Project Overview:
Brick and tile manufacturing plants were once ubiquitous throughout much of the United States.
Today, however, only a fraction of these industrial complexes survive, and even fewer are still
devoted to the production of structural clay products. Of those standing, almost none preserves the
large number of buildings and machinery, three generations of kiln technology, and overall
comprehensive industrial landscape as does the Western Clay Manufacturing Company site on the
outskirts of Helena, Montana. Although closed in 1961, the mothballing of the site helped
preserve its buildings and notably its machinery and associated artifacts. A partnership formed
in 2011 between the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts and the Montana Preservation
Alliance (MPA), and the Architectural Conservation Laboratory (ACL) of the University of
Pennsylvania. The team conducted a general conditions assessment of the site photodocumenting major structures and recording and analyzing the beehive (downdraft) kilns
developing a program for conservation and interpretation for the remarkable industrial landscape
known as Western Clay Manufacturing Company.
GenHistory
Founded in the mid-1880s and expanded and updated under the leadership of its sagacious owners,
Charles Bray and his son, Archie Bray, Sr., Western Clay became Montana’s premiere brick and
hollow clay tile manufacturing plant by the early 20th century. The evolution of Western Clay
brickyard comprises roughly 32 buildings over 26 acres, together illustrates three generations of kiln
technology. Although closed in 1961, the mothballing of the site helped preserve its buildings and
notably its machinery and associated artifacts. Today, the Western Clay Manufacturing Company
site is well poised to interpret the little-known, but influential history of the brick and tile
manufacturing industry that helped build Montana and the American West. Stewarded by its
successor--the internationally renowned Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, an
organization located on the very grounds of the former manufacturing site—the complex allows for
an exploration of the relationship between the manufacture of industrial clay products and ceramic
art production. Following the plant’s closing, a number of the Western Clay Manufacturing
Company’s original buildings were repurposed to support the Archie Bray Foundation for the
Ceramic Arts.
Brick Manufacturing at Site
In the 1880s, brick manufacturing commenced on the grounds of what became known as the
Western Clay Manufacturing Company. Until its sudden closing and subsequent mothballing in
1961, this industrial facility received numerous technological updates and underwent periodic
expansion. Members of the Bray family oversaw the production of brick and hollow clay tile
products for most of the plant’s seventy-five or so years of continual operation. . In the early years,
Charles Bray, who emigrated from the United Kingdom to the U.S., acted as Western Clay’s general
manager. Charles later became the sole proprietor of the manufactory, passing ownership along to
his son, Archie Bray, Sr. whose tireless work ethic and advanced knowledge of ceramic engineering
ensured the company’s success. The industrial clay products manufactured at Western Clay—from
brick pavers, to sewer pipes, to common brick, pressed brick, fire brick, and hollow tiles— literally
built and expanded the City of Helena and furthered development in many areas within the State of
Montana.
One of Montana's first brickmakers, Kessler began producing brick in 1866 and continued to expand
the business. The brickyard was located near the Kessler brewery, not at the location of the
Western Clay Manufacturing Co. 1885: C.C. Thurston operated a brickyard at the location of the
Western Clay for only two years before selling it to Nicholas Kessler. At the time, Charles Bray was
in charge of the operation; responsible for updating and enlarging the plant. In 1890, Jacob Switzer
purchased the land near Blossburg and by 1892 established the Switzer Brick and Terra-Cotta
Company and installed up-todate equipment including brick and tile extruding machinery. By 1905,
Switzer and the Kessler works merged and formed what is today known as Western Clay
Manufacturing Company. The two stockholders in the new company were Switzer and Nick
Kessler's son Frederick, and Charles Bray was secretary and general manager. Switzer's extruding
machinery was moved to Helena, and all brick, tile and pipe making activity was centered at the old
Kessler works. The Switzer clay pits at Blossburg became the major clay supply for the new
company.
