" ETOWAH BRICK " MOLAND - DRYSDALE CORPORATION - 1923
aka, the "Brickyard"
today, the Etowah Valley Golf & Resort on Brickyard Rd
aka, the "Brickyard"
today, the Etowah Valley Golf & Resort on Brickyard Rd
The sign on the building reads: "Moland-Drysdale Corporation ~ BRICK AND HOLLOW TILE."
Photo source: "Hendersonville and Henderson County, A Pictorial History
By Jody Barber and Louise Bailey", 1988, p. 153. Baker Barber Collection;
Community Foundation of Henderson County; Henderson County Public Library.
Photo source: "Hendersonville and Henderson County, A Pictorial History
By Jody Barber and Louise Bailey", 1988, p. 153. Baker Barber Collection;
Community Foundation of Henderson County; Henderson County Public Library.
Photo caption from the book, p. 153:
"One of Henderson County's foremost industries began at this site in Etowah in 1919, when George A. Moland and Bruce Drysdale, Philadelphians living in Hendersonville, formed a partnership to manufacture brick. The company is now one of North Carolina's largest producers of brick, with North Carolina currently leading all other states in the industry [as of book publication in 1988]. In 1943, Moland-Drysdale bought the Fletcher Brick Company, and ten years later, in a corporate reorganization, Moland-Drysdale Corporation became the sales agency for both the Fletcher and Etowah Companies. In December 1987, the corporation was sold to Jannock, Ltd., of Toronto, Canada. Brick making at the Etowah plant was discontinued in 1955, and Bruce Drysdale's dream of an eighteen-hole Etowah Golf Course on the property has been carried out by Frank Todd, Drysdale's son-in-law." |
The following timeline for the Etowah Brickyard is pieced together from several sources and may need additional verification.
(1) "Postmarks," by Lenoir Ray, pub. 1970, pg. 302-303 (2) "Hendersonville and Henderson County, A Pictorial History By Jody Barber and Louise Bailey", 1988, p. 153. (3) "Moland -Drysdale Corporation is sold" - The Times-News, December 16, 1987 (4) Golf Resort webpage - etowahvalley.com/about/our-history 1919 partnership formed between Moland & Drysdale (source: #2) 1923 operations began in Etowah (source: #1) 1943 Moland-Drysdale bought Fletcher Brick Company (source: #2) 1951 Operations moved to Fletcher (source: #3) 1955 brickmaking discontinued in Etowah (source: #2) 1964 Bruce Drysdale conceives of golf course development; he died the day the final survey for the course was made (source: #4) 1967 Golf course opened for play at Etowah Valley Golf & Resort (source: #4) |
Bruce Drysdale
b. 12 Nov 1887 d. 17 Oct 1964 George N. Moland b. 25 Mar 1859 d. 19 Oct 1936 |
From Lenoir Ray's book, "Postmarks," 1970
" In 1923, George M. Moland and Bruce Drysdale started the Moland-Drysdale Brick Company at Etowah. They both came from Pennsylvania. The brickyard was located where the new golf course is today. The brick were fired in "beehive" round kilns, with each brick being handled at least six times by hand. The brick had to be dried, burned and cooled in separate places. This company was a pioneer in light-colored brick in the Southeast. Their special trademark "Etowah Brick," is known to construction engineers and contractors over the Eastern United States. In 1936, George Moland died and the operation of the business fell to Bruce Drysdale. Many men in Etowah grew up working for Moland-Drysdale and still work for them although the plant moved in 1943 to Brickton [Fletcher area]. Recently Bruce Drysdale died and his son-in-law, Frank Todd, became head of the Corporation. The Flat Rock post office building, the Country Manor Apartments and the Flat Rock condominium Apartments as well as many homes in Henderson County were made of Moland-Drysdale Vicksburg Antique brick. The American Enka Corporations plant is composed of some 25 million Etowah Brick. " "Postmarks," by Lenoir Ray, pub. 1970, pg. 302-303. Copies for sale at the Henderson County Genealogical & Historical Society |
Below: 1922 photo "BEGINNING OF A BILLION BRICKS" - Etowah Brick built the American Enka Plant in Buncombe County. The newspaper clipping is most likely from the Western Carolina Tribune, one of the 40th Anniversary Editions. Publication to be confirmed.
