Bricks. The brick-yard at New Ulm, situated close southeast of the city, on a terrace about 40 feet above the river, formerly owned by William Winkelmann, was purchased in 1879 by Fritz Aufderheide, who made about 1,000,000 bricks here in 1880, selling them at $6.50 per thousand. These are red bricks, of fair quality. No sand is required for tempering. The clay used is modified drift, probably overlying Cretaceous beds. It is dug near the brick yard, on the same terrace, showing a section of about two feet of fine, silty, black soil, in which, and scattered over the surface, are occasional boulders up to four feet in diameter; underlain by yellow clay, finely laminated, nearly horizontal, but slightly undulating and irregular in stratification, containing a few layers, up to one or two inches in thickness, of ferruginous sand, having a vertical exposure in this excavation of seven feet and extending lower. Before his work here, Mr. Aufderheide had made a bricks five years in the N. W. ¼ of section 12, Milford, three miles northwest from New Ulm, using a similar stratified, yellow clay. He made 700,000 to 800,000 there yearly; but the business at that locality is now discontinued. (The Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 1872-1882, Volume I, N. H. Winchell & Warren Upham, Johnson, Smith & Harrison, Minneapolis, 1884, Page 587)
Contracts are being let by the Chicago and Northwestern railroad for furnishing stone and brick for a round house to be built at Tracy with a capacity of thirty stalls. The Mankato Stone Quarry will furnish the former, and Mr. Aufderheide of this city the latter. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, May 6, 1883, Volume VII, Number 29, Page 3)
Mr. Aufderheide, our brick manufacturer, has been invited by the Chicago & Northwestern railway company to offer a bid for furnishing 160,000 brick, with the privilege on the part of the railroad company to increase the number to 300,000. It is thought that the brick are intended to be used in the construction of a roundhouse and machine shops at Tracy. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, May 6, 1883, Volume VII, Number 29, Page 3)
The following are the successful bidders for furnishing material to be used in the construction of the Evang. Lutheran Gymnasium: Lumber, doors, frames and sash, Bingham Bros.; lime, Wm. Winkelmann; brick, Fr. Aufderheide. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, April 30, 1884, Volume VII, Number 17, Page 3)
The Redwood Falls school house will be built of New Ulm brick, Mr. Aufderheide having been awarded the contract for supplying the same. 200,000 will be required. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, May 14, 1884, Volume VII, Number 19, Page 3)
Mr. Aufderheide, our brick manufacturer, in order to be up with the times, has purchased a machine for manufacturing pressed brick and he will commence operations in this new line of industry this week. We have been shown samples of pressed brick manufactured in St. Louis out of New Ulm clay, with a machine similar to the one now being set up by Mr. Aufderheide, and we have no hesitancy in pronouncing them equal to any we have ever examined. The fronts of the new business blocks now going up in this city will be of pressed brick, of Mr. Aufderheide’s manufacture. Thus New Ulm moves on with the world. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, July 8, 1885, Volume VIII, Number 28, Page 5)
Mr. Aufderheide is now manufacturing pressed brick. The first kiln is about ready for delivery and will used on the front of Mr. Wm. Ruemke’s new building, corner Minnesota and Third North streets. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, August 19, 1885, Volume VIII, Number 34, Page 5)
The pressed brick, the manufacture of which Mr. Aufderheide has recently commenced, show off to good advantage on Mr. Ruemke’s new building. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, September 2, 1885, Volume VIII, Number 36, Page 5)
Mr. Fr. Aufderheide very sparingly showed four pressed brick (at the Brown County Fair). These brick would stand a little more extensive advertising. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, September 23, 1885, Volume VIII, Number 39, Page 5)
Mr. Dunnington of Redwood Falls was in the city last week and contracted with Mr. Aufderheide for 150,000 brick. Although in sharp competition with Mankato and Shakopee brick, in this, as in many other things, New Ulm has carried off the persimmons. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, March 24, 1886, Volume IX, Number 12, Page 5)
Messrs. Ackman and King of Redwood Falls have placed an order for 175,000 brick with Mr. Aufderheide of this city. If this thing keeps on it will keep our brick makers busy this season to alone supply the wants of Redwood Falls. Mr. A. is equal to the emergency, however, and says he will have bricks enough for all demands. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, April 14, 1886, Volume IX, Number 15, Page 5)
Storm Swept. The most destructive wind, hail and rain storm of the season swept over this section last Thursday night. It commenced to rain about 9 o’clock, but the storm cloud had come up so slowly and the rain drops commenced falling so gradually that the people retired without any forebodings that a destructive storm was brewing. During the first three hours the rain fell evenly and without the accompaniment of any destructive elements. But shortly after 12 o’clock the rain began to fall in torrents, the air became heavily charged with electricity and the northwest wind gained in velocity until it blew at the rate of about 60 miles an hour. The trunks of large trees were snapped off as if mere pipestems. Chimney(s) toppled over, small outhouses were moved from off their foundations and sent spinning into some neighbor’s yard. Fences were blown down and the debris scattered in all directions. Everybody was astir and many people sought safety in their cellars. Lightning struck the chimneys on Mrs. Montgomery’s and Mr. Westphal’s residences, but aside from demolishing the chimneys and knocking off some plastering no damage was done. The barn of Carl Bleck was torn to pieces and scattered to the four winds. A large pane of glass in the front of Mrs. Bergmann’s brick block was shattered, as also were a number of windows in the brick block occupied by Frank Behnke. The heaviest loser, however, was Mr. Aufderheide, who had nearly 100,000 brick destroyed by water. A large shed of Senator Peterson sheltering nine horses was demolished, but, strange to say, not an animal was even scratched. The large 60 barrel water tank at the camp grounds was lifted up bodily and carried 120 feet. The storm came from such a direction that, had it occurred during encampment week, many casualties must have occurred, as the camp would have been literally torn to pieces by the boards from the sheds in rear of the camp. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, July 14, 1886, Volume IX, Number 28, Page 5)
