Brick is Red

Courtesy of S. Holland (via Retro Jamestown on Facebook)

Brick streets. Let's talk about 'em.

The well weathered brick streets of Jamestown can be found in just about every neighborhood throughout the city. While many of the streets have held up well, there are quite a few that have become the bane of several local residents' existence (especially anyone who's ever lived on Linwood).

Last Fall (October, 2009), the city unveiled a historical marker on Allen St. devoted to the brick streets of Jamestown. It was placed at the Allen St. location because that's where all the bricks came from. Typically, some details about all Jamestown's historical markers in the city can be found here at the city's website. Unfortunately, they've yet to post details about the newest historical marker. So here are some details from a story I wrote for the Chautauqua Star (Many of the details for this article were provided by Jamestown City Historian, B. Deloris Thompson).

Historical Society Honors City's Rich History of Bricks

Brick streets may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Jamestown, but somewhere between Lucille Ball and Johnny’s hot dogs, they’re sure to be on your top 10 list. That’s because even though it’s been nearly 70 years since the last brick street was laid in the Pearl City, you still can’t drive anywhere in the city without running into a brick street. In fact, even today, more than 50 miles of exposed brick streets can be found within the city limits.

During the first half of the 20th century, bricks were used to make a large majority of streets in the city – and nearly every single brick came from a single business within the city: the Jamestown Shale Paving Brick Co. It is said Jamestown Shale produced as many as 15-million bricks per year at its peak (that’s over 135 tons of bricks every day). Many of the bricks produced were used locally for a variety of purposes, including the brick streets. The remainder was shipped all over the U.S. to markets eager for the quality bricks produced here.

The company was founded about 1893 by Judge Jerome B. Fisher, who continued as president of the company for about 25 years. John Mahoney was the Superintendent. 

In the beginning, clay was used to produce the bricks. The first clay was dug from a site in Falconer that soon filled with water. The next site was located on New York Ave. in the Town of Poland, which also filled with water over time. The site is now known as Clay Pond (and, if you’re one to believe in local lore, a backhoe used to dig the clay from the sight is still sitting at the bottom of the deep pond).

Once the second sight filled with water, it was decided to use the shale found in abundance in the stone quarry on Allen St. just across the river from the kilns that were used to produce the bricks.  This, of course, necessitated a basic change in the production method of the bricks. 

Rather than molding clay into bricks and baking them, the shale had to first be pulverized into a fine powder, and then mixed with water before it could be baked in the kilns to form bricks. Despite the extra step, the company found that the bricks made with the shale from the stone quarry on Allen St. were actually stronger than the ones made from clay. 

Incidentally, the shale used from the Allen St. location is referred to as the "type locality" for the geological stratum known as Ellicott Shale. It is an excellent fossil hunting area and has been studied often by geologists. To this day, over a quarter mile stretch of Allen St. between Buffalo and Willard Streets in Jamestown features steep embankments, some as high as 50 feet, that were the result of that area being quarried for its shale deposits.

The company prospered for the next several years and sometime between 1918 and 1920 became part of the Broadhead family's numerous enterprises, where the plant continued to prosper for anther 15 years. Then, around 1935, the operation closed for good, due to the deterioration of the kilns and the machinery (and perhaps the lack of capital in the midst of the great depression).

However, many of the bricks they produced remain in use in Jamestown in its streets, sidewalks, and buildings, attesting to the quality and durability of the unique product this significant Jamestown enterprise contributed to the area’s history. Even when walking nearly the old sight of the factory (presently occupied by Dawson Metal) one will find bricks scattered about the area – remnants of a business than long ago ceased to operate. 

To commemorate the company and Jamestown rich history with bricks, the Jamestown Historical Society recently unveiled the city’s 63 historical marker, which will be located on Allen St., across the river from where the plant once stood.

City officials also say that a large number of bricks from Jamestown Shale (approximately 750,000) are still waiting to be used. Some will be used by the city’s road crews to patch up brick streets that have deteriorated over the years through the city’s “Brick Streets Preservation” program. Others can actually be sold to local residents, and Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi says the price is 20 cents 25 cents apiece for city residents and 40 cents 50 cents apiece for non-residents.

As stated earlier, brick streets can be found in just about any neighborhood in Jamestown. But some of my favorites locations are on and around Lakeview Ave., adjacent to the Lakeview Cemetery, Glasgow Ave. on Jones Hill, and Pine Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

This story originally appeared in the Chautauqua Star & Bulletin Board - October 29, 2009