Brick making & Brickyards along Cedar Bayou in Baytown!

In 1849, there was one brickyard on Cedar Bayou and by 1870, there were three Immigrants
from Great Britain and Germany dominated the brick making craft

It took an average of 10 days to make a batch of fired brick in the 1800’s

Most brickyards only operated 9 months and closed during the cold winter months

Bricks made in Cedar Bayou were mainly shipped to Galveston on two-masted schooners

Bricks were made from 2 parts top soil, one part clay, and water from Cedar Bayou

Many, many brickyards were in operation along Cedar Bayou and one still reportedly exists over by I-10

I believe that one of those Englishmen making bricks at Cedar Bayou was my grandfather from Galveston. His name was Robert Palliser and he built many buildings in Galveston and across this part of Texas. One of those buildings was Union Station in Houston, which now stands as a part of Minute Maid Park. Harold Mathis Richmond, Texas

If you have knowledge concerning brickyards along Cedar Bayou,
please write me here

Much of the information on this page comes from the excellent book 'The History of Baytown'
available at Sterling Municipal Library and the Baytown Historical Museum located at 220 W. Defee.