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When the chimney of the Chelsea Yacht Club clubhouse was built, the mason who laid up the chimney laid several courses with the names of the bricks facing out. It has been suggested that this was done as a tribute to the brickyards that had furnished the bricks.
The accompanying photographs record the various trademarks as well as the granite block which indicates that the chimney was built in 1910 (86G20). People at the club knew nothing about the origin of the bricks. However, knowledge that this area was once a center of brick making led to inquiry at the Newburgh Public Library. There the rare book room has a pamphlet written by Charles Ellery Hall (Ref. 666.737 Hall). Its title is "The Story of Brick," and the body of the pamphlet was reprinted by Daniel De Noyelles from an article in the "Building Trades Employers' Association Bulletin" (150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, July 1905). The pamphlet also contains a list of the brick manufacturers in the Hudson Valley in 1910. Moore Printing, Newburgh printed the pamphlet.
The second photograph (86G4) shows bricks from the Rose Brick Co. In 1905 John B. Rose was president and had 800 employees and the largest brickyard in the Hudson Valley. It was located in Roseton and turned out 75 million brick in 1905.
The third picture (86G12) shows "JJJ" which is the trademark of the Jova Brick Works which adjoined the Rose Brick Co.'s plant. H.J.Jova was in charge in 1905, and the plant produced 33 million brick in that year. Many club members remember the Jovas sailing Lightnings across the river to take part in Chelsea Yacht Club races.
The fourth picture (86G13) shows bricks from the Arrow Yards. In 1905 this brickyard. located on Danskammer Point, was operated by Mr. E. Maitland Armstrong. It was the yard's first year, and it produced 5 million brick in that year.
The fifth picture (86G17) shows bricks from the Dennings Point Brick Works which was founded by McLean & Co. in 1881, the same year that Carthage Ice Yacht Club was started. In 1904 the brickyard was owned by the Ramsdell Estate, employed 150 men, and sold 15 million brick. It was located on the former Presqu'ile which had been renamed Dennings Point in honor of Adjutant-General William Denning of George Washington's staff.
The sixth picture (86G14) of "Brockway" bricks reminds one of the Brockway buoy, one of the club's racing marks, and of the Brockway family among whose members were H. Mortimer Brockway and Dr. Hobart M. Brockway, who was commodore in 1958. The 1910 list locates the Brockway Brick Co. as being in Fishkill, New York. Fishkill Landing was a village in the Town of Fishkill until 1914 when it was incorporated into the City of Beacon.
The seventh picture brings us closer to home. In 1910 a brickyard was operated by F. Watrous in Chelsea, NY.
The "Paye" bricks in the eighth picture (86G15) are from the brickyard run by Captain John Paye who died in 1909. He was a Hudson River sloop captain who retired to make bricks (Fran Laffin, letter Oct. 30, 1989).
The "EHBCo." bricks in the ninth picture (86G18) are from the East Hudson Brick Co. (private advice from Dr. John Ellison, Oct. 29, 1993).
Finally, the "R&S" bricks in the last picture (86G16) are probably from the Redner and Strang brickyard (private advice from Joan VanVoorhis, City of Beacon historian, that a brickyard of that name was operating in 1876 ( Dec. 9, 1991)).
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