F. Aufderheide will build larger sheltering houses for fresh brick, and improve his process on pressed manufactures. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, April 11, 1888, Volume XI, Number 15, Page 5)
Fritz Aufderheide, brickmaker, and Contractor Hanschen, both of New Ulm, were in the city Tuesday on business. The former is testing Tracy clay with a view of starting a brick yard here. We hope the investigation will establish the fact that there is a good brickmaking clay here, for it means a new industry for Tracy, besides the keeping of thousands of dollars of money at home when the building season commences this year, that otherwise will have to be sent away. – Tracy Trumpet. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, January 6, 1892, Volume XV, Number 1, Page 5)
The brickyards, of course, are among the chief interests to be considered in connection with New Ulm industries and here as in everything else the statistics are healthy and encouraging. Mr. Aufderheide, the principle manufacturer, employed 40 men and made 2,800,000 common brick besides 70,000 fire brick. Every year adds to the output of his yards and it is only a question of time when our people will wake up to the fact that in this industry lies one of New Ulm’s surest opportunities for future growth. Mr. Stoeckert, the only other manufacturer, made 75,000 brick. (New Ulm Weekly Review, Wednesday, January 13, 1892, Volume XV, Number 2, Page 1)
New Ulm Brick in Quantity. Mr. F. Aufderheide, the New Ulm brick maker, was in Marshall last week, looking after building interests for the coming season, and established a local depot for his product. As heretofore, Messrs. Watson & Chase will handle these brick exclusively, the change in conditions being that a large quantity will be kept on hand for immediate delivery, and that contracts for buildings, small or large, can be made here with equal advantage as at New Ulm, and the local agents will be prepared to make prices with any manufacturers in the state. The New Ulm brick is a standard product among builders, contractors and architects, and it is generally called for in contracts, as was the case for the Northwestern land office, which specified New Ulm or Mankato brick, and the New Ulm product had the preference. The Northwestern railroad company will have no inferior material or workmanship in their buildings. – Marshall Messenger. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, April 19, 1893, Volume XV, Number 17, Page 1)
F. Aufderheide manufactured about 3,000,000 brick this year and about 100,000 fire brick. During the summer he furnished employment to about thirty men. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, December 5, 1894, Volume XVI, Number 50, Page 5)
A brickyard has been opened near Morton and already forty hands are employed. F. Aufderheide of this city and Messrs. Noach and Orth of Morton are interested in the enterprise. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, May 1, 1895, Volume XVII, Number 18, Page 1)
Eight of the workmen at Aufderheide’s brickyards have gone to Morton to work in the new yards at that place. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, September 25, 1895, Volume XVII, Number 39, Page 5)
As soon as the new road is finished Mr. Aufderheide will ship sand from here for use in his brick yards at Morton. He prefers to use the New Ulm sand because of the fine color which it gives to the brick. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, April 22, 1896, Volume XVIII, Number 17, Page 5)
Ordinance No. 51. An ordinance relating to the right of way of the Winona and St. Peter Rail Road Company across Streets in the City of New Ulm. The City Council of the City of New Ulm do ordain: Section 1. The Winona and St. Peter Rail Road Company is hereby authorized to construct, maintain and operate two railroad tracks of standard guage upon, over and across 20th South Street and German Street, to be located and constructed from a point on its Main line near 20th Street to the brick yard of F. Aufderheide, located in Block No. 46, and upon such lines as now located and shown upon a map entitled, "Plat of portion of W. & St. P. R. R. 1 ½ miles East of New Ulm, showing proposed side track to F. Aufderheide’s Brick Yard" and on file in the City Clerk’s office and made a part of this ordinance. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, July 29, 1896, Volume XVIII, Number 31, Page 5)
Herman Aufderheide was in Mankato yesterday, where he closed a contract with a Mankato firm, which calls for 150 carloads of tile. The Aufderheide Brick Yards are at present enlarging their business to such an extent that they will be able to put out an average of twenty to twenty-five cars of tile a day. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, May 17, 1916, Volume XXXVII, Number 20, Page 5)
F. A., New Ulm…Pearl-colored brick. (Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1896-97, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1897, Page 1116)
Fire broke out in the main shed at Aufderheide’s brickyards Sunday evening and destroyed at least half of it before the flames could be extinguished. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, August 17, 1898, Volume XX, Number 34, Page 5)
O. Hensel, of New Ulm, Minn., writes that Mr. Aufderheide, of New Ulm, and A. C. Ochs, of Springfield, Minn., have decided they can get better results by burning their brick in permanent kilns, and will each of them put up permanent kilns in the near future. (The Clay Worker, T. A. Randall & Co., Indianapolis, January 1899, Volume XXXI, Number 1, Page 58)
A new brick machine has been installed at the yards of Fritz Aufderheide and the output of brick will be largely increased the present season. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, April 3, 1901, Volume XXIII, Number 14, Page 5)
Fred Aufderheide, of New Ulm, proprietor of the New Ulm brick yard, with his head carpenter, Gerhard Schapekahm, was here to look over Mr. Ochs’ brick yard. Mr. Aufderheide has decided to put in the same kind of machinery for manufacturing brick with which Mr. Ochs has equipped his yard. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, May 29, 1901, Volume XXIII, Number 22, Page 1)
Fred Aufderheide the New Ulm brick yard man has materially improved his plant by the addition of a 25 horse power engine. The demand for good brick this year is taxing the power of the yard to supply and the New Ulm yard has a reputation for a first class article that is gradually becoming known wherever brick is used. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, June 19, 1901, Volume XXIII, Number 25, Page 5)
Page 288. New Ulm. Brick and Tile – 1903. F. Aufderheide. Total Number Wage Earners - 14. Adult Males - 14. Number of Hours Each Day – 9 1/2. Number of Hours Each Week - 57. Average Number Weeks Operated During 1902 - 24. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. – Not Listed. Number Persons Regularly Employed Sunday – Not Listed. Established in Year – Illegible.
