. B. Clark s brickyard in Clarks, the North State brickyard resumed operations in 1866 after the Civil War. 9 Figure 86 North State Brick Co. Ad, 1866 In January 1867, E. R. Stanley offered a brickyard for sale. 10 Figure 87 E. R. Stanley Ad, 1867 Figure 88 E. R. Stanley Ad, 1859

3 Page 138 Chapter 18 In the 1870 Craven Census, there are no brickyards listed in the industrial schedules. A lumber concern, Abbott & Co., was listed in In 1876, Matilda D. Clark, widow of Henry J. B. Clark, settled an indenture with George Allen for $3, by transferring several tracts of land to George Allen. 12 Deed book 73 pages are also referenced in the settlement and these pages also include a list of personal property conveyed to George Allen: 13 3 mules, 1 yoke of oxen, 4 cows and calves, 1 heifer, 2 yearlings, 1 cow, 2 carts, 3 horse carts, 2 pairs of wagon wheels, 8 plows, 1 harrow, 1 straw cutter, 1 cotton seed sower, 3 cart harnesses, 1 wagon harness, 6 pair plow braces and lines, 6 spades, 6 shovels, 6 axes, carpenter s tools, 12 hoes, 10 wheel barrows, 2 brick clay tempering wheels, one old steam boiler, a lot of machinery and shafting, 17 hogs, 1 pair mill stones, 1 horse, 1 pony, 100 barrels of corn, five... In 1878, John Humphrey purchased a tract of land from E. R. Stanley (agent for Henry and Matilda Clark). (See advertisement above). The boundaries were Batchelor s Creek, the Atlantic & NC railroad, land of the late John H. Richardson estate and land owned by Henry J. B. Clark. This deed indicates existing buildings on the tract, but does not mention a brickyard. 14 Henry J. B. Clark had died in 1873, prior to the purchase. Henry s widow, Matilda D. Clark died in The existing evidence appears to reveal John purchased the land advertised by E. R. Stanley in In the 1880 Craven census Schedule 5, George Allen & Co. a New Bern merchant, listed a brickyard in the 8 th township. With $3K invested, he employed up to 26 workers, 3 full-time, and produced 250,000 brick $2K. 16 From the previous deed entries, its appears George Allen has taken over operation of the H. J. B. Clark brickyard, either at the original location or by re-establishing the equipment received from Matilda D. Clark. In an 1896 North Carolina Directory, the population of Clarks is listed at 25 persons, and G. T. Eubanks was a magistrate of the 8 th township, however not brick companies are listed in Craven County. 17 In 1901, an advertisement for the Abbott and Jones Brick Co. appears in the New Bern Daily Journal, with the J. R. Parker Company as the agent. Elizabeth Abbott granted a deed to the Abbott and Jones Company in In 1902 Abbott and Jones granted a deed to the Kinston and Clarks Brick and Tile Company. In 1902 and 1902 the Kinston and Clarks Brick and Tile Company granted deeds to Amos T. Wetherington. In the period of 1904 to 1908, John and Julia Humphrey sold several tracts of land to the Enterprise Brick and Tile Manufacturing Co. 18

4 The Brick Makers Page 139 In the New Bern City Directory, an advertisement appears for the Carolina Brick Company with an annual capacity of 15 million bricks. Locations were Kinston, Robersonville, Clarks, Hyman Siding. Their agent was the Hyman Supply Company located at 43 Craven Street in New Bern. 19 Figure 89 Enterprise Brick Co. Advertisement, 1904 In the New Bern City Directory, two brick companies are listed: the Enterprise Brick and Tile Manufacturing Company with offices at 65 Pollock Street, and the Carolina Brick Company with New Bern Building Supply as the agent located at 17 Craven Street. 20 In the New Bern City Directory, the Clark Brick and Tile Company is listed with offices at 48 Hancock Street. The Enterprise Brick and Tile Manufacturing Company is listed with offices at 99 ½ Middle Street. A New Bern Brick Company is listed at 17 Craven Street. 21 The Clark Brick and Tile Company was incorporated in The president was a Mr. Joseph Gaskill and the Secretary Treasurer was Amos T. Wetherington. In March of 1912, one share of stock ($100) was granted to Jay L. Humphrey. It is likely the Kinston and Clarks Brick and Tile Company became the Clarks Brick and Tile Company in The Clarks Brick and Tile Company suffered in the Depression and the last deed truncation for the Clark Brick Co. was in 1938, when a parcel of land was sold to Elizabeth Perry via foreclosure. In the New Bern City Directory, the Enterprise Brick and Tile Manufacturing Company is listed with offices at 412 Elks Temple Bldg. A New Bern Brick Company is listed at 17 Craven Street. 23 Figure 90 Detail of Clark Brick & Tile Stock Certificate, 1912

