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Pleasanton Brick Company (Merrill and Black)
History
On the north bank of Arroyo del Valle, on the property of Joseph F. Black,
one mile east of Pleasanton, was found a surficial clay deposit suitable
for making bricks. In March 1875, William B. Merrill, a native of Connecticutt,
leased the clay bank from Joseph Black to establish the Pleasanton Brick Company.
Newspapers of the day referred to this operation as "Morrell Bros." or "Morrell
and Black" but no information could be found about his brother, if any. Merrill
had a son, George H. Merrill, who was a clerk with the company, who may have
been mistaken for his brother. In any case, the Pleasanton Brick Company set up
its office and distribution yard at the foot of Brush St., Oakland, near the
residence of William B. Merrill.
By April 3, 1875, the Pleasanton Brick Company began to fire 100,000 bricks in
a field kiln as a test and found them to be equal to the best in the state. The equipment
included over 20 pugmill drums, six or seven field kilns, and a Standard brick machine.
The soft-mud process was used to make common, red, sanded, hand-molded bricks.
The Southern Pacific Railroad ran a spur line into the yard. Over one million
bricks were shipped to San Francisco annually. About 20 men were employed.
As most of these bricks were shipped out, some were used in the Livermore Valley.
Pleasanton bricks were donated for the foundation of the first church in Pleasanton
in 1876. Other pre-1881 building foundations and chimneys in Pleasanton may have
also used Pleasanton brick.
Merrill left the company about 1880 and he died in Oakland on July 12, 1903. The plant
was afterwards run by Cory and Black, up until the purchase of the property by the
Remillard Brothers in 1881. See Remillard Brick Company for the continued story of
the Pleasanton brick yard.
Pleasanton Brick
The bricks in the foundation of the Lighthouse Baptist Church, Neal St., Pleasanton,
built in 1876, are examples made by the Pleasanton Brick Company.
Note the large round pebbly clasts protruding from the sides of the Pleasanton brick.
Common brick is dark red to pale red, with a rough sanded surface. Sides display rounded red pebbles
up to an inch across and large pits and cracks of equal size. The edges are uneven and often broken
or chipped. Irregular, discontinuous lip is present along the top edges of some bricks, but most
show no lip. Bottom face is even with some pits and visible clasts. Top face is uneven with large
pits, but no apparent strike marks. Hand-molded, soft mud process.
Length 8 1/4 - 8 5/8, width 4 1/8, height 2 1/2.
Source
Livermore Enterprise, 1875-1876.
Oakland City Directories, 1875-1904.
Oakland Tribune, 1875-1881, 1903.
Copyright © 2005 Dan Mosier
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Comments or questions are welcomed.
Please send email to Dan Mosier at danmosier@earthlink.net.