Page 289. 1904. Total Number Wage Earners - 25. Adult Males (Excluding Office Force) - 23. Males Under 16 Years – 2. Number of Hours Each Day – 9 to 10. Number of Hours Each Week – 54 to 60. Average Number Weeks Operated Last Year - 22. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. - Not Listed. Number Persons Regularly Employed on Sunday - Not Listed. Changes in Name of Firm or New Inspections – None. (Ninth Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor of the State of Minnesota, 1903-1904, Volume 2, Great Western Printing Company, 1904)
William Aab, a machinist, is working on a patent for conveying brick from the press to any part of the Aufderheide brick yard at New Ulm, Minn. Mr. Aufderheide has at this time a conveyor, which takes the brick from the press in a straight line, but when a turn is made it takes the services of a man to make the turn and it is this unnecessary labor which Mr. Aab intends to do away with when he has his patent perfected. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, June 1908, Volume XXVIII, Number 6, Page 285)
T. Aufderheide, whose yards are located at New Ulm, Minn., has had a very successful season. He has a modern plant, employing 25 men, and makes a specialty of what is known as "iron finish" brick, making shipments as far as the Dakotas. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, October 1908, Volume XXIX, Number 4, Page 460)
A mile and a half southeast form the center of New Ulm, river clay is known to a depth of 8 or 9 feet over several acres. The upper part of the deposit is dark brown, but the lower part is yellow and more plastic. There is no overburden except the sod, and the usual impurities are scattered patches of sand or even an occasional bowlder (boulder) and some organic matter. The deposit has been used since 1875 for red brick made with a soft-mud machine which has a capacity of two or three million brick per season. (Clays and Shales of Minnesota, Frank F. Grout and E. K. Soper, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1914, Page 79)
Record Year For Brick Industry. Fast Increasing Demand For Products of Tile and Cement Works. Aufderheide’s Find They Must Enlarge Their Plant Materially. With a record output of three million bricks, the New Ulm Brick and Tile Yards has just closed one of its most prosperous years and the outlook for 1914 is even brighter. The capacity of the concern is to be greatly augmented by the installation of many sweeping improvements at an aggregate cost of $6,000 and by the general extension of the work. That this increase in capacity is called for is clearly shown by the fact that they have been forced to cancel orders and refuse to estimate on new contracts since the middle of January. The local brickyard has made a steady growth since it was started in 1875 until now it has a capacity of 40,000 bricks a day and gives steady employment to from fifty to sixty men, calling for a payroll of $13,500 annually. The output during the last year aggregated some three million bricks including some 250,000 fancy pressed brick for veneer work. Placed end to end the bricks would reach over 350 miles. The total value of the brick output was in the neighborhood of $23,000. About two-thirds of the brick are shipped away from New Ulm.
The clay comes largely from the Minnesota river bottom and is worked thoroly or "pugged" and then pressed into the commercial sized bricks. The bricks are then placed in the drying sheds for about two weeks till they are thoroly dry and then are baked in the big kiln, which has a capacity of 100,000 bricks, till they are ready for the market. Both wood and coal are used for this purpose. Some 1,000 cords of wood was consumed in the big updraft furnaces last year. The tile and cement block factory, while originally a side line, is fast assuming big proportions. By the aid of the new machinery recently installed, cement drain tiles are turned out at the rate of 27,000 to 30,000 a day. Some 2,600 barrels of cement were used last year and 250,000 feet of drain tile ranging from four inches to three feet in diameter were turned out. The making of concrete blocks for building purposes and silos is the latest side line. The combined output of the cement works last year was about $8,000. Some two hundred carloads of sand and gravel worth $3,000 were shipped out in 1913.
