Washington Brick, Lime and Manufacturing Company, Clayton
Washington Brick, Lime and Sewer Pipe Company, Clayton
Advertisement for the Washington Brick and Lime Company. From Spokane City Directory, 1889.
History
According to J. T. Davie, a pioneer brickmaker of Spokane, Washington, Henry Brook came to Spokane about 1882 and
worked as a contractor. In 1886, Brook and Davie purchased 80 acres of land on Cannon Hill Park in Spokane for the
purpose of establishing a brickyard. Brook had earlier purchased 40 acres of adjoining land there. Davie made the
bricks for Brook to use in his construction projects. In 1888, Davie sold all of his interests in the brick business
to Brook, who ran the yard under the superintendence of George B. M. Rambo. After a short time, Brook sold out to two
men from the east, Spear and Belt. When H. N. Belt left the business the same year, Joseph H. Spear teamed up with Brook to
form the Washington Brick and Lime Company on May 1, 1889. Capital stock was $50,000. Henry Brook was president and
Joseph H. Spear was secretary and treasurer. The company office was at the southwest corner of Stevens Street and
Railroad Avenue in Spokane.
This company went through several name changes over the years. In 1892, the company name was changed to Washington Brick,
Lime, and Manufacturing Company. Henry Brook remained as president and Joseph Spear as secretary and treasurer. In 1909,
Washington Brick, Lime and Manufacturing Company and the Spokane Sewer Pipe Company merged to form the Washington Brick,
Lime, and Sewer Pipe Company, with a capital stock of $2,000,000. Officers of the new company were Joseph H. Spear, president
and general manager; William M. Colby, Mason City, Iowa, vice-president; S. J. Boal, Minneapolis, Minnesota, secretary;
T. Ed Redman, Jackson, Michigan, treasurer; and L. A. Spear, director. In 1938, the company changed its name back to its
original name of Washington Brick and Lime Company. Officers at that time were Neal R. Fossen, president and general manager;
C. P. Lund, vice-president; Ernest L. Frank, secretary and treasurer.
The Washington Brick and Lime Company owned five clay plants in Washington and a lime plant at Bay View, Idaho. The plants in
Washington included Spokane, Freeman, Mica, Clayton, and Dishman. This article will focus on the Clayton plant, located six
miles west of Spokane in Stevens County, Washington.
Advertisement for the Washington Brick and Lime Company. From Spokane City Directory, 1893.
The plant at Clayton was built in 1893 for the manufacture of brick and was at the time the largest in eastern
Washington. Near the plant was a deposit of clay strata containing, from top to bottom, six feet of sandy light
yellow clay, three feet of light gray sandy clay, and six feet of white clay. These clays were mined in a large pit
with pick and shovel and later by gasoline-powered shovel. The clays were loaded into cars and hauled to the mill
by a horse, later replaced by trucks. A dark yellow clay was also mined in an open cut at another location and hauled by
wagon, later replaced by trucks, to the mill.
The clays were separated into four colors: light yellow, dark yellow, light gray, and white. The light yellow clay
burned to a light red to brownish red to gray, depending on firing temperatures. The dark yellow clay burned to
red or brown. The light gray clay burned to a very light cream color. The white clay burned to a pure white. By
using these clays alone or in various combinations, the plant was capable of making many different shades of colors
of dry press or repress facing brick and terra cotta.
When a certain kind of ware was to be made, clays were taken from the different piles in the correct proportion and
fed to two large dry pans to be ground and mixed. Then the mixture was carried by conveyors to the top of the mill
where it was screened and dropped into bins. The clay was then conveyed by troughs directly to the different brick
machines.
View of the WACo plant at Clayton, Washington. From Landes, 1902.
In 1910, the plant was described by Solon Shedd as follows. The best grades of facing bricks were made in the two
dry press machines, each with a capacity of 5,000 to 6,000 brick per day. For making stiff-mud bricks, the clay was
fed into a long horizontal pug mill for tempering. Then it was fed into an auger stiff-mud brick machine, which had
a capacity of 25,000 brick per day, and a hand-power wire cutting table. There was a repress brick machine with a
capacity of 30,000 repressed brick per day. Terra cotta was made in a chaser mill for tempering the clay.
