Thurber, texas is halfway between fort worth and abilene on interstate20, but youll miss it if youre not looking for it. In his new book thurberville, retired dispatch sportswriter bob hunter tackles the. The brick making continued some decades after the coal mining ceased to be the main source of revenue at thurber. The thurber smokestack was part of the towns electric power plant very hightech for its time. It was a town founded and planned by the johnson coal company, and later sold in its entirety to the texas and pacific coal company. Our search for the redbrick history of reading begins at katesgrove lane, the road out of reading which lies parallel to the river kennet and which takes the brickobsessed walker towards elgar road and waterloo road of which we will hear more later. Containing detailed historical scenes made entirely from lego, brick history begins with the birth of civilisation itself big bang, and takes us through to the year 2011 with the royal wedding. The coal company also produced a high quality paving brick. Thurber brick by mike cox texas tales column thurber, texas texas premier ghost town a brick factory was added to the mining operations since they had the material, the fuel, and the railroad to ship the end product. At its peak, thurber had a population of 10,000, including immigrant workers of at least different nationalities. Thurberville shows real world behind thurbers stories. Pinto county have access to books, online resources, events, and much more. Thurber, texas texas premier ghost town a brick factory was added to the mining operations since they had the material, the fuel, and the railroad to ship the end product. Thurber bricks see the history of thurber, texas under.
Mining and manufacturing have also played a role in the erath county economy. Thurber brick texas travel, texas history, texas cities. The population of the community is 48 per the 2010 united states census. Many models are also featured in warrens popular brick history book.
The life and death of a texas town 1946 by mary jane gentry also pertains to thurbers history. A couple of years ago i showed you a series of lego books by warren elsmore see. Once workers dug the shale, they loaded it into electric rail cars that hauled it to the plant for grinding and mixture with water. It follows the story of brick from 5,000 bc to the twentyfirst century, from the vast baths and basilicas of ancient rome, through the wonders of gothic brick in germany, buddhist shrines in burma, and mughal mosques in iran, to the modern. Check back for 2021 registration information in fall 2020.
The photograph is of four men in a business office. In 1897, it was discovered that the bountiful shale deposits found on company land was ideally suited for the production of high quality bricks. Site of thurber brick plant texas and pacific coal company general manager w. A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. This totally original architecture bookthe first comprehensive work on brick, the essential building materialranges over every culture throughout history. The first book we discussed that time was brick city. Using lego bricks, artist warren elsmore and his team have recreated stunning historic places and periods, from the big bang and viking raids right through. Tile was manufactured as well, but it was the thick, heavy thurber paving brick that paid the bills. The thurber historical association is an organization wholly devoted to the restoration, preservation and promotion of the history of thurber, texas. At its height of operation, the plant produced 40 varieties, from common brick used in building construction to numerous styles of the heavier pavers. Made up primarily of former residents of thurber and their descendants, the thurber historical association holds annual reunions and actively works to raise awareness of the unique history of thurber, texas, and its impact on the history of the. Those who made the bricks lived and worked in thurber.
Readers are in for a treat with four fascinating chapters that include models of. They were discovered in southern turkey at the site of an ancient settlement around the city of jericho. Its all that remains of the power plant which, in 1895, made thurber, texas one of the very first electrified cities in the usa. In columbus, thurber house is both a literary center and museum dedicated to humorist james thurber a talented writer and cartoonist, thurber was known for his dog drawings, and i love that several sculptures of his dogs now inhabit the yard of the victorian brick house where he lived while attending the ohio state university in the early 1900s. Each chapter includes a number of these buildable projects, complete with easytofollow instructions.
Bricks are one of the oldest known building materials dating back to 7000bc where they were first found in southern turkey and around jericho. Gentry wrote a very informative thesisbook, with about 16 or so photographs for illustration, i recommend this book to students interested in the history of thurber, lyra, strawn, mingus and associated towns. Tx4901 site of thurber brick plant historical markers. Bricks date back to 7000 bc, which makes them one of the oldest known building materials. Thurber located midway between fort worth and abilene on interstate 20 was a company owned town, founded and controlled from around 1888 through the 1930s by texas and pacific coal co. Warren elsmore is a worldrenowned lego modeler and the bestselling author of brick city, brick wonders, brick flicks, and brick vehicles, all available in north america from barrons. Weatherford organized the ferris press brick company. Walter mitty, the henpecked, daydreaming hero in the short story the secret life of walter mitty, is thurber s quintessential urban man. Thurber is an unincorporated community in erath county, texas, united states located 75. Before long, the thurber brick plant was the largest and busiest west of the mississippi. Thurber is an unincorporated community in erath county, texas, united states near the palo pinto county line, located 75 miles west of fort worth. It was first published in the new yorker in 1939 and was collected in my worldand welcome to it 1942.
