The Clay Under Seattle Built a Million-Dollar Industry

There is no important industry in the state which has been marked by such advances as have been made by Washington clay workers. Five years ago the clay business in this section of the country was confined to common red brick as the only clay product that had any standing in the market, while today King County leads the entire Pacific coast in her diversity and quality of clay wares. This has been due to that same indefatigable spirit and liberal expenditure of money which have been the propelling power in bringing this Northwest to the proud position she now holds. But the success attained in clay products, as in all other manufacturing pursuits, has been due in large part also to the high grade of raw materials that are stored in great abundance in many parts of the state, and especially in Western Washington, where clays of the purest character have been found and, scientifically treated, are being converted into various products that have in several instances been accorded the highest prize by the best experts of the land.

Another grade or quality of clay found and largely used here is converted into vitrified or annealed sewer pipe and annealed street paving bricks. These wares have been tested by the United States government and stand at the head of all like wares in tensile strength and point of durability. Still another grade of wares is fire brick and all kinds of fire clay goods, including fire proofing, flue linings, fire clay chimney pipe, furnace blocks, fire bricks, basic or acid, for lead and silver or iron smelting, being manufactured here in large quantities, and have been accepted by the United States government engineer as the equal of the highest grade English brick made. In ornamental lawn vases, flower pots and urns, the Seattle output ranks the equal of any in the land save in glazed wares. Common flower pots, drain pipe, etc., are also made here by different firms, while the so-called common red brick produced in this section are pronounced by experts as a superior brick in their class.

Besides suitable clays for the successful manufacture of the wares above specified, which this section of the country now sends to many markets, this section also has the finest grades of pottery clays, from the kaolin down to the clay for the everyday jug or milk pan, and already Eastern capitalists are moving in the matter of establishing a new plant for the manufacture of pottery in this Puget Sound country.

There is at the present time not far from $1,000,000 invested in the clay business in this section, with a monthly pay roll of from $40,000 to $50,000, much of which finds its way to Seattle. An important feature of the clay business is that it represents labor largely, as the raw materials are here mined and converted into the manufactured product, giving much labor to coal mines, wood choppers, etc., the entire ingredients thereof being direct products from the native land and mountain stores.

Seattle Brick and Tile. This company has since its organization in 1887 given steady employment to from 25 to 50 men. Its plant is the most complete on the Pacific coast, having three down-draft kilns and an annual capacity of 12,000,000 bricks. It has two yards, one at the south end of the Grant-street bridge, the other at Smith's cove. The company is prepared to furnish at any time side or end-cut common bricks, sewer bricks and paving bricks. Its paving bricks are unsurpassed; 6,000,000 having been used in the Seattle sewers. The officers of the company are: R. C. Washburr, president; Robert Niedergesaess, vice president and general manager; E. A. Strout, secretary and treasurer.

Denny Clay Company. In an adjoining column will be found a picture of the extensive clay works of the Denny Clay Company, located in the southern portion of Seattle. This company has established one of the most important works on the Pacific coast, giving constant employment to a large number of men in producing the raw materials and converting them into the finished clay products that rank as the best of their class with any in the country. Their clays are all of the highest grade, their machinery is of the best, their skilled labor unsurpassed.

The Denny Clay Company manufactures a full complement of clay goods. In clay building materials they make the highest grade dry press face brick of various colors (all from pure clay, no coloring matter being used); architectural terra cotta, to match or blend with the face brick; fire proofing, of pure fire clay; vitrified foundation or wall blocks, guaranteed moisture proof; corrugated hollow brick, for inside linings of inside walls; wall copings, etc. The McKirov block, nearly opposite the postoffice; the Collins block, corner James and Second streets, for dry press brick, and the Union Trust Company's block, corner of Main and Third streets, for repressed brick, are fair samples for those colors, while the terra cotta in the Spokane county courthouse made by the Denny Clay Company has challenged the skill of the country, and has never been approached for workmanship on the Pacific coast. The company is now also furnishing the architectural terra cotta for the new Washington university, which is also very handsome in design.

In vitrified clay wares the sewer pipe made by the Denny Clay Company is unsurpassed by that of any other manufacturer, as frequent tests have proven. They are now delivering 15 miles of this pipe to Los Angeles. Their vitrified paving brick by test by United States government engineers, at Watertown arsenal, stand at the head of the list of all records, as non-absorbent and in strength. This company also makes high grade fire brick that is now in use over the Pacific in smelters, cupolas, furnaces, lime kilns and coke ovens, etc., and have been accepted for United States government work as equal to the Stourbridge, the famous English fire brick. They also prepare, with much care, tempered fire clay.

The Denny Clay Company also manufactures an elegant line of lawn vases and decorative flower pots and urns, fire clay chimney pipe, plain and ornamental chimney tops and caps, drain tile, etc. They have now over 100 men employed. This factory is a credit and benefit to the Northwest. The company's main office is at the corner of Jackson and Commercial streets, this city, where a fine line of samples can be seen. If in need of any of their wares write to them. You are guaranteed honest goods and fair treatment.