The bricks were placed on small cars and taken to the dry kiln to be steam heated. After drying,
the bricks were fired in seven circular downdraft kilns, with capacities of 36,000 to 80,000 brick. Terra cotta
was fired in three muffle kilns. This had grown to 18 downdraft and muffle kilns by 1910.
Up to 1907, the brick machinery and terra cotta works were housed in one large building. The molding room,
drafting room, and drying room for the terra cotta were on the second floor in one end of the building. In 1907,
a new terra cotta building was added with 48,000 feet of floor space, electric elevators, and steam heat. An 80 h.p.
and a 40 h.p. boiler furnished the steam for the 80-h.p. engine that drove the machinery in the plant. By 1910, these
were upgraded to a 350 h.p. Corliss engine and 120 kw generator when the machinery was driven by electricity. The
finished products were stored in warehouses and sheds.
Originally, the plant had a capacity of 50,000 brick per day making high-class pressed brick and terra cotta
finishings. In 1900, a press was added for the manufacture of culvert pipes. In 1905, the plant was upgraded
to 100,000 brick per day by the addition of a common brick plant to help supplement the other common brick plants at
Spokane and Freeman. In 1908, a fire destroyed the plant at a loss of $50,000, and it was rebuilt. By 1909, the
plant had a capacity of 20,000 pressed brick per day and 50,000 stiff-mud brick per day. By 1936, the brick
plant was using a combination pug mill and auger machine with a 22-brick automatic cutter. The bricks were put on
a double-deck car and sent to the steam-heated drier for drying for four days. The bricks were fired for five to
six days in two rectangular downdraft periodic kilns, each with 90,000 brick capacity, and five round downdraft
periodic kilns, with 20,000 to 70,000 brick capacity. In 1936, the plant made an average of 600,000 brick per month,
including common, face, and firebrick.
Bricks from the Clayton plant were shipped throughout the Northwest Pacific. From 1893 to 1908, pressed brick and
firebrick were shipped. From 1908 to 1957, pressed brick, wire-cut face brick, and firebrick were shipped. Common
brick production began in 1905 and probably was made to 1957. The "WACo" or "WACO" brand mark was used
by this company as early as 1921 and maybe earlier. The mark was used on bricks until the company was acquired by
Gladding, McBean and Company in 1957.
Some examples of this company's brick include the pressed brick on the Columbia (James S. Black) Building (1907), cream
plastic face brick on the Multnomah Hotel (1911), Mallory Building (1912), Erlinger
Building (1912), and Shea Building (1912), and Red Roman brick, or Titan Brick, in the Ridpath Hotel (1952) in Spokane.
Enameled brick and matt glazed terra cotta were made for the Empress Theatre (1912) in Spokane. Cream brick and terra
cotta were made for the U. S. National Bank (1912) at Vancouver, Washington. Mottled terra cotta and brick to match
were sent to the McCloud Building (1913) at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Terra cotta and face brick were made for the
Davenport Hotel (1913) in Spokane. Buff terra cotta and granite colored brick were sent to the Washington State
Reformatory (1913) at Monroe. In 1952, the plant came out with the SCR brick, which was developed by the Structural
Clay Products Research Foundation. This brick measured 2 1/6 x 5 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches and was cored with ten holes and
notched for window and door jambs. It was used in homes in the Spokane area. The Jumbo Roman brick, measuring
20 x 3 1/4 x 4 inches, along with Red Roman bricks in 12- and 16-inch lengths also came out in 1952.
In 1905, at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, the company exhibited its products, including
architectural terra cotta, ornamental brick, dry pressed brick, red, cream and granite colors; firebrick,
milled and screened fire clay, repressed brick, common brick in white and red, mantels, fireproof tiling,
sidewalk tiles, vitrified sewer pipe, agricultural drain tile and lime. Some of these products came from other
plants owned by the company.
In 1919, A. B. Fosseen became president of the company when he replace Joseph H. Spear. By 1933, the company was
in financial trouble due to declining sales of clay products. A reorganization of the insolvent company was led
by Eric A. Johnston and his new corporation took over the properties in 1943. Some improvements in the clay products
business helped the company to succeed with dividend payments made to the shareholders and reduction of indebtedness.
