Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company

Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company
Industry Manufacturing
Predecessor Puget Sound Fire Clay Company, Denny Clay Company, Renton Brick Works
Successor Gladding, McBean
Founded 1892 in Seattle, Washington
Founder Arthur A. Denny
Defunct 1927 (1927)
Area served
 Pacific Northwest
Products Brick, pipe, terra cotta
Number of employees
 950 (1912[1])

Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company, founded in 1892 as Denny Clay Company, was the largest producer of brick pavers in the world by 1905. An industry journal said in 1909 "The clay products of this company have long been a standard for general excellence in Seattle and the entire northwest" and described its products:

"Four great factories are operated by this big Seattle concern, one being devoted exclusively to the manufacture of sewer pipe, with a capacity of two miles of sewer pipe daily; one devoted exclusively to the manufacture of terra cotta; another, the Renton factory, manufactures paving brick of high quality, while the Taylor plant embraces the new sewer-pipe and hollow-ware, as well as the dry-press and fire-brick factories."
— Brick, 1909[2]

The factory in Taylor, Washington, was near heavy glacial clay deposits in an 80-foot (24 m) high bank used to make the brick, and could produce 100,000 bricks a day in 1907.[3] The factory produced 58 million bricks in 1917[4] and it was closed when Taylor was condemned to become part of the Seattle watershed.[1] Hydraulic mining was used to extract clay from the hill.[5]

History

The company was founded by Seattle founder Arthur A. Denny in 1892 when he bought out predecessor company Puget Sound Fire Clay Company and named it Denny Clay Company. His son Orion O. Denny, the first settler boy born in Seattle, became a vice-president of the company and president in 1899 when Arthur died.[6] It merged with Renton Brick Works and was renamed Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company. The company was bought by Gladding, McBean in 1927 and ceased to exist as a separate operation.[7]

Legacy in Seattle architecture

Ornamental terra cotta from the Renton factory and other local factories is found in unusual abundance in buildings in Downtown Seattle, exemplified by the 1916 Arctic Building, and the University of Washington buildings designed by Bebb and Gould.[8][9]

Renton brickworks today

Foundations of the Renton brickworks

The location of the Renton plant (47°28′44″N 122°11′53″W / 47.479°N 122.198°W / 47.479; -122.198) is now a dog park in Renton on the Cedar River Trail, near its crossing with I-405.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 Aldredge & Booth 1986, p. 4.
  2. ↑ "A growing Seattle enterprise", Brick, 31, p. 194, November 1909
  3. ↑ "The paving brick industry at Puget Sound", Brick, 27, p. 33, July 1907
  4. ↑ Eastside Heritage Center 2006, p. 97.
  5. ↑ Denny-Renton Clay & Coal Company exterior showing workers at brick clay bed, Renton, n.d. (Stereoscopic photograph), Renton History Museum photographs, University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections, 2617
  6. ↑ Alan J. Stein (November 24, 2002), Denny, Orion O. (1853-1916), HistoryLink
  7. ↑ "Gladding, McBean & Co., and Denny-Renton Clay & Coal Co., Consolidate", Brick and Clay Record, Windsor and Kenfield, 70, p. 459, 1927
  8. ↑ Robert S. Purser (March 2, 1998), "Can Seattle's terra cotta legacy endure?", Puget Sound Business Journal
  9. ↑ Crowley 1998, p. 95.
  10. ↑ "History Lives Here" Walking Tour Centennial Markers: Renton Clay Works, City of Renton, retrieved 2016-11-29
Bibliography

External links

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