By 1908 Western Clay Manufacturing Company was known as the most complete clay
manufacturing plant in Montana. The plant was connected to both the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific railroads for convenient shipping of product statewide. Products were shipped
throughout the state as well as to Wyoming, Idaho and eastern Washington. Western Clay was
clearly the largest producer of brick in Montana by 1918, producing more than twice as much
common brick as its nearest competitor, Great Falls. Bray continued to upgrade the plant by
converting wood frame structures, enclosing the brick and tile shops to brick, adding space to the
drying shop, and improving the facilities in the clay shed.
Archie Bray
In later years, Archie Bray, Sr.’s ardor for the arts and his ability to link the production of industrial
clay products and the production of works of ceramic art led to the establishment of the now
internationally recognized Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts. Although the Western Clay
Manufacturing Company closed in 1961, the Archie Bray Foundation has continued to prosper—
operating and expanding, incorporating the complex’s distinctive skyline into their logo while
visiting and resident ceramic artists continue to draw inspiration from the abandoned brick and tile
yard adjacent to the studios and galleries. Later, in 1985, the Archie Bray Foundation was placed on
the National Register of Historic Places although the majority of the former industrial structures
remain derelict and in need of study and stabilization.
Documentation Overview
The evolution of the former Western Clay brickyard, comprised of roughly 32 buildings over 26
acres, is illustrated through its surviving examples of three generations of kiln technologies
contained within a built environment of both contemporary and historic structures. Recognizing the
significance of this landscape as both local and national heritage, a phased site documentation and
recording project was initiated in June of 2011. Employing various documentation and recording
techniques, from hand measurements, annotated drawings, and rectified photographs to laser
scanning, the team sought to fully record the kilns, an increasingly threatened building type. A
thorough understanding of both the evolution of the site and the current condition and integrity of
its buildings and elements will help the partners to strategize a creative future for this remarkable
example of America’s industrial heritage.
Site Documentation
Photography was the chosen medium to mediate several scales of on-site investigation and
analysis, balancing both a general condition assessment of the buildings with detailed examination,
recording and condition assessment of the large kilns. In addition to recreating historical view sheds
today, HABS-quality photography was completed for extant buildings recorded in the 1985 NHR
survey. Documentation was done in combination with a digital 35mm Canon SLR camera, a digital
medium format Hasselblad camera, and a 4x5 inch format film camera.
Field Work
One downdraft kiln (#7) was selected as a representative type based on its integrity and condition.
The selected downdraft kiln underwent extensive recording and documentation to provide an
understanding of construction methods, material components, and functionality. This work focused
on three features of the kiln: the masonry structure, metal components, and the shed covering.
Recording encompassed rectified photographs of kiln interiors and exteriors for condition survey,
mid-range laser scanning of site and kiln interiors, annotated drawings and photographs of kiln
alterations and additions, and selective material analysis for diagnostics of kilns
Treatment
In the summer of 2012 an intensive 4 week Conservation Praxis was created that builds on the
historic preservation core curriculum and the first year conservation and site management courses.
Organized around project lectures, demonstrations, fieldwork, students experienced firsthand the
design and execution of conservation strategies and solutions for historic structures and sites.
Model masonry conservation of one section of Kiln 7 was used as a demonstration pilot project to
ascertain technical requirements and recommendations for a phased program of: temporary
stabilization, further recording, monitoring and conservation, reuse and interpretation of the kiln
complex.
Project Porfolio
A set of architectural drawings is being produced to meet HABS standards, and also to facilitate
information for interpretation and preservation of the Western Clay site. Because of the
complicated forms and intricate components (coupled with varying physical condition of materials),
no one technique could be used in isolation. A 3D mesh model was designed from a point cloud
generated from the laser scan data. More complicated components where reconstructed in 3D
modeling software from field measurements and annotation. Total station points generated longrange measurements to depict accurate relationships between buildings. Photographs were used to
reexamine details not recorded by hand or laser scan. The end product is a drawing set that records
and analyses the site as a whole, incorporating historical data into the contemporary record of
building type, material, and construction techniques.
Library
1985 NHR Report, Thesis, Drawings, Archie Bray Website, Western Clay Manufacturing CompanyAn Historical Analysis