Princeton is becoming famous for the excellent quality of its building brick. The magnificent new court house which is in course of erection at Grand Rapids is being built with Princeton brick; the Kanabec county court house and a dozen other public buildings in northern Minnesota, as well as the largest mill in West Superior, are all constructed mainly of creamy Princeton brick. The brick industry of Princeton is just in its infancy. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, November 28, 1895, Volume XIX, Number 49, Page 4)
J. H. Record, architect, 609 Wright block, has plans for a residence to be built at Princeton for I. E. Burgan. Specifications: 30x40, two stories and basement, Princeton cream brick, shingle roof, with mantel, plumbing, bath, plate and leaded glass, hardwood interior finish, laundry tubs and furnace, cost $3,500. - Improvement Bulletin. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, April 16, 1896, Volume XX, Number 17, Page 1)
OUR BRICK INDUSTRY. A Few Facts Concerning an Industry of Which Princeton Is Justly Proud. Ten Millions of Brick Can Be Turned Out Annually by Both of the Yards. One thing which has done much to advertise Princeton and Mille Lacs county all over the Northwest is the superior quality of brick which our yards manufacture. Wherever their fame has spread judicious builders insist that it must be a part of the contract that all brick used must be of Princeton manufacture. But labor alone does not represent the entire outlay of the yards. Each million burned requires 500 cords of wood. The capacity of the yards is 10,000,000 per season therefore, besides the wood used for engine fuel, etc., 5,000 cords of wood are required. Soft wood is used, something that does not find a ready sale on the market, but which is plenty in this vicinity. The highest price paid for this by shippers has been from 80 to 90 cents on board the cars. Last year the brickyards paid the farmers $1.10 per cord delivered, which is from 20 to 30 cents above the price they would otherwise have been forced to accept. Five thousand cords of wood therefore represent $5,500 more paid to settlers. Nor does the benefit end here. Mille Lacs county is now rapidly settling up and new farms are being opened in large numbers each year. The land is covered with a heavy growth of timber which must be cut and the yards furnish the new settlers with an excellent market at home.
One man, who visited the yard of Woodcock & Oakes a short time ago, asked the senior member how long the clay would last. Mr. Woodcock had never made an estimate but immediately set to work to discover how much clay his firm owned. He estimates that three yards of the capacity of the present one could run for 100 years on the land already owned by this firm. Therefore the supply of this excellent clay may safely be said to be inexhaustible. Besides this Farnham Bros. have large holdings on the same bed. The amount of labor to open a yard at this point can only be appreciated by those who have cleared lands in a thickly wooded country. The sites of both yards were covered by a heavy growth of hard and soft woods and it was necessary to remove every root before the stripping could be begun. Then, too, roads were necessary and this required no small amount of labor. While this year is dull and the yards will run only a short season, in other localities no brick will be made at all. The superior quality of the product of these yards, however, commands attention and no trouble will be experienced in marketing all the stock on hand. This is where our manufacturers have the advantage of others in this business. In times of great demand a yard making an inferior grade may be able to dispose of its product but in times of stringency like the present when the market is depressed, the best only will find sale.
The firms have shipped a large amount of brick which they do not know where it was used but have furnished the following buildings direct: Woodcock & Oakes - Daisy Roller Mill, Todd Roller Mill, Superior, Wis.; court house, Grand Rapids; experimental building, State farm, Minneapolis; high school building, Hinckley; Hoeschen hotel, Melrose; Deere & Webber and Godfrey buildings, Minneapolis; Great Northern depot, Larimore, N. D. Farnham Bros: Round house, Melrose; interior finish of the armory at the State university and several buildings in Minneapolis. At home every building is built from domestic brick except those which were built before the manufacture was commenced. Farnham Bros. furnished the brick for Caley’s warehouse, the three buildings north of the Carew building and Burgan’s new residence. Woodcock & Oakes’ brick were used in the high school building, bank, Carew, Townsend, Pierson, Chapman, Jack, Jesmer and Brennan & Carmody blocks and Jesmer’s residence. The shipping facilities are not of the best although Farnham Bros., owing to the location of the new siding there can load 30,000 per day. The Woodcock yard has been laboring at a disadvantage owing to the fact that previous to the putting in of the Farnham siding all the shipments, both of the products of the yard and wood and farm produce of other firms were made on their spur. It is only 280 feet in length yet in the six years the railroad has received freight from the shipments made here amounting to over $20,000. At present the firm has an order calling for three carloads daily and it is very difficult to load them owing to a lack of room. The company should show a better appreciation of what it has received at the hands of the shippers at this point. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, August 13, 1896, Volume XX, Number 34, Page 1)
“THE FINEST EVER.” Princeton Brick Show Their Superiority in Official Tests, Hence They Find Ready Sales. Our Yards Have Turned Out 6,550,000 and Hope to Reach the 8,000,000 Mark. The day is not far distant when Mille Lacs county will be furnishing brick for all the buildings built within a reasonable shipping distance of her yards. Although the brick industry is comparatively new in this county, being less than ten years old, Princeton brick have gained equal prominence with the products of towns which have made brick for a quarter of a century. But this recognition from the public does not satisfy the rustling brick-makers of Mille Lacs and they propose to have their wares acknowledged to be the best of the Minnesota product. With this end in view they have caused tests of the strength of their brick and those of their competitors to be made by the department of mechanics at the State university and also by United States government experts and in each case the Princeton brick came off victorious with a superior strength of nearly 500 pounds to the inch. Such comparisons will soon force architects, who are prejudiced against wirecut brick, to acknowledge their error and in a short time wirecut brick will be specified for all buildings. A representative of the UNION visited the yards of the different firms Tuesday and found the manufacturers in the best of spirits. Sales have been good all through the season and the price has ranged from $1.00 to $1.50 above last year. The only complaint that was made was that it was difficult to secure cars for shipment.
