Near Phenix City in Russell County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Early Brickyards

Photographed by James L.Whitman, May 20, 2023

1. Early Brickyards Marker

Inscription. The rich clay deposits along the high western bluff of the Chattahoochee River led a pioneer family to begin producing brick here. In 1859, brothers Anderson and Charles Abercrombie acquired a large tract of land from the U.S. government as a result of the Treaty of 1832 with the Creek Nation. By the 1840s, their expansive cotton - producing plantation included a small brickyard, the site of which became Brickyard, Alabama. Captain James Abercrombie, whose plantation lay to the north of his brothers' land, established brickyards in Pensacola, Florida during the 1850s that produced brick for U.S. Army forts off the Gulf Coast. including Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas. An Alabama and U.S. legislator, James was also director of the Mobile & Girard railroad, which served Brickyard and enabled Abercrombie bricks to reach Columbus and markets to the south. In 1885, James Henry Bickerstaff and his brother William Jefferson Bickerstaff, Jr. bought the Abercrombie plantation and quickly expanded its brick-making operations. This partnership formed Bickerstaff Brick Company that eventually became one of the largest family-owned brick

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manufactures in North America.

Erected 2014 by Alabama Historical Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1832.

Location. 32° 23.849′ N, 85° 0.343′ W. Marker is near Phenix City, Alabama, in Russell County. It is on Brickyard Road (County Route 61) 2.1 miles south of Kadlin Drive, on the left when traveling south. The marker is located in front of the Columbus Brick-Phenix City Plant 145. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1501 Brickyard Road, Phenix City AL 36869, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Columbus.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate

Photographed by James L.Whitman, May 20, 2023

2. Early Brickyards Marker

States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Coweta Tallahassee (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); U.S. Indian Agency of Benjamin Hawkins (about 500 feet away); Mount Olive Baptist Church (approx. 2½ miles away); Coweta Town (approx. 2.6 miles away); South Girard High School (approx. 2.7 miles away); Cusseta: A Center for International Diplomacy (approx. 2.8 miles away in Georgia); Daily Life in Cusseta (approx. 2.8 miles away in Georgia); Creek Agriculture (approx. 2.8 miles away in Georgia). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Phenix City.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 20, 2023, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,241 times since then and 192 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 20, 2023, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.