Mr. Aufderheide, the proprietor of the plant, is so well pleased with last season’s results that he is contemplating sweeping improvements during the current year. Two new brick making machines will be added. The one for sand mould brick will cost $1,200 while the new wire-cut brick machinery complete with the dies will cost about $860 more. A new kiln with a capacity of 65,000 bricks is to be erected. New drying sheds will also be built and a new seventy-five horse power engine will replace the old one of twenty-five horsepower capacity. Altogether, some $6,000 in improvements will be added. The tile industry will also be pushed this season. "We have been too busy to devote proper time to this branch," says Mr. Aufderheide. "But we are convinced that the time has come to push the tile industry and we are going after the cement business this year. The demand for tile is constantly increasing and we must expand to meet it." Owing to the large demand for brick, work will be commenced even before the frost is out of the ground. The clay will be removed from under the frost line and the steamheated drying sheds will be called into use. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, February 18, 1914, Volume XXXV, Number 7, Page 1)
The Aufderheide brick and tile plant at New Ulm, according to the Review, has made such rapid growth as to call for considerable improvements and extensions of the plant in order to handle the growing business. Then what is the matter with the one at this place if there is such demand for the material which we might manufacture? (unknown newspaper, March 13, 1914)
Alleys Vacated For Aufderheide. At a special meeting of the city fathers last Friday evening the long-tabled petition of Frederick Aufderheide for the vacation of the alleys in the vicinity of his brick yard was granted and a building permit for the extension of the pipe organ factory of Vogelpohl & Sons was allowed. The action in regard to vacating the alleys near the Aufderdheide Brick Yards came as a result of a petition of the part of Mr. Aufderheide submitted to the council during the winter. In the turbulent times resulting from the typhoid scare the petition was overlooked. As Mr. Aufderheide is to materially enlarge his plant during the summer it was imperative that he should have the alley room for that purpose and the council readily granted the petition. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, March 25, 1914, Volume XXXV, Number 12, Page 1)
The new 72 horsepower gasoline engine recently ordered by the New Ulm Brick & Tile Yards is expected this week and will be installed immediately upon its arrival. The power is now furnished by a powerful traction engine. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, April 29, 1914, Volume XXXV, Number 17, Page 5)
Improvements at Brickyard. The Aufderheide Brickyards have recently installed a brick conveyor that is about the last word in efficiency in handling bricks. The conveyor carries the bricks from the drying sheds where they have been sun dried for a time directly to the big kilns for firing. The system is a combination cable and gravity system and is run by an electric motor. By means of this innovation the work of brick making is about cut in two. Formerly the bricks had to be loaded on to wheel barrows and carried to the kilns for firing. This was the work of five extra men and was hard, back-breaking work. It was also an expensive process not only because of the extra labor needed but because of the chipping of the bricks in the extra handling involved in loading them on the wheel barrow. The loss in damaged brick, which was a pretty important factor in the old system, is almost eliminated in the new conveyor system. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, July 21, 1915, Volume XXXVI, Number 29, Page 2)
Evidently the farmers are planning to make sure of feed for their stock next winter by putting up plenty of ensilage. The Aufderheide brick yards are being swamped with orders for their cement silo staves. They have thirty five orders on hand now for the silo material. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, July 21, 1915, Volume XXXVI, Number 29, Page 5)
Fire At Brickyards. The shriek of the fire whistle awakened honest citizens from their first sleep late Monday evening. When awake enough to give heed to the signal it was found that the alarm had been turned in from the Aufderheide Brickyards out on Minnesota Street. Those who opened their doors or windows and looked out could hear the swift patter of feet as the volunteer firemen hastily made their way to the fire house and got their apparatus under way. The alarm was turned in at about 11:20 and the stir of the fire wagons rattling out the street was heard shortly after. On arriving at the brick yards, however, they found that the men at the plant had succeeded in getting the blaze under control and there was little to be done. The fire was on the roof of the kiln shed. A batch of bricks were being burned in the kiln and the watchman who was looking after the fires suddenly discovered that the roof was burning. He immediately gave the alarm and the men on the place, after calling the city department for fear they might not be able to get the best of the flames, proceeded to put the fire out with water from their own pipes which are installed among the sheds. The damage will hardly amount to $150.00 with no insurance as kiln sheds are a forbidden risk. A few brick were damaged by water buy beyond that no other harm was done to the product of the plant. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, October 13, 1915, Volume XXXVI, Number 41, Page 1)
The Aufderheide Brick and Tile Plant. This business was established by the present owner, Fr. Aufderheide, in 1875. It was very small and primitive then but has had a steady and healthy growth, without any severe reverses. They have a location for the work in which they are engaged that can not be surpassed anywhere and the natural sand and gravel resources of the land mean much to them. They last year shipped 500 carloads of gravel and sand and expect to exceed that in the next season. The plant employs about sixty persons and last year on account of the great demand for their brick product they installed new machinery for the making of pressed brick, giving them at present a daily output of 60,000. In the tile work, they have the advantage of wonderfully clean gravel and make a point of packing the materials well. The concrete is comprised of 3 parts gravel to one part of cement and every tile is inspected before it leaves the yard and all defective tiles discarded. The plant puts out about two carloads per day. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, October 13, 1915, Volume XXXVI, Number 41, Section II, Page 2)
Fred Aufderheide showed his appreciation of the services rendered by the fire department at the time his plant was on fire October 11th by donating $25.00 to the fire laddies. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, January 5, 1916, Volume XXXVII, Number 1, Page 2)
The three heaviest shippers are the New Ulm Brick and Tile Co., John Bartl and Fred Schaefer, each of whom sends out between three and five hundred carloads a year. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, February 2, 1916, Volume XXVII, Number 5, Page 7)
In common with all brick manufacturers of the Northwest, Fred Aufderheide, proprietor of the New Ulm (Minn.) Brick and Tile Company reports the demand as being in excess of the capacity of his plant. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, June 6, 1916, Volume XLVIII, Number 11, Page 1060)
