Date: 1913

 

Description: The Loess surrounding the Siouxland area contains abundant deposits of not only farm-rich soil but also clay, and Sioux City businesses were quick to take advantage of this clay and excel in the manufacture of terra cotta, pottery, and most successful of all, brick. Brick manufacturers started in Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff as early as the 1850s, and the industry remains important to this day. This brick was manufactured by the Clay Products Company (CPC) in Sergeant Bluff, though the company itself was based out of Springdale between 1911 and 1913. There were so many brickyards in the city that mergers of companies were common. CPC itself was a merger of two companies, the old Sioux City Brick & Tile Company (the “new” one will become apparent shortly) and Sioux Paving Company, and Sioux Paving itself was a merger of three other companies. CPC operated three different brickyards in Riverside and Sergeant Bluff. CPC is famous not only for its easily recognizable stamp, which can be seen here, but also because it was part of one of the most expensive mergers in Sioux City brick history. In 1913 the company’s manager Lemuel W. Mallory signed a $1,000,000 merger between CPC, L. J. Haskins Brick Co., and C. W. Ritz Brick Co. and incorporated the yards under a new name, the “new” Sioux City Brick & Tile Company. As demand for brick lessened in the 20th century Sioux City Brick & Tile was able to keep its business in order, unlike much of its competition. Some of the company’s brickyards were closed in the 1960s because of the further decreased demand. However, the company still operates today under the same name, though it is better known simply as Sioux City Brick. It operates two of the three remaining brickyards in the entire state of Iowa.

 

Donor: William Linden

 

On display