| Marker Number |
4901 |
| Atlas Number |
5143004901 |
| Marker Title |
Site of Thurber Brick Plant |
| Index Entry |
Thurber Brick Plant, Site of |
| Address |
|
| City |
Thurber |
| County |
Erath |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
554963 |
| UTM Northing |
3596579 |
| Subject Codes |
manufacturing; geology; roads |
| Marker Year |
1994 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
from Thurber, take south access road to I-20 east 100 yards |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
18" x 28" |
| Marker Text |
Texas and Pacific Coal Company general manager W. K. Gordon, seeing potential in the shale mud found in Thurber, persuaded company president R. D. Hunter to build a brick plant here in 1897. Original machinery included three Ross-Keller brick presses powered by a Corliss steam engine nicknamed "Old Hunter." The operation covered five acres and employed 800 men. Brick manufactured here was used to pave roads throughout Texas, including old Bankhead Highway (US 80), Austin's Congress Avenue, Fort Worth's Camp Bowie Boulevard, and the Galveston Seawall. The plant closed in 1931. (1995) |