Page 774. The New Ulm (Minn.) Brick and Tile Company is enjoying a period of great activity. Among the large orders
Page 775. That have recently been received by this concern is one which calls for the shipment of 200,000 common brick to Hendricks, Minn., to be used in the construction of a new bank building. Another shipment of 180,000, requiring twelve cars, has been sent to Arlington, and will be used in the erection of a new creamery and cold storage plant. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, April 10, 1917, Volume L, Number 8)
Labor Trouble Is Promptly Settled. Aufderheide Workers Ask More Pay and Longer Working Day. Last Tuesday afternoon about 28 men employed in the New Ulm Brick & Tile Yards laid down their tools and made a demand for a raise in wages. Mr. Aufderheide told them that he wanted 24 hours within which to give their demands due consideration and suggested to them that they go back to work at the old scale until the matter had been settled and disposed of but this the men were not willing to do. They returned, however, the next morning and renewed their demands for higher wages. They were told to resume work and that by Saturday evening the firm would be able to tell them what the new scale would be. Want Longer Day. Up to the time they struck for higher wages, that class of workers received pay at the rate of twenty-two cents per hour for a nine hour day and their demand was for twenty-five cents an hour and they expressed a desire to work 10 hours so that their daily wage would be $2.50. Trouble Threatened. Wednesday morning it looked as tho there might be trouble and the police was notified but their help was not required, as there was no disturbance. Wednesday afternoon, four placards were put up on the lamp posts in the city at the following corners: Brown County Bank, Fair Store, Farmers and Merchants State Bank and Mrs. B. Follman’s Millinery Store.
These placards bore the following inscription: "50 men, Mexicans, Wanted New Ulm Brick and Tile Yards. $1.50 a day, Aufderheide. John Hirschbeck who was caught doing this work was taken into custody by the police and lodged in jail but was later released and no further attempts have been made to prefer charges against him. Four of the strikers returned to work Thursday and by Monday all of the strikers were back at work except such as the Aufderheide’s did not care to reinstate. Increase Granted. The employers granted the wages asked for, a raise of twenty-two cents to twenty-five cents an hour. At present they are working nine hours a day but it is expected that in a week or two there will be enuf work so that they can be employed 10 hours a day. The Aufderheides say that they not forced to close down their plant at all but were able to keep the work going in all the branches as tho nothing had happened. They also state that they had been contemplating making this increase in wages before any demand was made upon them and that the only thing they did not like about it was the fact that no request was made for a raise before the men walked out. They felt that if a petition had been present there would have been no strike at all as they would have been able to make satisfactory arrangements with the men. They also say that there is no lack of men and that within the past month, at least 30 people have applied for work who were willing to work for the wages that were current at that time. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, March 13, 1918, Volume XLI, Number 11, Page 6)
Page 126. New Ulm.-- The abundance of Cretaceous outcrops in the immediate vicinity of New Ulm has led to several investigations. The best clays now available in quantity are a few miles up Cottonwood River, out of convenient reach of shipping facilities. However, some of the shales [hard and generally laminated clay]near the town have not been thoroughly explored. The Cretaceous beds are subject to change within short distances, and good clays may lie in many places between outcrops that are sandy or that contain thin limestones.
Page 131. A little farther up the river the creamy-white clays are gritty and only about 50 per cent will pass a 60-mesh sieve. Samples from the largest exposure were tested by the Bureau of Standards. The clay slakes in three minutes and requires only 19 per cent of water for molding. Its shrinkage on drying is 5 per cent. Machine-molded bricks are inclined to crack, but that is not true of hand-molded bricks. In burning, the colors are light pink to buff, with a tendency to flash [change color] at higher temperatures. At cone 06 (1,886° F.) the clays burn too hard to be scratched with a knife, have a very small shrinkage, and an absorption of 15 per cent. They are highly refractory[retain their strength at high temperatures], maintaining their shape to cone 31 ½ (3,200° F.), with only a small shrinkage and a gradual decrease in absorption. Mr. Aufderheide has used this clay in the brickyard at New Ulm and has made some fire brick, which stand furnace temperatures very well but which do not show satisfactory strength after being repeatedly heated and cooled. No other attempts have been made to use these clays. It should be possible, by washing, to remove the grit and some ferruginous [iron] grains and produce a kaolin [soft white clay used in the manufacture of china and porcelain] of good color. (Clays and Shales of Minnesota, By Frank F. Grout With Contributions by E. K. Soper, United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 678, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1919)
Growth of Brick and Cement Works. Fred Aufderheide’s Plants Have Large Variety of Products. All Modern Machinery for Tiles and Silo Staves; Many Sand Grades. Going south on Minnesota street and nearing the city limits not far from the Cottonwood river a large brick yard attracts the eye to the left of the road. This yard is owned and operated by Fred Aufderheide and Sons. In connection with it a cement products plant with all the latest machinery has been erected. Cement Products Plant. In this plant all products are made of one part of cement and three parts of stone and sand with a semi-wet mixture. They afterwards are cured by the modern steam and sprinkling system for the duration of 72 to 120 hours. The proportion of cement stone and sand is measured and thoroughly mixed by the reliable "Blystone Mixers." From here the material goes to the various machines as follows:
Tile and Block Machines. One Schenk Tile Machine with a capacity of 4,000 feet per day, making tile from five inches to ten inches in diameter. One Monarch Tile Machine with a capacity of 2,000 feet per day, and making tile from twelve inches to eighteen inches in diameter. One Quinn Tile Machine making tile from twenty inches to thirty-six inches in diameter and tamps the concrete into the molds with automatic tampers, running 300 blows per minute with 150 lbs. to each blow. One 36-inch tile weighs 1160 lbs. and takes 26 of these tile for a carload. Two Anchor Concrete Block Machines, which makes the famous continuous air space block. This block laid up in a wall gives a "double wall" tied together with steel rods and an air space of two and one-half inches running throughout the building keeping it dry and even in temperature. On account of the big demand for this block a night crew is kept working in order to supply the demand.