The brick industry is a very important one for this county. The sales of the products of our yards are made principally to outside parties, with the result that foreign money is brought here and put into circulation. It also benefits the farmers, who in clearing their land, find themselves with a large amount of soft wood on their hands. If the three yards run to their full capacity next season they will furnish a market right at home for between 6,000 and 7,000 cords of this wood. This article would not be complete without mention of the new school house built by Mr. Oakes near the yards. The school room is 20x30 and the building is substantially built. The masons finished plastering the first of the week and the room will be ready to be occupied next week. Mr. Oakes has built this school house to be rented to the district this season but expects that it will become the district’s property next year. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, September 1, 1898, Volume XXII, Number 38, Page 1)
The Busy Brick Yards. Everything is lively at the brick yards at the present time and the yards are making brick while the sun shines and the weather is good. Owing to unfavorable weather the yards will not quite make the record they figured on at the opening of the season, when they thought that they could turn out five million brick at each yard, but if the weather holds out good for a few weeks yet the yards will finish with a record not far behind these figures. The Kuhn Bros.’ yards have shut down for the season, owing to a serious break in the machinery some time ago and the inability to get sufficient help. The fuel question has been bothering the yards some this season. Very little wood was delivered at the yards last winter on account of poor hauling and the yards have been obliged to use edgings which they are receiving from Milaca, Nickerson and Foley. The edgings are as good for firing as the soft wood, but of course cost some more. Wood is getting higher each year and wood that cost $1.25 and $1.50 a few years ago is now worth considerable more money, and in a few more years the yards will have to commence figuring on using oil for fuel, as many yards throughout the country are doing at the present time. If the fuel supply was only as inexhaustible as the supply of clay the proposition would be an easy one. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, August 28, 1902, Volume XXVI, Number 37, Page 3)
The new observatory for the weather bureau at Duluth will be built of Princeton brick. Brick from the Princeton yards are in demand all over the northern part of the State, North Dakota and as far west as Montana, while millions are shipped to the twin cities annually. There is no better quality of common brick manufactured anywhere than right here in Princeton. Princeton is becoming as famous for its brick as its potatoes. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, July 23, 1903, Volume XXVII, Number 32, Page 4)
W. P. Chase received a copy of the Havre, (Mont.) Plaindealer this week containing an account of the fire in that city which destroyed the greater part of the business district. The only building that stood in the track of the fire that did not burn was the Security bank building. The front of this building was constructed of Princeton cream brick and the fire was a great test of the fire-resisting quality of these brick. W. E. Chase, a son of W. P. Chase, is vice president of the Security bank in which C. H. Rines is also interested. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, January 21, 1904, Volume XXVIII, Number 6, Page 5)
Princeton Brick Surpasses All Other. That the brick manufactured at Brickton - known as “Princeton brick” - is attaining increased popularity is evidenced by the fact that the manufacturers, even with a double force of men employed, find it almost impossible to supply the demand. Every Great Northern freight that passes through Brickton takes out from three to ten cars of this building material, and it is frequently difficult for the manufacturers to secure sufficient transportation facilities. There is no brick made in the United States which can equal the Princeton brick for durability and perfection of finish. Our information as to its excellence comes not from the manufacturers, but from the builders. (The Princeton Union, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Thursday, April 5, 1906, Volume XXX, Number 17, Page 1)