Marker Inscription
Texas and Pacific Coal Company general manager W. K. Gordon, seeing potential in the shale mud found in Thurber, persuaded company president R. D. Hunter to build a brick plant here in 1897. Original machinery included three Ross-Keller brick presses powered by a Corliss steam engine nicknamed "Old Hunter." The operation covered five acres and employed 800 men. Brick manufactured here was used to pave roads throughout Texas, including old Bankhead Highway (US 80), Austin's Congress Avenue, Fort Worth's Camp Bowie Boulevard, and the Galveston Seawall. The plant closed in 1931. (1995)
About this site
Thurber Brick Plant, Site of is a historical marker in Thurber, Erath County, dedicated in 1994. It is one of 71 historical markers documented in Erath County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 144 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 32.5068, -98.4149 near Thurber. The nearest cataloged historic site is New York Hill (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Saint Barbara's Catholic Church, Thurber's First Coal Mine, Site of, and Whitehead Cemetery.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5143004901. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