Two Keystone Silo Machines. The notable feature of Keystone silo is the immense amount of reinforcing which it contains and which is cast in the block, protecting it against rust. Every silo has over one-half mile of reinforcing. The silo is glazed making it absolutely water, frost and air proof. The "Keystone" is fitted with a continuous automatic lock door. The cement plant has an entire floor space of over 32,000 square feet and is steamed and heated by two 100-H.P. boilers. The total capacity of the plant may be seen from the fact that in 1918 about 25,000 tons of the various concrete products were manufactured there which made up more than 1,600 carloads.
The Brick Department. The older department of the works is the brick department. It contains two special machines. The one is the "Wellington" soft mud and the other the "Raymond" wire cut machine with a total capacity of 60,000 bricks per day. Here the clay is worked up, mixed with water, pressed in molds and put into the "drying sheds" which can hold 500,000 bricks at one time. The drying process in these sheds lasts from ten days to two weeks. After that the bricks are taken into the kilns, on cable and gravity conveyors and then burned from seven to eight days when they are ready for the market. Sand and Gravel Department. Another specialty of the plant is the dealing in several grades of sand and gravel. There is a constant demand for the following grades: Fine plastering sand, coarse sand, fine gravel, medium gravel, coarse gravel and white sand. A number of men is loading this material all year around and during the last season the total amount shipped was about 1,100 cars.
Business Growing Steadily. The business in all three departments of the plant is constantly growing and has more than doubled during the last three years. At present there are 28 different contracts on hand the total amount of which is $432,788.62. Some of these contracts are for laying tile for county and judicial ditches. These special tiles are made by three different machines. Not less than 153 men are employed by the firm, and 33 teams and 2 trucks are used in the plant and for the delivery of the tile from the various stations to the ditches. Started 44 Years Ago. Fred Aufderheide started the brick yard 44 years ago in the old-fashioned way, slushing the brick into the molds by hand and dumping them on the ground to dry. He kept on improving and enlarging the plant, added new machinery and applied new systems as the years went by. In 1910 he added the concrete plant to the brick yard. This plant, too, received all new improvements until today it is one of the most modern and up-to-date of its kind in the state. A few years ago Mr. Aufderheide made his two sons, Karl and Hermann partners in the business. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, February 5, 1919, Volume XLII, Number 5, Page 8)
Big Corporation Formed March 1st. $100,000 Concern Added to New Ulm’s Progressive Industrial Field. Fred Aufderheide and Sons Among Incorporators of New Firm. A new $100,000 corporation was formed in New Ulm under the laws of the state last Saturday, March 1st. The name of the new concern is "New Ulm Drainage & Construction Company" and the period of its duration shall be thirty years, according to the articles of incorporation filed in the office of the Secretary of State, Julius A. Schmahl, February 26. The following day they were filed in the office of Fred Christianson, Register of Deeds for Brown County. Nature of Business. The general nature of the business of this new corporation is to build and construct ditches, drains and drainage works, bridges, roads and pavements, and to do other building and construction work. Contracts will be made especially with counties, municipalities and corporations, but also with private persons if so desired. The new firm will also let and sublet contracts for any such construction and building. The articles of incorporation further state that the concern will "buy, sell and furnish any or all material for such building and construction; to buy, lease, own, operate, sell and dispose of all machinery and equipment used in said business; to buy, lease, own, sell and dispose of any and all real and personal property that may be convenient or necessary for use in carrying on its business," etc.
Five Incorporators. The incorporators of the new concern number five. Their names and places of residence, according to the articles of incorporation are: Fred Aufderheide, Karl Aufderheide, Herman Aufderheide, Otto Montgomery, all of New Ulm, and P. B. Jenniges, Wanda, Minn. The last named has been delegated as field manager of the company. He is to have charge of the practical business side of the concern. The officers of the company will be selected at a meeting of the directors, probably to be held the latter part of this week. Principal Office at New Ulm. New Ulm has been chosen as the place of the corporation, but other offices and agencies may be established at such other places in this state, or in other states, as the board of directors later on may select. The building and construction work of the corporation also is not confined to this state alone, but may be executed in other states as well as provided especially in the articles of incorporation. Five directors, to be elected every year at the annual meeting of the stockholders are to govern the business and affairs of the firm, and the annual meeting is to be held in New Ulm on the second Tuesday in March each year. The board of directors until the first annual meeting are the same as the five incorporators.
