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Joseph Mullally
Pioneer Brick Manufacturing Company
History
Joseph Mullally was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, born December 18, 1826. In 1850,
he crossed the plains and arrived in San Francisco, where he manufactured bricks
during the next four years. In March 1854, Mullally moved to Los Angeles and
formed a partnership with Samuel Ayers and Daniel Porter to manufacture bricks.
In 1855, Mullally, Porter and Ayers built the first flour mill in town for Abel
Stearns and Jonathan Scott, known as the Eagle Mills. By 1858, they had reached
an annual production of two million bricks.
In 1857, Mullally was elected to the Los Angeles City Council and served four
different terms. He built a fine residence of single-story brick on the corner
of Buena Vista (now Broadway) and College streets. His estate had a large number
of fruit trees. About 1886, he formed the Pioneer Brick Manufacturing Company,
which was located at 10 1/2 West First Street, Los Angeles. They moved to 125 West
2nd Street in 1894. The company closed in 1896 following the retirement of
Mullally.
The operations of Joseph Mullally were not described by the State Bureau of Mines.
But from the sample of brick donated by David Garcia, we can learn a little
about Mullally's brick manufacturing process. The clay was screened and mixed
in a pugmill. Then the wet clay was put into sand molds and formed into bricks.
After sufficient drying, the bricks were fired in field kilns, probably using
wood or coal as fuel. It is not known if all of Mullally's bricks were branded
with his name, but an article written by Henrietta Mosley indicates that the
brand name bricks were made in 1874 for the Point Fermin Lighthouse.
Mullally Brick
Bottom face showing brand name of a Joseph Mullally brick. Donated by David Garcia.
Side view of the Mullally brick showing the irregular edges.
End view of the Mullally brick showing the irregular lip around the top edge.
Top face of the Mullally brick, mostly concealed by cement, but the rough
pitted surface can be seen in places..
Common brick is orange red to brown, in somewhat mottled shades. Surface is sandy with a few flashy
mica flakes. Angular iron-stained white quartz up to 1/16 inch across and lumps of clay up to 1/4 inch
across can be seen on the surface. Edges are irregular and the corners are rounded. Sides may be pitted
with light brush marks in the longitudinal direction. Irregular lip 3/8 inch thick may be present.
Top face has longitudinal strike marks on a highly pitted and rough surface. Bottom face may be slightly
undulating to flat with a hexagonal frog 4 inches long, 2 1/8 inches wide, and 1/8 inch deep. Inside
the frog is the brand name recessed with "J. MULLALLY" on the first line and "LOS ANGELES" on the second
line. The name spans 3 1/2 inches, and the letters are 1/2 inch high. Sand-molded, soft-mud process.
Length 8, width 3 3/4, height 2 1/4.
Source
Garcia, David, written communications, 2006.
Layne, J. Gregg. "Annals of Los Angeles, Part 2." California Historical Society
Quarterly, v. 13, no. 4, December 1934, p. 330.
Los Angeles City Directories, 1884-1896.
Mosley, Henrietta E. "Joseph Mullally, Pioneer Los Angeles Brickmaker." Journal of the
International Brick Collectors Association, v. 24, no. 2, p. 56-58.
Thompson and West. History of Los Angeles County, California. Oakland, 1880, p. 181.
Copyright © 2006 Dan Mosier
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Comments or questions are welcomed.
Please send email to Dan Mosier at danmosier@earthlink.net.