Sources

Abeln, Mark Scott. “The Clay Mines of Saint Louis.” Rome of the West, 5 May 2009, www.romeofthewest.com/2009/05/clay-mines-of-saint-louis.html.

The Clay Mines and Factories of Dogtown. Dogtown-Claymines. (2006, March 17). http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/dogtown/claymines-sas.html

“Evens & Howard Fire Brick Co.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evens_%26_Howard_Fire_Brick_Co.

The Evens & Howard Fire Brick Co. was originally the Cheltenham Fireclay Works, a company launched in 1855 owned by Charles Chouteau- was this a descendent of St. Louis founder Auguste Chouteau? These names that are so common in St. Louis, easy to overlook because we see and hear them so often, have such a rich and intertwined history. The Evens & Howard Co was instrumental in building up the African American neighborhood in Richmond Heights (a suburb near Clayton) by providing work and developing company housing. St. Louis was a segregated city at this time (by law), and African Americans were only permitted to live and work in certain areas. This part of Richmond Heights has mostly been destroyed over time with larger, more expensive development.

Holleman, Joe. “Spotlight: Wide Alley Remains as Last Sign of Clay-Mine Train.” STLtoday.com, 13 May 2018, www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/joe-holleman/spotlight-wide-alley-remains-as-last-sign-of-clay-mine-train/article_0decb922-1421-52d9-9f5c-7773266c5b5c.html.

Laclede-Christy Clay Products. (n.d.). http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/collections/clay-products/fire-brick/laclede-christy/

Laclede Fire Brick Company Destroyed by Fire. St. Louis Post Dispatch. August 8, 1890.

Magnan, Marcella C. and William B. 1994. The Streets of Saint Louis. Virginia Pub. Co. 2004.

William Magnan was a retired letter carrier from Saint Louis who collected stories and information about the history of St. Louis and its street names from patrons along his route. Almost every street name has a person behind it, so I was sure to find a little information on the brick baron William Tandy Christy in this book (Christy Blvd. in south city is named for him, his grand estate and fire brick company that once occupied the area). A narrow gage railroad nicknamed ‘The Dinky’ connected Christy’s factory with the clay mines five miles away near Chippewa and Brannon, and area referred to as ‘The Diggins’ by Irish and German miners. The tracks are still there, but unused. The nicknames add so much personality to what was probably dirty and dangerous work.

Part 1: Peopling St. Louis: The Immigration Experience. St. Louis County Government (n.d). https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/planning/cultural-resources/preservation-plan/Part-I-Peopling-St-Louis.cfm

St. Louis Post Dispatch. (1966, August 10). William Tandy Christy. Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22606779/william-tandy-christy/

Stiritz, M. (2004). National Building Arts Center. http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/collections/clay-products/ornamental-brick/hydraulic-brick-company-the-early-years/.

Streeter, William, director. Brick by Chance and Fortune. Hydraulic Pictures, 2013.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2020, December 17). Evens & Howard Fire Brick Co. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evens_%26_Howard_Fire_Brick_Co.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2019, December 26). Charles Gratiot. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Gratiot

99% Invisible. “Dollhouses of St. Louis.” 99% Invisible, 7 Mar. 2017, 99percentinvisible.org/episode/dollhouses-st-louis/. As of the 1950s, St. Louis was still segregated, and African Americans were still working in the brick industry. Samuel Moore, a former St. Louis alderman, shows off the work his father did as a bricklayer in North St. Louis’ Ville neighborhood. Giant three story homes with ornate detail, slowly decaying and being stripped of their bricks by thieves. The documentary Brick by Chance and Fortune highlights the brick thieving problem occurring in North St. Louis, the history being destroyed. I found it sad and interesting that African Americans have been paramount to the production of the bricks and the building of their neighborhoods during a period of segregation lasting over 100 years, and the fruits of that labor are being stripped from predominantly Black neighborhoods. The homes are referred to as dollhouse because entire walls are missing from these majestic Victorian style homes, laying bare the inner rooms.

1000 Workers Strike at Cheltenham. St. Louis Post Dispatch. May 7, 1901. While no particular reason is listed, I can imagine it was poor working conditions, kiln operators in St. Louis went on strike. The Cheltenham plant, located in the Cheltenham clay mining area that is now Dogtown and Clayton/Tamm, shuttered on a Saturday evening after workers finished the bricks they had been firing before the strike, as they didn’t want to waste time or product. 300 strikers at the Laclede Brick company stood in solidarity, and were fired the following Tuesday as result. That evening, the kiln workers met to organize a union. Laclede and Christy brick companies end up merging in later years. Their dedication to their fellow worker and the products they were creating is so admirable.