This page is an article about Nelson Brick Company in Fergus Falls. For the Red Lake Falls Brick Company, see Nelson Brick (Red Lake Falls)
at Fergus Falls, by J. A. Nelson & Brothers, 100 M. formerly, 600 M. this year (1879), at about $8; (The Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, The Eighth Annual Report for the Year 1879, Submitted to the President of the University, Feb. 18, 1880, The Pioneer Press Company, St. Paul, MN, 1880, Page 121)
There are now two brick yards in operation (Fergus Falls), and contracts have been made for the entire year’s product of each. An enterprising brick manufacturer would find a good chance for business by locating here, as the demand will be great for years to come, for more brick than several yards can turn out. (The Saint Paul Daily Globe, Wednesday Morning, March 15, 1882, Volume V, Number 74, Page 1)
In Fergus Falls bricks have been made since 1872 by J. A. Nelson & Brothers. Their product in 1879 was 600,000, bringing $7 to $10 per thousand. The clay is dug from rounded hills and swells about thirty feet above the river. Generally these hills consist of till, or gravelly clay with boulders; but sometimes this deposit, as in excavations near the court-house, is seen to contain pocket-like masses of stratified clay, extending several feet, and enclosing laminae of sand, a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch thick. The clay dug by the Messrs. Nelson for brick-making is nearly free from gravel, but it holds occasional rock-fragments up to three inches in diameter, thought to vary in number from ten to fifty in a cart-load. No sand is added for tempering. These bricks are cream-colored, and of good and durable quality. (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 558)
Clay brick yards have twice been established here (Fergus Falls), but have had to be abandoned for the reason that the clay is mixed to some extent with limestone pebbles, which cause the bricks to crack while they are being burned. (The Minneapolis Journal, Monday Evening, September 10, 1906, Page 11)
In the town of Fergus Falls a deposit of laminated clay was used 20 years ago for a rather soft and poor grade of yellow brick. The poor qualities of the brick were possibly due in part to the method of burning, but were probably due also to the sandy nature of the clay. The clay is covered by a thin layer of soil and contains no pebbles. (Clays and Shales of Minnesota, Frank F. Grout and E. K. Soper, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1914, Page 140)