Castanea Brick & Tile Co. (Clinton County)

This small locomotive, often called a dinkey,
is hauling clay from the mines to the Castanea brick works

    Castanea is the Latin name for chestnut. The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once a hearty tree that thrived across Central Pennsylvania, especially on the steep rocky ridges of Bald Eagle Mountain. In 1871, the village of Castenea was established across Bald Eagle Creek from the city of Lock Haven. The story of Castanea, like many small communities throughout the region, mirrors that of the ill-fated chestnut tree, as in both cases there are few reminders of what once was.     

 

One such example of what once was lies in the history of the Castanea Brick & Tile Company.

Chartered in December 1906, the company was founded to "manufacture building brick, paving brick, tiling, and other clay products." The brick works was built between West Brown Street and the tracks of the New York Central's  Beech Creek line. Four "bee-hive" style kilns, named for their dome-like shape, were built for firing raw "green" bricks. A fifth kiln was later added. Clay was locally sourced from mines along Bald Eagle Mountain and a narrow-gauge tram road was laid for about a mile to connect the mines with the brick works. 

Though the company had a theoretical capacity of 1 million bricks per month, it was limited to 550,000 bricks due to the the small number of kilns. In 1908, Ferdinand C. Lucas, operator of the Castanea Brewery was elected to serve on the company's board of directors. Lucas' brewery was directly adjacent to the clay pits that served the company. It's fair to say that many a miner probably frequented the brewery after working a long hot day.  

For reasons unknown, the brickworks was put up for sale in 1910. Fortunately the kilns would not be cold for too long, for in 1913, the plant was purchased by F.C. Lucas and the Lock Haven Brick & Tile Co. was incorporated to assume operations. 

Newspaper ad in the Centre Reporter

From here, the history of the new company appears sporadic. In 1916, the works reopened after receiving enough orders to operate that summer. In 1920, the company became part of Binghamton Brick Co. under George Prindible. A refurbishment of the works also took place and was operational by June of that year. The company listed 37 employees on its roster.   

Advertisement for the company in Manufacture's Record in 1922

 The operational history of the brick works after this point remains unclear. An aerial photo from 1938 appears to show it in operation. However, the next available aerial photo taken in 1951 reveals that the the works had been demolished by that time.   

A Sanborn fire insurance map of the works in 1925
Retrieved from: https://digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/collection/maps1/id/27528/rec/7

Just like the brickworks, the American chestnut trees that had been the community's namesake, were also gone, killed off by a blight caused by an introduced non-native fungus. By the time the brick works had been reduced to a vacant lot, the fungus had spread across the eastern United States killing any trees of any substantial size.  

Castanea's industrial era, like that of the American chestnut tree, is now a memory. However, its role in the industrial heritage of Clinton County will remain as robust and enduring as the bricks it once produced.   

Information Retrieved From:

(1907,October 11). Sprawls from the Keystone. Democratic watchman.  Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83031981/1907-10-11/ed-1/seq-1/#city=&rows=20&proxtext=Castanea+Brick+and+Tile&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=0&words=Brick+Castanea+Tile&page=1

(1925, March 25). Lock Haven Brick & Tile Co. Centre reporter.  Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Retrieved from: https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn83032058/1925-05-14/ed-1/seq-8/#words=Brick+brick+CASTANEA

Maclean-Hunter Publishing Corporation (1916). Clay products.Rock Products and Building Materials. 18(2). Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rock_Products/BOBQAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=castanea+brick+and+tile+co&pg=PA42&printsec=frontcover

National Brick Manufacturers' Association of the United States of America (1920). Editorial notes clippings. The Clay-Worker, 73-74. T.A. Randall & Company. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=YB5bAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA27&dq=castanea+brick&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWybre9I-AAxVeM1kFHXn0C6QQ6AF6BAgCEAI#v=onepage&q=castanea%20brick&f=false

Penn State University Mineral Industries Experiment Station.(1922).Bulletin of the Pennsylvania state college, mining and metallurgical experiment station. Pennsylvania State College. Retrieved from: products.https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bulletin/7r0mAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Castanea+brick+and+tile&pg=RA7-PA138&printsec=frontcover

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1907).List of charters of corporations enrolled in the office of the secretary of the commonwealth. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/List_of_Charters_of_Corporations_Enrolle/vUMoAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=castanea+brick+and+tile+co&pg=PA27&printsec=frontcover

Southern Association of Science and Industry(1922).Manufacturers Record.82.Conway Publications. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Manufacturers_Record/78Q6AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Lock+Haven+Brick+%26+Tile&pg=RA10-PA24&printsec=frontcover

Winsor & Kenfield. (1910). Brick and clay record. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brick_and_Clay_Record/PRdbAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Castanea+brick+and+tile&pg=RA1-PA45&printsec=frontcover

Windsor and Kenfield.(1908).Pennsylvania pencilings. Brick.29.Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brick/7Go-AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Castanea+brick+and+tile&pg=PA540&printsec=frontcover

Windsor & Kenfield (1907). The Castenea brick & tile co: Castenea, pa. Brick. 26-27. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brick/kzfnAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=castanea+brick+and+tile+co&pg=RA1-PA247&printsec=frontcover