I would guess it was Star Brick Co./Nelsonville based I believe (hence the designs on the new bypass ramps) which would not be a good source of funding since out of business for 100 yrs I think?
No, it was the Athens Brick Company. It was located on the south side of Stimson and took up almost the entire area from State Street to the river on that side of the street. They made paving bricks that were used all over the country. My daughter, when she was as student at Michigan, found some bricks on the U of M campus saying "Athens, Ohio" on them. These were shale brick, not clay brick. They were made by grinding up shale into a powder and then mixing it with water into a cement-like consistency and pouring that into molds. These molds were heated in big kilns that were once located in the area mentioned above. I've seen old photos of the brick plant and it was quite a large operation. Some of shale was mined from the area that's now the location of the Armory at the end of Court Street. Believe it or not, this was all before my time but I have read the history and seen the old photos.
Correction: Upon checking with my sources and oiling my rusty synapses, it was my sister when she was working on her Ph.D. at Michigan who saw the Athens, Ohio, bricks and not my daughter when she was working on her undergraduate degree at Go Blue U. I do remember finding them once when we visited my daughter there, but she wasn't with my wife and I at the time. I know that this doesn't make much difference to anyone, but I wanted to set the record straight. Now, I feel better!
Last Edited: 10/7/2013 11:08:13 PM by OhioCatFan