Brick-making has been attempted near the west end of lake Erin, in Washington Lake township, but unsuccessfully because the bricks were cracked after burning by particles of lime due to limestone gravel in the material used. (A Report on the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 1882-1885, The Geology of Minnesota, Volume II, N. H. Winchell and Warren Upham, Pioneer Press Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1888, Page 179)