Black Diamonds and Bricks

Black Diamonds and Bricks. . Due to the remote and rugged nature of the land that would become Saltlick Township in 1823, the first European settlers did not settle in this area until 1814, eleven years after Ohio’s statehood. , Shawnee was platted in 1872 by a single investor who purchased the surface land from the other investors in the Newark, Straitsville, Coal, Coke and Iron Company after their railroad, the Newark, Somerset and Straitsville, pierced through the steep hillsides via the Bristol Tunnel, several miles north of town. This made it possible to extract and transport to Lake Erie markets the rich bituminous coal located in unusually thick seams that lay below the surface. , The early mines that surround Shawnee included the XX Mine, the Card and Upson Mine, the Furnace Mine, the Shawnee Valley Mine and the Goslin and Barbour Mine. Several large blast furnaces were also constructed here producing pig iron, helping to feed the nation’s growing want for iron. The mines and furnaces created the economic engine for the newly-constructed town and provided work for the multitude of miners who entered the area during the boom era which lasted until the turn of the century. , A second extraction industry, clay mining, helped keep Shawnee an important economic center beyond its early coal fortunes. By 1906 four brick factories took over as the primary force behind the economy. Established in 1896, the Ohio Mining and Manufacturing Company would eventually operate two brick plants which were later sold to the Claycraft Company. The Columbus Face Brick Company opened in 1898 just south of town. It was succeeded by the Ironclay Brick Company which was more commonly known as “Rock Run.” The Shawnee Flash Brick Company, known by locals as the “Fiddle Factory,” was in operation by 1906. , Rock Run’s orange-colored fire-clay structural brick can be seen in many of the building along West Main Street built during the period 1900-15, including the Tecumseh Theater. Only Claycraft would survive well into the 20th century, shipping brick throughout North America until the early 1970’s.