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About The Kaolin Clay Deposit on property of G. H. Valentine in Etowah which may have become part of the land holdings for the Brickyard
The road mentioned n the paragraph led from the clay deposit to the Etowah Depot. U.S. Department of the Interior - USGS Bulletin 708, 1922 Selected pages in PDF, Bulletin Intro & text about Etowah
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ETOWAH, HENDERSON COUNTY. Valentine property. Mr. G. H. Valentine, of Hendersonville, reports a deposit of kaolin in Henderson County close to the west bank of French Broad River, 1 1/4 miles north of Etowah. The deposit is known to be from 50 to 75 feet wide and more than 10 feet deep, but its length has not been determined. Several small excavations have been made in it, and the grade for the public highway cuts it. Most of the clay is white, but in some places it is pink or salmon colored. The deposit is a few hundred yards from the river and about 50 feet above it, and a mountain brook near by might furnish all the water needed in mining. A road 2 miles long, which is used for heavy hauling by trucks to a point less than one-fourth of a mile from the deposit, leads to Etowah, on the Toxaway branch of the Southern Railway.
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"Brick Making"
March 26, 1941 article from THE POW-WOW, Etowah High School's monthly newsletter at the time. The student author is not identified. " The site for the Moland-Drysdale Corporation brick plant was selected because the clay was acceptable for the making of brick. As there were no other brick plants near, there was a great demand for building materials in this section.
The clay is extracted with a steam shovel from a near-by mountain. It was formely [formerly] hauled to the plant by a car pulled by a small gas engine on the tracks. The clay is now hauled in dump trucks, which is more economical and faster than previous methods. After the clay is loaded on trucks and hauled to the plant it is thrown by hand into a place where roots, rocks and any other trash is extracted. It then passes under huge rollers which takes all lumps out. Next it is taken up the elevator belt, and the clay that will not go through the screen goes back to be rolled again. From the screen it goes to the bin, then to the brick machine, where it is mixed with soda and water and forced through an opening the size of a brick. The column of clay is cut into bricks and put on brick cars. The cars are rolled into tunnels and there the bricks dry. When dried they are taken out of the tunnels and set in kilns to be burned. After staying in these kilns, which are heated to about 2000 degrees, for about four or five days, they are ready to be taken out and hauled or stacked on the yard until they are sold. The Moland-Drysdale Corporation has nine trucks by which all deliveries are made. There are seven trucks that have a mileage of over one hundred thousand miles and are still hauling. They have a 1935 Dodge truck which delivered over one million brick in its first year of use. Brick was hauled in it for three years and then the body was changed in 1938 for hauling coal from the depot to the plant. Three 1938 Dodge trucks have been driven over one hundred and fifty thousand miles. They average hauling over a million brick per truck each year. A 1937 Chevrolet truck has been driven one hundred and fifty thousand miles by Donald Owens. Another Dodge driven by Avery Simpson, has a mileage of one hundred and twelve thousand miles. Neither of these have had an accident throughout their use. At the present time the 1937 Chevrolet truck is hauling clay to the plant, while the 1938 Dodge is still hauling brick. These trucks are operated on Pure Oil gasoline and Sinclair oil, which are among the best by test. " A Times-News article provides some background history on the company and states that the Etowah brickyard operation moved to Fletcher in 1951, a different date than Lenoir Ray's 1943. In the mid-1960s, the Etowah acreage would be transformed into the Etowah Valley Golf Club & Lodge.
"In 1951, the company moved its operations to 300 acres of clay lands in Fletcher in order to have better access to natural gas, highways and the railroad." "Moland -Drysdale Corporation is sold" The Times-News, December 16, 1987 |
Today, the Etowah Valley Golf & Resort is a premier destination
in North Carolina for golf vacation enthusiasts. In 1967, the transformation of the scarred industrial site became a reality and the golf course was opened for play. |
Excerpts from the HISTORY
as presented on by the "Etowah Valley Golf & Resort. " In 1914, the late Bruce Drysdale visited the mountains of Western North Carolina as a young man and immediately fell in love with this part of the country. He had some knowledge of clays and foresaw a tremendous potential for the brick industry in the area. Drysdale started manufacturing brick in Etowah. Brick manufacturing continued until the early 1950s, when the operation was moved to Fletcher, North Carolina. " " Etowah Valley Golf & Resort was constructed on the former plant site of the Moland-Drysdale Corporation in 1964. Moland-Drysdale manufactured the area’s famous Etowah Brick, which was shipped throughout the eastern half of the United States. Drysdale never saw the fruition of the golf course that changed the town of Etowah from barron industrial site to a vacation and residential community. Drysdale died the day the final survey for the golf course was completed. " |
1968 newspaper advertisement for what is today
the Etowah Valley Golf & Resort
the Etowah Valley Golf & Resort