Brough Brickyard

Brough Pioneer Brickyard

Kaysville, Utah, 1867-1881 

     Between 1867 and 1881, two Mormon Pioneers, Thomas Brough (1832-1882) and Samuel Brough (1839-1911), established a large Brough Brickyard in Kaysville, which provided bricks for many buildings in northern Utah.  These two brothers learned their brickmaking skills from their father, Richard Brough, who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1840 in Staffordshire, England.  The Brough Brickyard was originally located on “Cemetery Street” and the ground where it once stood is now occupied by the LDS Kaysville Crestwood Wardhouse whose street address is “1039 East Crestwood Road”. 

     The following information, links and pictures come from the website of the Brough Family Organization (BFO): 

Thomas Brough (1832-1882), Mormon Pioneer and Brickmaker

     When Thomas [Brough] and [his wife] Jane [Paterson] arrived in Utah in September 1864, fall had already set in and Thomas was not able to build his family a home before winter set it. So he made a 12' by 14' dugout in the hillside near Porterville and placed his family within this shelter for their first winter in Utah. During this first winter, Thomas was not able to get any flour for his family, so until spring arrived his family utilized the wheat they had brought from Illinois, and the children took turns grinding the wheat through a small coffee mill for their bread.

     Following his first winter in Utah [in 1864], Thomas located some good farm land, and by the fall of 1865, he and his younger brother Samuel had built a small adobe one-room home for Thomas's family in Porterville. Within two more years, he utilized the brickmaking skills he had learned and practiced in his native England, and had built two brick rooms adjoining his adobe home. These were the first bricks made in Porterville, and Thomas, along with his brother Samuel, manufactured other bricks which were used in constructing a number of buildings in the Porterville area. In fact, the first LDS Chapel in West Porterville was built in 1870 from bricks made by Thomas Brough. This brick Chapel--which existed from 1870 to 1899--measured "20 x 30 feet, and 12 feet to the square" and served as both a "meeting house and school" for people living in West Porterville.

     In addition to manufacturing bricks in Porterville, Thomas, and his brother Samuel, also operated a brickyard in east Kaysville between about 1867 and 1881. This large brickyard was known as the "Brough Brick Yard on Cemetery Street." Today, the ground on which the Brough Brick Yard was once located is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is occupied by the LDS Kaysville Crestwood Wardhouse--located at 1039 East Crestwood Road, Kaysville, Utah.

Samuel Brough (1839-1911), Mormon Pioneer and Brickmaker

     Samuel [Brough] did much for the building of Randolph [Utah]. He made the brick for most of the brick homes there--including the LDS Church and the old high school. He also had a lime kiln. They used lime in plaster. He also surveyed a water ditch without any instruments and in many ways helped conditions in Randolph.

     In addition to manufacturing bricks in Randolph, Samuel also assisted his brother, Thomas, in making bricks in Porterville. Also, Samuel and Thomas operated a brickyard in east Kaysville between about 1867 and 1881. However, Samuel moved to Randolph in 1870, and likely didn't have much to do with the Brough Brick Yard after he had moved to Randolph. This large brickyard was known as the "Brough Brick Yard on Cemetery Street," Today, the ground on which the Brough Brick Yard was once located is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is occupied by the LDS Kaysville Crestwood Wardhouse--located at 1039 East Crestwood Road, Kaysville, Utah.

Elizabeth Brough (1834-1896), Mormon Pioneer and sister to Thomas and Samuel Brough 

     In the 1880 Census, Elizabeth [Brough--the sister of Thomas and Samuel Brough] and [her husband] Enoch [Tipton] are listed as living in Kaysville, Utah--where Enoch probably assisted Thomas and Samuel Brough at the Brough Brick Yard located in east Kaysville. Also, the 1880 Census reports that their family then consisted of three children: Josephine (Cartlidge), Eva Nell [Tipton] and William Enoch [Tipton].

The historical map below shows the original "Brough Brick Yard" in Kaysville, Utah 

The picture below was taken from the 2005 International Brough Reunion

The movie mentioned below shows how bricks were once made by hand