Maclay State Gardens
Tallahassee, FL
Leap Year Day 2012
As this day started out, I thought this stroll thru spring time Tallahassee might be a potential diary about Maclay State Gardens. I may get back to that theme but first I wanted to write about another aspect of the park -- the antique bricks and pavers.
These historic gardens are on US 319 to the north of I-10 at exit 203. This day was a bit early for the best spring blooms and I got sidetracked, looking down like I was in the woods, and focused on this brick pathway that runs all thru the park. Thus my interest in the bricks and the companies that produced them.
Photos of the various bricks and a bit of history below.
Seeing the company names on so many of the bricks caught my eye so it was squat down with iPhone, check for shadows, and click click click. Offhand I'd say that 80% of the pavers were unnamed (or set with name face down) and 10% were stamped Baltimore Block. When we stopped at the old Maclay house, I asked the docent about the pavers and she said the state put them down some time after Mrs. Maclay donated the grounds and house back in the 1960s. Also that state purchased these bricks thru a Tampa company - low bidder? or just that Tampa already had a history of using pavers for road construction.
Anyways. Most of the named bricks were Baltimore Block which is the one company I could not find much until I caught this. That explains the W.P.B.Co. initials. Baltimore is also mentioned here in a website devoted to a wall of bricks.
I assume the different colors are from different clays.
I love this one with the double strike. Reminds me of the 1955 double die penny I held in my 8 y/o hand once and then spent on penny candy.
Coaldale Block - didn't find much on this company but I guess it was based in Coaldale, PA which was undoubtfully a coal mining town. Some of these old pavers had a lot of wear - horses and wagons?
This guy may be related long long ago back in Scotland. Copeland-Inglis Brick Company
The use of bricks for road paving has a long history going back to Greeks and Romans. But then there was this Scotsman who developed an inexpensive paving material of soil and stone aggregate and eventually the use of tar. It greatly reduced labor costs and made maintenance easier. Despite the use of bricks for buildings, the Great Depression lead to many manufacturers going out of business like this brick company in Georgia. However all was not lost in Rockmart since a Goodyear Tire plant opened around 1930. Despite the industrial base the county had a lawless reputation.
Monarch Brick Company, Rockmart, GA
Scott County, Tennessee was an area rich in just the right kind of clay plus coal for use in firing the bricks. Southern Clay Manufacturing Company
Reynolds Brick was also located in Robbins, TN. Again the Great Depression and more modern paving methods lead to its demise. This article has a good explanation of the brick-making process, the financial aspects, and work and living conditions.
The Yankee version. Not too many of these bricks made it down south back then but it was obviously a big thing up there a century and a half ago in the northeast cities. The Hudson River area above New York City produced millions of bricks. Catskill Block
Graves Shale Brick Company in Birmingham, AL in 1901. Here's an article about the founder and his 4 story brick building. Sounds like he started the company just for this building and then got into pavers afterwards.
And there is money to be made in old bricks.
Augusta Block is the last company I searched for. Hah! Someone already wrote this story back in 1999. -- very slow loading--
and another interesting blog about augusta bricks with photos of an abandoned kiln.
Finally here are some more articles I came across when researching these old companies. An article from St Pete, FL and a big paver job there. This covers a lot of the same brick companies found at Maclay which makes sense if the antique bricks all came thru Tampa.
And this article has more on the origin of brick roads in Florida.
Of course we have antique brick collectors - who woulda thunk it...
The National Building Museum
THE INTERNATIONAL BRICK COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION
and 2 other collector websites
Brick Collecting
Brick Collector
Hope you enjoyed this walk around Maclay State Gardens. Stop back in 2035 for the opening of this time capsule.