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It's remarkable how something so unassuming like an old worn brick could tell such a fascinating story. Many of these bricks show a great deal of character, having survived over a century of wear from people and time. These bricks are quite symbolic of the community that is stamped upon them. The borough of Howard, now in its its second century, has been shaped by the same forces, yet remains just as strong and durable as these simple red bricks.
In October 1903, a charter to establish a brick works in Howard was proposed to the state legislature. News of the company's formation was celebrated by local residents as the Howard Furnace, once the predominant employer for the community, had closed years prior taking many jobs with it. The Howard Brick Company was formally established soon after. The location for the works was to be the Lauth Estate on the east side of town along the Pennsylvania Railroad. This decision was probably heavily influenced due to the fact that the company's president was none other than John Lauth.
After being established, it took some time for the new company to get on its feet. When it did, it appears that things did not begin smoothly. In February 1905, Bellefonte's Democratic Watchman newspaper reported that Joseph Schwenk and Nathaniel Pletcher were working on installing a slate roof on one of the newly constructed buildings at the brick works. Without warning, the roof collapsed under the men, dropping them down into the rubble. Joseph sustained a broken leg and Nathanial was cut up and bruised badly. Several other men who had been working inside the building narrowly escaped with their lives. Construction of the plant continued into the spring. By April, a force of 25 workmen were still finishing the works. Based on newspaper articles, it appears the brick works was in operation by July of that year.
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| The Howard Brick Company at an unknown date |
Red building brick was the focus of the operation. Deposits of red shale in the Howard Gap provided the necessary raw material. A narrow-gauge tramway was built to connect the quarries with the works. Four “beehive” kilns, named for their dome-like shape, heated the "green" unfinished bricks to harden them. The plant’s location along the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed for fast and convenient shipment of finished products. By August of 1906, the company reportedly produced 50,000 bricks in the span of just ten hours. Just a year later, another article expressed that the railroad could not provide enough railroad cars to keep up with production.
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| A 1921 topo map showing the tramroad running from the brickworks towards Howard Gap Retrieved from:https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/ |
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| The plant's four coal fired beehive kilns Photo Retrieved From: The Centre County Historical Society |
Like any industry of the era, the working environment at a brick works was rife with danger. In December 1905, 28 year old Harry Krape had his right arm caught in a crusher machine. The damage to the extremity was so severe that amputation midway up the arm was undertaken at the hospital in Bellefonte. Harry later filed a claim against the company and won compensation.
Production figures for the company appear to be quite sparse. Reportedly, the company had contracts with several eastern cities, but nothing specific is ever mentioned. At least one transaction was named in the Centre Reporter in April 1909 when "a car load of Howard made brick" was unloaded in Centre Hall for Lyman L. Smith to build his home.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a lacking of overall records regarding the company's history at the present time. As a result, there are gaps in the timeline that leaves us in the dark in regards to what was occurring with the enterprise during that time. Newspaper articles seem to give the best picture of what was transpiring with the company, but as the reader will see, articles concerning the brick works often leave significant gaps between coverage.
Issues must have been rearing their head by 1910. In April, the Snow Shoe Times included a blurb that noted that Howard residents were "gratified" to hear the whistle blow at the brick works again. This seems to point towards the works being closed for a period of time. In June of 1912, the Democratic Watchman reported that the brick works were once again being put back into operation after being shut down for a year. It later mentions that the company had undergone reorganization. Additionally, the plant was only going to be in operation for two months unless demand necessitated continued production. This limited operation combined with reorganization indicates that financial issues were plaguing the company.
A significant change came in November of 1917, when the Democratic Watchman announced that the brick works were sold to Harry T. Mann for $9,000 via sheriff’s sale. Harry Mann was a well known figure in the region's brick industry, having previously served as vice-president for the Centre Brick & Clay Company in nearby Orviston. In August that same year, newspapers reported that the Howard brick plant had been taken over by the Bellefonte Brick Company (of Milesburg) under the management of Mr. Mann.
It's at this point that the brick works disappears from the news for some time. It wasn't until June of 1921 that the fate of the company was revealed through an article in the Democratic Watchman. The article announced that the company had become insolvent due to the "depreciation of the market value of the securities and the slump in the mining and manufacturing operations". In March 1924, the property was seized and put up for sheriff’s sale.
