Actually, Thomas Freeman and James S. Porter were manufacturing fire brick on a large scale at New Cumberland, West Virginia as early as 1830-32.  

Silica refractory brick cemented with clay bonding came considerably later, the 1870s in Ohio.

Jim Murphy

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Genheimer <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, August 7, 2006 9:22 am
Subject: Re: Query about cementitious firebrick (?)

> Just a note.  Refractory bricks were being manufactured in the 
> U.S. long before the end of the 19th century.  Excavation of a 
> yellow ware kiln site in Covington, Kentucky indicate (numerous 
> stamped bricks recovered) that they were being made by 
> manufacturers in St. Louis, West Virginia, and other portions of 
> the Ohio Valley as early as the 1840s and 1850s.
> 
> Bob Genheimer
> George Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology
> Cincinnati Museum Center
> 1301 Western Avenue
> Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
> 513-455-7161
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ron
> May
> Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 4:43 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Query about cementitious firebrick (?)
> 
> 
> Karl Gurcke authored a book about bricks, in which he treats fire 
> brick.  The 
> yellow-tan brick does not melt in the fireplace fires and often 
> resists  
> industrial furnace temperatures. Just yesterday, I saw a group of 
> really odd  
> shapes lining a 1908 garden at the U.S. Navy Fuel Farm in San 
> Diego. Those were  
> specially-made for some sort of pipe structure. The earliest were 
> made in other 
> countries, but by the end of the 19th century, American factories 
> produced 
> fire  brick. The Los Angeles Pressed Brick factory produced much 
> of what is 
> seen in  southern California fireplaces. But I expect local 
> factories could be 
> found  across America by the 1920s.
> 
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
> 
> 
> Are you eager for some family entertainment? Then check out our 
> summer OMNIMAX duo. BEAVERS explores the remarkable life and 
> habitat of one of nature's greatest engineers. The film follows 
> the story of a family of beavers as they grow, play, build and 
> transform the world around them. Also playing, GREECE: SECRETS OF 
> THE PAST is a sweeping journey back to the Bronze and Golden Ages 
> of ancient Greece. This is Classic OMNIMAX. For information, 
> tickets or to become a member of Cincinnati Museum Center, call 
> (513) 287-7000, (800) 733-2077 or visit www.cincymuseum.org.
>