There is something about a brick house. While there is nothing more elemental and permanent than building with stone, brick comes a close second and speaks to an early attempt by people to take the actual earth and literally mould it into something purposeful. Many of the first homesteaders started with what was readily available… sod.
In a newly created prairie town the first brick houses were noteworthy, and quite a few have survived. Having a brick house made a statement, but they didn't appear in those first years of the settlement era - brick was always desirable as a building material, but it was very expensive to ship. Those near a wooded area might use logs. Those near a sawmill could take advantage of that service. Even those with a bit of cash in hand had to wait until there was railway service to deliver material for that first frame dwelling.
It wasn’t long, however, before someone decided to make bricks.
Many settlers were familiar with the brick making process and Manitoba is geologically blessed with thousands of clay deposits.
Whitewater & Deloraine The earliest brickyard in the Turtle Mountain region was located near Whitewater. W. Barker was the operator and employed between thirty to forty men.
Several local buildings, including the Petersburg School, were built from these bricks. W. R. David bought the operation and in 1896 the brick machine was moved to Deloraine. The buff-coloured bricks were used for the Waskada School in 1906 and in many of Deloraine’s buildings of that era.
Melita The Melita Brick and Tile Co. was formed in 1905 by pioneer John Dobbyn after the discovery of red clay just west of the river and south of today’s #3 highway. In 1907 they were making 20,000 bricks a day and they had shipped a million of the distinctive pink hued bricks to Regina.
By around 1910 the clay bed had run out but many houses and buildings in the town and surrounding area stand today as proof of the short-lived enterprise.
Hartney The most extensive brick-making operations in the southwest corner were located in Hartney. The reason may lie partly in the quality and quantity of the clay deposits, but the dynamics of the community and the perseverance of some local entrepreneurs were also factors.
Harry Payne was the first to make bricks in Hartney. He operated between 1895 and 1902.
In 1898 George Sackville opened the Hartney Brick and Tile Company. William Kirkland took over that yard in 1901. His first kiln of 80,000 bricks went into the new A.E. Hill and Company building. The yard produced 30,000 bricks per day, with 10 men employed. In 1913, he was firing bricks for the new Saskatchewan Legislative Building.
Killarney In the late 1890’s Robert Church had a brickyard on his farm near Killarney. He supplied the bricks that were used in most of the buildings in the surrounding district.
The end of the era Virtually all brickyards in southwestern Manitoba ceased operations before or during the First World War. In some cases brickyards functioned until the deposit of clay ran out, in other cases competition and declining demand were factors. By 1910 most productive land had been taken and the building boom was over.
Only in Hartney – cat’s paw bricks! Limited edition. On several bricks in one of Hartney’s older homes there is evidence that a cat was inspecting the product early in the process.
In 1906 the MacDonald family from Hartney would have been quite proud of their new brick home.
Sources:
Storie, Ken. Locally Made: A Survey of Pioneer Industry
