The following information and photographs were forwarded by Sherry Pollard.
A Gartcraig brick found on the beach at Port Gamble, Wa. where Pope & Talbot had a lumber mill and the tall ships came into the cove to load lumber.
The sawmill that William Talbot and Andrew Pope founded on Gamble Bay in 1853 remained in operation until Dec. 1995. It was the longest continually operating mill in the United States at that time. Now, the mill is gone, but the little town that grew up around it gives visitors a chance to see how early lumbering communities looked and functioned.
Fewer than 1,000 settlers lived on the Sound in 1853, and most of them were busy felling enormous trees or working in mills that sawed the logs into lumber for the San Francisco market. Their mills were built close to the water for easy transport, and their towns were built on the bluffs above. Their communities closely resembled the New England or Midwest Villages where they had been born. Steepled churches and gabled clapboard houses with steep roofs and picket fences were common, but these simple buildings were soon replaced with more updated and stylish structures when the rail tied the region to the East in the 1880s. Change moved slowly in Port Gamble because it was a company town. Some early buildings remained in use, and Pope & Talbot continued to construct many structures in a modified New England style.
Pope & Talbot was a leader in both lumbering and shipping. Prudent business practices helped the company weather severe economic downturns that bankrupted many of its competitors. It shipped Port Gamble lumber to Australia, Peru, England, Hawaii, and other points around the globe. It burned sawdust to power a “flouring” mill. It welcomed settlers throughout the region to shop at the town’s general store, a particularly welcome source of income in the early years.
On November 30, 1995, the mill whistle blew its last time in Port Gamble. Pope & Talbot made the decision to close the mill; until its closure, the mill was the oldest continuously operating mill in North America. Source
Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow.
Below – The 2 Gartcraig bricks found at Port Gamble.
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The following bricks were found in Suriname, South America by Marnix (John) Visser. Marnix states – I have found several bricks on an old Scottish plantation in Suriname South America with the name Waterloo and located in Nickerie at the border with Guyana. James Balfour was the plantation owner. . . Below – Hurlford –…
Found by Hector Miguez in the area of Mendoza, Argentina. Prestongrange Brick, Tile and Fireclay Works, Prestonpans, East Lothian. . . . .
Found by Michèle Côté and Marc Trudel on the beach along the Gaspé shore of Percé, Québec Canada. The ‘Gartcraig’ brick is most definitely Scottish. It was found near to a brick stamped ‘Vulcan’ which may also be Scottish as ‘Vulcan’ is a trademark of Campbell & Co, Roughcastle Fireclay Works, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. (However, ‘Vulcan’…
Many thanks to Bruce MacDonald for the following photographs which were taken at The Sunbury Plantation House, St Philip Parish Barbados. All the bricks present were fire bricks and included English manufacturers such as Ruffors of Stourbridge, Cowen of Newcastle and Duddell of Fenton. 90% of the bricks present appear to have been stamped ‘Glenboig’….
Many thanks to Charlie Terry for the following photographs and information. Charlie states – My great-grandfather worked at the Beaconsfield and Lefroy gold mines in Tasmania. He was an assayer. Some of the bricks are still in their original boxes and have been stored in a shed for decades. Below – An example of one…
This brick is in the possession of John Hicks, West Monroe, Louisiana, USA. John is uncertain where the Docken brick was found in the USA as he picked it up at a brick swap meeting. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. .
Found by Joe Fletcher at “Turonville” in Tarana, NSW Australia. The property is a farm dating back to the 1850s. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
The following Scottish bricks were found by Tracie Perrie on the shore at Borden, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Below – ‘Glenboig’. Glenboig Union Fireclay Company, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Alternative brickworks include: Glenboig Star Fireclay Works, Glenboig, Lanarkshire. Glenboig Fireclay Works, (Old Works) Glenboig, Lanarkshire Below – ‘Gartcraig Scotland Gaskil’. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow….
Found by Dr Ali Asghar Hemmati in an old building previously belonging to the Iranian oil company located in Haftgel City in the province of Khuzestan, Iran. James Dougall & Sons Ltd, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire Alternative brickworks include: Bonnyside Brickworks, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. . .
Found by Jeffrey Valli on the railroad tracks in Truro, Massachusetts, USA. Gartcraig Fire Clay Works, By Millerston, Glasgow. . . . .
