Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Since 2007

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single frame: Harris Paver

Jim Grey
8 comments on single frame: Harris Paver
1 minute
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Brick National Road

Harris Paver
Canon PowerShot S95
2011

If you ever find yourself on a brick street, look at the bricks. You might find some stamped or embossed with the company that made them.

I made this photo near Blaine, Ohio, on the National Road. A bridge dating to the 1830s still stands, closed to traffic. The road leading to and away from it is brick, laid probably in the 1910s or 1920s.

The W.B. Harris and Brothers Paving Brick Co., of Zanesville, Ohio, produced bricks from 1897 to 1929. Zanesville is about 70 miles west of Blaine. It was common for bricks to be produced near where they were used, I presume because they were heavy and challenging to transport.

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Comments

8 responses to “single frame: Harris Paver”

  1. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    This entry reminds me that at the dawn of the internet, when I was traveling a lot between Washington DC and Milwaukee to visit my parents, I stopped in Zanesville to try and use a computer at the library to check e-mails. It was a very nice library, and since the computers were all in use, the librarian just let me sit and use hers for the minute or two I needed. Seemed a nice old town, with favorable people…I always thought I’d like to spend more time there…

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      That was kind of her. Here’s my post from my short visit to Zanesville:

      https://blog.jimgrey.net/2011/07/21/a-quick-tour-of-zanesville/

      Reply
      1. Andy Umbo Avatar
        Andy Umbo

        Thanks for this, I must have missed it…I remember thinking that the town looked great and they hadn’t ripped down a lot of the old beautiful architecture!

        Reply
  2. Greg Clawson Avatar
    Greg Clawson

    The town where I grew up (Attica) had a brick manufacturing plant (Poston) that closed in 1963. They were called Poston Pavers, I believe there are some used at the Speedway in Indy.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      One of my oldest friends was editor-in-chief of the Attica newspaper for a few years, back in the early 90s. It wasn’t too far up the road from Terre Haute, where I lived at the time.

      Reply
  3. brandib1977 Avatar
    brandib1977

    I love looking for the names of bricks in streets and sidewalks. We once had several brick companies in this area and it’s fun finding companies you know!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I especially look for Brazil bricks, from Brazil, IN. I lived just down the road from there in college, and their bricks are all over central and west-central Indiana. At my last house the previous owner put in a brick skirt at the end of the driveway, which I removed. There was one Brazil brick in there and I still have it.

      https://blog.jimgrey.net/2009/09/14/laboring-over-labor-day-weekend/

      Reply
      1. brandib1977 Avatar
        brandib1977

        That’s awesome! What a fun thing to look for. And Brazil is a neat little town. I spent a couple of hours there on my way through two years ago and met some nice people.

        Reply

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