Bricks. …and John G. Bergquist and John Early, who began in 1881. Their product in 1881 was as follows: …Mr. Bergquist, 1,000,000, employing a dozen men… The black soil is removed to the depth of a foot or one and a half feet; the next one to two feet of the alluvial clay is used for brick-making, its color being dark above and yellowish beneath; the lower continuation of this deposit is unsuited for this use, because of limy concretions. No sand is required for tempering. Sand needed for mortar is brought from Muskoda at the cost of about $3 per cubic yard. The bricks are cream-colored, and of very good quality, selling at about $10 per thousand. Oak wood, used for fuel, costs $5 per cord. (A Report on the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 1882-1885, Volume II, N. H. Winchell and Warren Upham, Pioneer Press Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1888, Page 671)
A forger made the rounds of the saloon districts of Moorhead, N. D. [MN], September 30, and succeeded in raising $54 on checks purported to have been signed by John G. Bergquist, the Moorhead brick manufacturer. (Brick and Clay Record, Windsor & Kenfield Publishing Company, Chicago, IL, October 1903, Volume XIX, Number 4, 1903, Page 151)
Page 282. Moorhead. Brick and Tile – 1903. John G. Bergquist. Total Number Wage Earners - 35. Adult Males - 35. Number of Hours Each Day - 10. Number of Hours Each Week - 60. Average Number Weeks Operated During 1902 - 16. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. – 4. Number Persons Regularly Employed Sunday - 4. Established in Year – Not Listed.
Page 283. 1904. Total Number Wage Earners - 30. Adult Males (Excluding Office Force) - 30. Number of Hours Each Day - 10. Number of Hours Each Week - 60. Average Number Weeks Operated Last Year - 18. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. - 2. Number Persons Regularly Employed on Sunday - 2. 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)