Chaska. Brick Manufacturing – C. H. Klein. First Inspection 1899. Adults – Male - 30. Total No. Employed - 30. No. Hours Labor Each Day - 10. Average No. Weeks Employed in Year – 25. Second Inspection 1900. Adults – Male - 30. Total No. Employed - 30. No. Hours Labor Each Day - 10. Average No. Weeks Employed in Year – 26. (Seventh Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor of the State of Minnesota, 1899-1900, Pioneer Press Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1900, Page 111)
Brick Yard Review. Many Improvements Made About the Yards and a Busy Season Looked For. For the past several years it has been our custom to review the brick yards of our pretty little city and this year we make no exception and endeavor to give you a short write-up of the different yards, improvements made, capacity, and men employed, and below publish the same; Klein Bros. This enterprising firm has commenced active operations, and have a force of about 55 men in their employ, and expect to manufacture in the neighborhood of 65,000 brick per day. Last year they had a complete system of cable cars put in and all the clay used is hauled by cars exclusively. This year they have put in a new Corliss-Harris engine and boiler, which places them in the front rank. Charles and Christ are both resident managers of their yard, and through their shrewd business management have brought it up to its present high standard. (Weekly Valley Herald, Thursday, May 21, 1903, Volume XLI, Number 35, Page 1)
Page 252. Chaska. Brick and Tile – 1903. C. H. Klein Brick Co. Total Number Wage Earners - 58. Adult Males - 50. Males Under 16 Years (Employed during vacation only) – 8. Number of Hours Each Day - 10. Number of Hours Each Week - 60. Average Number Weeks Operated During 1902 - 29. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. – 6. Number Persons Regularly Employed Sunday – 6. Established in Year – Illegible.
Page 253. 1904. Total Number Wage Earners - 50. Adult Males (Office Force) – 1. Adult Males (Excluding Office Force) - 49. Number of Hours Each Day - 10. Number of Hours Each Week - 60. Average Number Weeks Operated Last Year - 23. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. - 3. Number Persons Regularly Employed on Sunday - 3. 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)
Klein Brothers Buy The Brinkhaus Yard. Their Bid of $5,330, Being The Highest. John Koehnen Bids Over Seven Thousand For The Farm. Judge Schaler, administrator of the Brinkhaus estate, sold at public auction last Tuesday, the brick yard to Klein Bros., for the sum of $5,330, they being the highest bidders. The bidding was spirited and several other parties were present. Philip Riedele was also a bidder, but did not get up to the figures of the Klein's. This property is valuable and worth much more than was realized and the Klein Bros., will realize handsomely on the investment. The 160 acre farm in Chanhassen, without any buildings was knocked down to the Hon. John Koehnen of Laketown, on his bid of 7, 630. There was a lively interest for this place, as the land is very valuable and as soon as Mr. Koehnen has everything in good shape the farm will rank as one of the best in the county. Frank Muyres took the span of work horses on his bid of $150. The other horses were also sold at good figures. Everything sold well except the brick yard. (Weekly Valley Herald, Thursday, December 8, 1904, Volume XLIII, Number 7, Page 1)
Chaska, Minn. – The C. H. Klein Brick Co. has begun the erection of eight new brick kilns. (Brick, Kenfield Publishing Company, Chicago, July 1906, Volume XXV, Number 1, Page 45)
Hon. C. H. Klein, of Chaska, Minn., has purchased the Philip Rederle brick works, and will operate same in connection with the C. H. Klein Brick Co., plant. (Clay Record, Clay Record Publishing Company, Chicago, March 15, 1910, Volume XXXVI, Number 5, Page 40)
Klein Bros., of Chaska, Minn., have added a gasoline engine to the equipment at their brickyard. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, September 1, 1911, Volume XXXIX, Number 5, Page 195)
L. G. Rose, former secretary of the Northwestern Clay Association and manager of the Minneapolis Clay Brick Company, has severed his connection with the last mentioned concern and has opened offices in the Plymouth building, as Minneapolis representative of the C. H. Klein Brick Company, of Chaska, Minn. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, March 7, 1916, Volume XLVIII, Number 5, Page 433)
"Flour City" to Have Another Large Plant. Preliminary steps toward the enlargement of the business of C. H. Klein, Chaska, Minn., said to be one of the largest common-brick plants west of Chicago, were taken recently in the purchase of the St. Anthony brick yard and of the Flour City Brick Company’s plant. The two properties are adjacent to each other in Northeast Minneapolis. The former was bought from O. J. Bower who had operated the yard for almost thirty-five years. The capacity is 4,000,000 brick annually. In the purchase were included eight acres of land. The yard which is an open one, is now being operated to capacity, twenty-five men being employed. The Flour City yard is very similar to the St. Anthony yard. It has been in operation for almost thirty years. The purchasers contemplate a consolidation of the two yards and the expenditure, within the next six months, of $50,000 for new machinery, driers and kilns. The next few weeks may see the formal organization of a company to operate the combined plants of which C. H. Klein will undoubtedly be president; Lambert G. Rose of Minneapolis, secretary, J. R. Farnham of Minneapolis, treasurer. The last named gentleman was in control of the Flour City plant before it was purchased by C. H. Klein. Both of the recently acquired plants will be dismantled and a large new plant, modern in every detail, erected. The new owners contemplate the installation of several improvements, the nature of which they have refused to disclose. The combined area of the properties, seventeen acres, may be increased. The new concern, which will be capitalized at $100,000, will be known as the Minneapolis Brick and Supply Company with offices at 500 Plymouth building. It is proposed to manufacture an average of 150,000 brick daily. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield-Leach Company, Chicago, May 16, 1916, Volume XLVIII, Number 10, Page 919)
Common brick and tile are produced at many plants and with a variety of equipment. In small operations soft mud machines and temporary drying sheds and kilns are used; in larger plants stiff mud and presses, continuous drying tunnels, and continuous kilns are employed. The large producers of common brick are the C. H. Klein Company of Chaska, the Wrenshall Brick Company of Duluth, the Red River Valley Brick Corporation of Grand Forks and Fertile near East Grand Forks, and the Bemidji Brick Company of Bemidji. These establishments, which produce light-colored brick for back-up purposes, operated principally in the summer, when the bricks are air-dried. The Klein Company at Chaska with 10 kilns and an annual capacity up to 20,000,000 brick might increase production as much as 50%. All of these increases are to some extent based on increased labor and equipment, which are expected to be available in the coming months. (Minnesota Building Brick and Tile, F. F. Grout, Minnesota Geological Survey, April 1947, Page 4)