James thurber american writer and cartoonist britannica. Aug 25, 2015 when thurber, texas closed in the 1930s, most of the buildings, houses and supplies were salvaged, the people moved away and the mines and brick plant. The town had a brick plant, where the bricks for the galveston seawall and congress avenue in austin were also made, but very little remains of the plant today. The ghost of thurber, texasghost town of thurber, tx. By the early part of the 20th century, six brick plants were in operation in and near ferris and. Fired bricks were found to be more resistant to harsher weather conditions, which made them a much more reliable brick for use in permanent buildings, where mud bricks. The history of bricks and brickmaking brick architecture. Armed guards patrolled fenced borders to keep union organizers out. In its heyday, thurber was home to coal miners and brick plant workers from italy, poland, and as many as fourteen other european nations, not to mention the many mexican immigrants who came to the area. Gentrys lively history of the rise and decline of a texas coal town provides a unique. Traditionally, the term brick referred to a unit composed of clay, but it is now used to denote rectangular units made of claybearing soil, sand, and lime, or concrete materials. Warren elsmore is a worldrenowned lego modeler and the bestselling author of brick city, brick wonders, brick flicks, and brick vehicles, all available in north america from barron s.
No matter the class, you will be challenged to write outside the box, use your imagination, expand your horizons, and have fun creating new things. Famous for his humorous writings and illustrations, he was a staff member of the new yorker for more than thirty years. Brick history is the fifth book in the highly successful brick series which imaginatively constructs scenes from real life in lego and offers stepbystep instructions for making new models. These bricks can still be seen in places like fort worth, stephenville, and the bankhead highway. Every structure within the city limits was company owned. The thurber brick plant was able to produce around 80,000 bricks a day in thirtyfive different varieties bielinski 150. Bricks can be joined together using mortar, adhesives or by interlocking them.
The 128foot brick smokestack is almost all that remains from what used to be a booming town called thurber, texas. Thurber was one of the most ethnically diverse towns in west central texas, with nearly 20 different nationalities or racial groups represented, including italian, polish, english, german, austrian, irish, chinese and black. Global icons to make from lego, the second brick wonders. The fiveacre brick plant was a halfmile southwest of the town s business section. Thurber was the first fully electrified city in the united states. Will pryce is an awardwinning photographer who originally trained as an architect at cambridge university and the royal college of art, and photojournalism at the london college of printing. Eight hundred workers produced 80,000 bricks a day. James thurber might not have needed columbus, but columbus needed thurber and still does. During the period from 1888 to 1921 the texas pacific coal company mined coal in the northwest corner of the county near thurber. A thurber garland james thurber brick row book shop. Bricks for it in this area were made in thurber, texas on the palo pintoerath. Gordon center for industrial history of texas thurber 2020.
A company town if there ever was one, thurber had its beginning in 1888 when the texas and pacific co. The deposits of shale used to produce the bricks lay a mile north. Gentry wrote a very informative thesis book, with about 16 or so photographs for illustration, i recommend this book to students interested in the history of thurber, lyra, strawn, mingus and associated towns. When it comes to which historical events to feature in a book. Brick history is a testament to creative ingenuity and endless imagination. These days, thurbers 128foot brick smokestack is the only thing most people notice as they whiz through this ghost town on their way to abilene. Gordon, seeing potential in the shale mud found in thurber, persuaded company president r. In its heyday, thurber was home to coal miners and brick plant workers from italy, poland, and as many as fourteen other. In his new book thurberville, retired dispatch sportswriter bob hunter tackles the relationship. Brick history works especially well in venues with a historical connection or collection, and ties in with social history, science, visual arts, music and film, but it also works well as a selfcontained attraction. Erath county the handbook of texas online texas state.
Established as a company town, the mining operations in thurber were unionized in. Ancient, modern, and natural wonders made from lego, and the third brick flicks. Welcome to the thurber family page at surname finder, a service of genealogy today. Thurber brick thurber brick comes from an old brickyard. Writing wizards workshops for grades 28 meet every spring. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the dates. Man has used brick for building purpose for thousands of years. In its heyday, thurber had a companyowned opera house, library, and saloon, as well as a mercantile store, which is now the smokestack restaurant, where we dined today. Our editors have compiled this checklist of genealogical resources, combining links to commercial databases along with usercontributed information and web sites for the thurber surname. The first brick plant, the atlas brick company, was established by t. The brick road east of mineral wells the portal to texas history. Brick history features 50 of the most pivotal historic moments in timeand captures them in a mixture of detailed dioramas and buildable projects.
Thurber brick comes from an old brickyard in thurber, texas, now a ghost town. In its heyday, thurber was home to coal miners and brick p. Aug 25, 2015 thurber brick, made with shale from a nearby hill, paved its way across texas. In 1918 the thurber brick company was established in the same area to manufacture tile, sewer pipes, paving bricks, and stoneware. Thurber, 18861933 tarleton state university southwestern studies in the humanities book 22 english edition ebook.
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