In 1957, the company was purchased by Gladding, McBean and Company and dissolved.
Henry Brook, a founder of the company, was born in England in 1842. He married in England in 1865. He and his wife, Kezia,
immigrated to American in 1870, and he became a minister in the Methodist church in Minnesota. They arrived in Spokane,
Washington, in 1883. He died in 1908 at the age of 60 years and left a wife and four daughters. Census records reveal
they originally had nine children.
Joseph H. Spear, a founder of the company, was a native of Illinois, born in 1853. His father was from Ireland. He
married is wife Jennie in 1875 and they had eight children. He was a lumber dealer in Springfield, Illinois, prior
to coming to Washington. He died in Oakland in 1920 at the age of 67 years.
Washington Brick and Lime Company Bricks
WACo Face Brick
One of the face bricks is light gray and mostly uniform in color. The form is excellent with smooth
surface. The edges and corners are sharp if not broken. Brownish flashing is displayed on the sides. The faces display wire-cut
grooves. The marked side is imprinted with the abbreviation "WACo" in thin block letters and a lower case "o". The
mark is not centered, indicating a rotating stamp with possibly some marks truncated along the longer edge. This
brick was made using the stiff-mud process. Dimensions are not available.
View of the marked side of the WACo face brick. Photo courtesy of Mike McWatters.
WACo Pressed Brick
The gray pressed brick is a mottled gray and yellow. The form is excellent with straight and sharp edges and sharp corners.
Surface is smooth and crackled. Flattend grains of clay are visible on the surface. The individual clay grains are gray and
yellow, subrounded to subangular, and range up to 1/8 inch in diameter, giving the clay body a granular texture. Some clay grains
are stained with red iron oxide. About two percent red or black iron oxides, cream feldspar, and white quartz are present. This
brick was made using the soft-mud process and dry pressed. Dimensions are not available.
View of the sides of the WACo gray pressed brick in the wall of the Columbia Building.
Close up view of the granular surface of the WACo gray pressed brick.
Close up view of the granular surface of the WACo gray
pressed brick. Largest grain is 1/8 inch across.
WACo Roman Brick
WACo Roman or Titan brick is red and uniform in color. The form is excellent with straight and sharp edges and sharp corners.
Surface is smooth with minor crackles or cracks. Tiny spots of black iron oxide and white quartz may be visible on the surface.
The wire-cut faces and the interior clay body were not examined. This
brick was made using the stiff-mud process. Dimensions are not available.
View of the sides of the WACo Roman brick in the wall of the Ridpath Hotel.
Close up view of the surface of the WACo Roman brick.
WACo Wire-Cut Common Brick
WACo wire-cut common brick is red and uniform in color. The form is excellent with straight and dull or rounded edges and sharp
corners. The short edges are rounded. Surface is smooth with minor pits and cracks. The wire-cut faces display a transverse velour texture
which may leave sawtooth edges. The wirecut angle could not be determined. The interior consists of a compact sandy clay body with 10 percent
clasts of subrounded red clay, subrounded to subangular clear white quartz, and subrounded black iron oxide, all ranging up to 1/2 inch
in diameter. Some elongated grains or clusters of white quartz and black iron oxides were present. This brick was made using the
stiff-mud process. Dimensions are not available.
View of the sides of the WACo wire-cut common brick in the wall of the Columbia Building.
View of the smooth surface of the WACo wire-cut common brick.
Partial view of the wire-cut face of the WACo wire-cut common brick showing the transverse velour texture.
View of interior clay body of the WACo wire-cut common brick.
Close up view of interior clay body of the WACo wire-cut common brick.
References
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Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 1, S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912.
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Injured His Hearing, Spokane Chronicle, July 3, 1906, p. 3.
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Parker, Wally Lee, Historical Fragments #1: Washington Brick & Lime's Henry Brook, The Bogwen Report Online,
http://thebogwenreport.blogspot.com/2012/01/historical-fragments-1-washington-brick.html (accessed December 19, 2017).
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Washington Brick Turning Out New Scientific Brick", Spokane Chronicle, October 1, 1952, p. 46.
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