A final hope for the brick works came in late-1925, when the Brick and Clay Record advertised that an outside entity was contemplating reactivating the brick works. Unfortunately, this never materialized. From then on, articles in the Democratic Watchman advertised the selling of land and assets belonging to the company to make up for unpaid taxes. Aerial photos show that no standing buildings remained by 1938.
Much like the company's records, few physical remains have been left behind to tell this story. With the site being so heavily overgrown, trying to identify specific locations or features is almost impossible. All that could be ascertained were several shallow foundations and scattered piles of rubble. The only unique finds were two pieces of rail sticking out of the ground. What purpose they served is unknown.
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| The section of rail protruding from the ground Author's Photo |
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| One of the many bricks scattered around the site Author's Photo |
The story of the Howard Brick Company appears to be one of boom and bust. What began as a successful enterprise seems to have fallen victim to financial difficulties and poor economic conditions. Nonetheless, its impact on both the community and the region was as everlasting as the bricks that it produced.
Information Retrieved From:
Secretary of the Commonwealth (1903). List of charters of corporations enrolled in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth. William Stanley Ray. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=aUMoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA78&dq=Howard+Brick+Company+%2B+bellefonte&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFjsTPounfAhWs3YMKHTG1DnQQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=Howard%20Brick%20Company%20%2B%20bellefonte&f=false
(1905). Ohio valley letter. Brick and Clay Record, 22,189 Retrieved from:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086639336
(1925) May operate Howard plant. Brick and Clay Record, 67, 812 Retrieved from:https://books.google.com/books?id=gkDnAAAAMAAJ&dq=Howard+Brick+Company+Bellefonte&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Howard++
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (1920). Third industrial directory of Pennsylvania. J. I. L. Kuhn. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw8WAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA612&dq=howard+brick+company+centre+county&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwic_rydh6jfAhVRmK0KHdDXBq8Q6AEwBnoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=howard%20brick%20company%20centre%20county&f=false
Albertinvernon (2007). Howard borough segment. If there ever was a story… The brick town trail. Retrieved from:http://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_004939.pdf
(1903, September 19). Howard. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1903-09-18/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=01%2F01%2F1903&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F1925&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=3&words=brick+Howard+works&county=Centre&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=Howard+Brick+Works&phrasetext=&andtext=&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
1904, December 22). Real estate transfers. Centre Reporter. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from:https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032058/1904-12-22/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Brick+Co+Howard
(1905 February 3). The building collapsed. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1905-02-03/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=01%2F01%2F1901&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F1938&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=2&words=brick+Howard+plant&county=&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=Howard+brick+plant&phrasetext=&andtext=&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
(1905, July 28). Things about town and county. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1905-07-28/ed-1/seq-8/#words=brick+Howard+Howard%E2%80%99s+plant
(1905, December 22). Things about town and county. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1905-12-22/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=01%2F01%2F1903&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F1925&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=4&words=brick+Howard+working+works&county=Centre&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=Howard+Brick+Works&phrasetext=&andtext=&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
(1906, August 10). Howard items. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from:.https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1906-08-10/ed-1/seq-5/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=Howard+Brick+Company&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=6&words=Brick+company+Howard&page=1
(1907, August 7). Howard items. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1907-08-02/ed-1/seq-5/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=Howard+Brick+Company&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=7&words=Brick+company+Howard&page=1
(1909, April 1). Locals. Centre Reporter. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from:https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032058/1909-04-01/ed-1/seq-5/#words=brick+Howard+made
(1910, April 20). Howard. Snow Shoe Times. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn85054522/1910-04-20/ed-1/seq-8/#words=brick+Howard+HOWARD+works
(1912, June21). Brick plant put into operation. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1912-06-21/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=01%2F01%2F1901&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F1938&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=0&words=brick+Howard+plant&county=&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=Howard+brick+plant&phrasetext=&andtext=&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
(1917, November 30) Things about town and county. Democratic Watchman. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1917-11-30/ed-1/seq-8/#date1=01%2F01%2F1903&city=&date2=12%2F31%2F1925&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=0&words=brick+Howard+works&county=Centre&frequency=&ortext=&proxtext=Howard+Brick+Works&phrasetext=&andtext=&rows=20&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
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