5 Page 140 Chapter 18 In the New Bern City Directory, there are no brick companies listed. The Enterprise Lumber Company is listed with offices at 412 Elks Temple Bldg. The agent for the Enterprise Brick Co. and Enterprise Lumber Co. was John W. Stewart, he died in 1919 and this brick company appears to have become defunct by the 1920s. After 1920, the Stevenson Brick Company located at the Neuse Siding is the only brick company listing in the New Bern City Directories for 1920, 1926, and In Peter Sandbeck s book, The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, published in 1988, an article on Clark s appears on page 546. Much of the information on the brickyards was furnished by Robert Pittman during an interview in 1980 by Mr. Sandbeck: Now consisting of two twentieth-century brick stores and a halfdozen unpretentious one-and-two-story frame houses, Clarks was once the center of Craven County's brick making industry, active from the 1860s to the 1920s. The 1858 completion of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad's Goldsboro to Morehead City line brought rail transport potential through some of Craven County's best clay pits, which were located on both sides of Batchelor s Creek between present-day Clarks, Hymans, and Tuscarora. A strong local tradition names the town after the brickyard started before 1860 by Col. H. J. B. Clark This contention is well supported by the Branson's Business Directories of the period: in 1869, H. J. B. Clark is listed under "Brick Making" at the New Bern post office; and again in 1872 under "Brick Making," this time at neighboring Tuscarora post office. Like many smaller communities in the county, Clarks did not get its post office until the 1890s, hence H.J.B. Clark's use of nearby post offices. The Jones and Abbott Brickyard operated here during the first decade of the twentieth century, succeeded by the Enterprise Brickyard operated by Tom Eubanks. Only a mile west of town is the site of Hyman's Brickyard, (authors note: Carolina Brick Co.) active from about 1920 to the 1950s. The commercial district grew up around the crossing of the railroad and present SR 1225, where a small freight depot was located. It is dominated by a pair of two story commercial buildings, both built of local brick ca to house general merchandise stores. During the 1920s brickmaking activity shifted gradually to Hymans, leaving Clarks to survive as a tiny agricultural trading community. The brickyard referred to in the article above was actually the Abbott and Jones Co. brickyard. Deed transactions suggest it was absorbed by the Kinston and Clarks Brick and Tile Company after The Kinston and Clarks Brick and Tile Company appears to have become the Clarks Brick and Tile Company in 1911.

6 The Brick Makers Page 141 In its heyday, Clarks supported three brickyards about The Carolina Brick Company, The Enterprise Brick and Tile Manufacturing Company, and the Kinston and Clarks Brick and Tile Company. A Timeline of Brick Yards in Clarks, NC Civil War North State Brick Co. (Henry J. B. Clark) c c George Allen & Co. c Abbott & Jones Co. c Carolina Brick Co. (Hymans Brickyard) c late 1940's Kinston & Clarks Brick and Tile Co. c Enterprise Brick & Tile Manufacturing Co. c c Clarks Brick and Tile Co., Inc. c Figure 91 Timeline of Brick Yards in Clarks, NC

7 Page 142 Chapter 18 Endnotes Chapter 18 The Brick Makers 1 The Whitford Papers. Col. John D. Whitford. Page Craven County Library. 2 Craven County Marriage Index, Craven County Library. 3 Craven County, NC Cemeteries, Volume I. Craven County Library. 4 The Whitford Papers. Col. John D. Whitford. Craven County Library. 5 Perkins Library Collection. Lt. Col. Guion map, Duke University, Durham, NC North Carolina Census. Craven County. Schedule 5. Microfilm. Craven County Library North Carolina Census. Lenoir County. Schedule 5. Microfilm. Craven County Library North Carolina Census. Craven County. Schedule 5. Microfilm. Craven County Library. 9 The New Bern Daily Commercial. December 13, Microfilm. Reel NbCoMd Craven Co. Library. 10 The New Bern Daily Commercial. January 1, Microfilm. Reel NbCoMd Craven Co. Library North Carolina Census. Craven County. Schedule 5. Microfilm. Craven County Library. 12 Craven County Deeds. Book 77, Page 561. Microfilm. Craven County Library. 13 Craven County Deeds. Book 73, Page Microfilm. Craven County Library. 14 Craven County Deeds. Book 107 Page 130. Microfilm. Craven County Library. 15 Craven County, NC Cemeteries, Volume I. Craven County Library North Carolina Census. Craven County. Schedule 5. Microfilm. Craven County Library North Carolina Directory. Branson s Directory Co. Craven County Library. 18 Craven County Deeds. Bk 159 Pg 206. Bk 168 Pg 24. Book 173 Page 3. Microfilm. Craven County Library New Bern City Directory. Hill s Directory Co. Craven County Library New Bern City Directory. Craven County Library New Bern City Directory. Hill s Directory Co. Craven County Library. 22 Information on CB&T Stock Certficate. Original certificate in possession of the author New Bern City Directory. Hill s Directory Co. Craven County Library , 1926, 1937 New Bern City Directories. Craven County Library.