A Thousand Shares of $100. The capital stock to the amount of $100,000 is to be divided into one thousand shares of the par value of One hundred Dollars each, which may be paid in money or property, or part money and part property "at such times and in such amounts as the Board of directors shall order." Each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of stock owned by him, and the highest amount of indebtedness or liability to which the corporation may at any time be subject is set at one hundred thousand Dollars. Three Ditching Machines. The new company at present owns three ditching machines and expects to have three more in a very short time. These machines are partly used for the digging of trenches and tile laying and partly for the making of open ditches. The latter are called Drag Lines. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, March 5, 1919, Volume XLII, Number 10, Page 1)
The New Ulm Brick & Tile Yards have been running full capacity all winter and are still turning out their products at this time. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, February 23, 1921, Volume XLIV, Number 8, Page 2)
The other New Ulmite to be victimized by Minneapolis criminals was Fred Aufderheide, whose pockets were picked while he was passing through that city on a business trip to North Dakota with his brother-in-law, Mr. Wietoff, who resides in the Mill City. The pickpocket secured Mr. Aufderheide’s billbook, containing a sum in cash, as well as a cashier’s check for a considerable amount, and other papers, including the owner’s name and address. The light-fingered artist evidently did not care for the cashier’s check, which he could not cash, or the other papers, so dropped the billbook into a mail box on a Minneapolis street, after removing the cash therefrom, and the container was returned to Mr. Aufderheide several days later. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, August 24, 1921, Volume XLIV, Number 34, Page 6)
Page 1. Nearing the Half Century Mark in Business Career. New Ulm Brick & Tile Yards Experienced Hardships of Frontier Days. Conduct Branch Yard at Maynard, Minn. Karl and Herman, Sons of Fred Aufderheide Are Owners. Nearing the half century mark in a successful business career is the record which may be boasted of by the New Ulm Brick and Tile Yards. A successful business covering several hundred miles of territory is the result of the efforts of this well-established firm. Life thru the pioneer days, when the material brought forth was produced by hand labor, will not be forgotten by the original owners. Now that the business has been turned over to the sons of Fred Aufderheide, and modern equipment and fixtures have been installed, the process of production has changed considerably, in the amount of material used and produced, time saved, etc. In Operation Since 1875. The plant has been in continuous operation since 1875. This firm was started by Fred Aufderheide and his brother-in-law, Wm. Wiethoff. The concern was then located north of New Ulm on what is now known as the Mack farm. In the early days there was little machinery used in the manufacture of brick, as all operations were performed by hand.
The clay was soaked with water for 12 hours. Then a tempering wheel was used to reduce the clay to even fineness and equal consistency. This clay was then carried on wheel barrows to a flat and level yard. Here it was molded by hand and thrown into sanded molds. The filled molds were taken and emptied on the level ground which completed the shaping of the brick. The bricks, after having been sun-dried from 15 to 20 days, were piled up leaving tunnels in the bottom for burning. Today the process is greatly improved. The work is all done by machinery. The clay runs thru crushers and disintegrators, into pugmills and from there it goes to the machine where it is automatically pressed into molds. Gravity and cable conveyors carry the brick on pallets into the drying sheds. The brick is left here for a period of ten days to two weeks, after which they are ready for the kiln. The large down draft kiln is stationary, while the numerous scove kilns may be built any length desired to accommodate the supply of brick to be baked. The brick are fired in arches, heat for which is produced by wood and coal. The first process is the water smoking which takes three days to accomplish. The heat is gradually increased after this until the right temperature is secured. The brick are completed in seven days, after which they are ready for use.
The brick used in the Armory and the Farmers & Merchants Bank, of this city were produced by the Aufderheide concern. The buildings now occupied by the business comprise 28 drying sheds 5 feet by 150 feet, where the brick is dried, a storage shed 225x40 feet, where all the brick are stored after the baking. Adjacent to the tile plant which is 80x80 feet, 6 curing rooms, 25x80 feet are built to accommodate the large tile. 14 tunnels, 5x80 feet, take care of the small tile. These buildings are all of frame work to facilitate the drying process. The office building, garage and team barns are fashioned of brick. The tile plant, or concrete Cement Products plant is a two story building made of concrete blocks, with the tunnels adjoining. During the frontier days, money was scarce, and Mr. Aufderheide tells us that thru the winter of 1875 he and his partner had only one piece of money left, after bills had been paid, and that piece was a quarter. It was at this time that the grass-hoppers visited this locality, and old residents will recall the hardship and distress which was endured. Feed for the horses was borrowed from the neighbors that winter. Groceries were advanced by local merchants and people were living from hand to mouth, with only the bare necessities of existence. After this hard winter, the people rallied from their hardships and general prosperity increased. For more than 25 years that quarter was held as a souvenir. After a long time, the
Page 7. "luck piece" was mislaid, and so is lost. Bought Brick Yard in 1879. In the fall of 1879 Mr. Aufderheide purchased the business of Wm. Winkelmann who operated a brick yard in the south end of town and in the spring of 1880, moved to the present location. The following year is one that is well remembered on account of the high water and the cyclone which did considerable damage to the city. Altho the cyclone passed the brick yards by a few blocks, it tore down the brick sheds, damaging the unburned brick. Since then the plant has been considerably increased at various times and modern equipment and machinery has been added so that the New Ulm Brick and Tile Yards today have a plant that the citizens of this city may well be proud of. The Brick Yard is equipped to turn out 60,000 brick per day. It has machinery and equipment to make Wire cut Veneer, Double Press Sand Mold Veneer and all the different grades of common brick such as Chimney, Cistern, Sewer, Inside and Curved well brick. Millions of these brick have been used in New Ulm and thruout the state and the brick which were used in the old buildings almost fifty years ago are as good today as the day they were put in the walls.
Add Cement Products Plant. As farm land increased in value it naturally created a demand for drain tile and in 1910, Mr. Aufderheide started the present Cement Products Plant. This plant originally was run on a very small scale but as the demand for concrete products increased, new machinery and buildings were added so that the plant today is one of the most modern and best equipped in the state. The Concrete Products plant has a capacity of one carload per hour making all sizes of tile from 5" to 60" in diameter. The plant is also equipped with four block machines for making the various kinds of cement building blocks. The block most strongly recommended by the owners is the Continuous Air Space "Anchor" Block. This block is constructed with two separate walls tied together with galvanized anchors, the outside wall by an airspace which is very essential for a dry and warm building. This block is an ideal building material for houses, foundations, garages, chicken houses, barns, hog barns, etc., and in this vicinity has been used in the Washington and Lincoln Schools, Concordia Bowling Alleys, Brown County Hog Barn, the Herman Pfaender and John Dietz residences and a great number of barns, chicken houses, etc.
Branch Yard At Maynard. A branch office at Maynard, Minnesota, is owned and operated by the local firm. This plant was opened in 1917 and has been operating along successful lines since that time. Cement and concrete products are manufactured in the Maynard Plant and care for the demand in that territory. A manager and a foreman are in charge of the business, which is supervised by Herman Aufderheide of this city. New Ulm Drainage and Const. Co. Controlling stock in the New Ulm Drainage & Construction Co., is held by the Aufderheide Brothers. The Company is incorporated in the sum of $100,000. An extensive business in shipping gravel and sand of various grades is taken care of. They have just recently installed a modern screening plant and are furnishing four to five carloads of graded material every day, for State and County projects. Sons Take Over Business. Mr. Aufderheide was born December 8, 1853, at Langerich, Westphalen, Preussen, Germany, and came to this country in 1870, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio, for five years, after which he came to New Ulm where he has since resided. After running the business for the first year with his brother-in-law, Mr. Aufderheide continued in the project alone, until he took his sons Karl and Herman into the business. After a number of years he decided to retire from active work in the plant and in 1921 he sold his entire interests in the plant to his sons.
Payroll Amounts to $120,000. During the year of 1923, this company, with their branch plants employed in the average season 150 men. A great number of these men are always busy delivering the finished products to the various jobs. Two thousand five hundred carloads of finished products were manufactured by this concern during the past year. At present the men are employed on contracts for the delivery of material to the different projects which are being built this spring. Among them are the Redwood County Ditch No. 24, near Sanborn; 200 carloads will be sent to Albert Lea, while material will also be furnished at Windom, Granite Falls, and other places where road work is being done. The volume of business for the local plant during the past year amounted to over $225,000. This plant may well be classed as the second largest in this city. They employ more people, and cover a wider territory than any other manufacturing concern in New Ulm, with the exception of the Eagle Roller Mill Co. At all times the firm is working for a bigger and better New Ulm. A visit to their place of business will convince you of the genial, co-operative spirit which exists there. Many New Ulm people do not realize the position that many of our local concerns hold thruout the southern part of Minnesota and for that reason cannot appreciate the prestige and honor which rightfully belongs to the city for having these leading institutions located here. (New Ulm Review, Wednesday, April 30, 1924)
Memories crumble as kiln dismantled at NU Concrete. New Ulm - It was special, it was an eyesore, and as of Wednesday, it was gone. The old kiln at New Ulm Concrete Products, Inc., 1825 S. Minnesota, was torn down mainly for safety reasons, said plant manager Bill Aufderheide. Aufderheide's great grandfather and former plant owner, Fred Aufderheide, built the kiln 112 years ago. "I’m sad to see it go," Bill Aufderheide said. "My great grandfather built it and it has sentimental value." Aufderheide said there had been thoughts of tearing down the kiln for awhile. There was a complaint to the city saying the kiln was an eyesore, as well as concerns voiced about safety, he said. The decision, though, was the plant’s. "Kids would play in (the kiln) all the time," Aufderheide said. "Nothing is worth having someone get hurt." "There goes history," said Richard Schmidgall of Hancock Concrete, owners of the plant. "We decided to get rid of it because it was an eyesore." It wasn’t an eyesore in the past. The Minnesota Historical Society offered to do $20,000 in repairs on the kiln to rebuild it about 20 years ago, said Aufderheide’s father and former plant owner, Jack Aufderheide. It was decided within the family, though, not to rebuild the kiln. "That kiln was the most beautiful piece of art when it was in one piece," Jack said. "There are not too many left." The kiln was used to make brick, Bill said. After the 1930s it was only used for special applications. It was shut down completely in 1953 when the plant went out of the brick business. A brick house at the plant, built in 1881, will be torn down next week, Schmidgall said. The house was last lived in by a plant foreman in the mid 1970s. The house was built by Fred Aufderheide after his first house was destroyed by a tornado, Jack said. Fred’s wife insisted the next house be stronger so as to survive a tornado. Thus, it was built of brick. "I've got so many memories of the house," Jack said. "When we were kids we’d come down (to the house) all the time." (New Ulm Journal, used with permission, Tim Schultz, Staff Writer, July 9, 1987)