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All the United States Ohio Nelsonville Nelsonville Brick Park

Nelsonville Brick Park

This park pays homage to the region's rich industrial history of brick making.

Nelsonville, Ohio

Added By
Brandon Parsons
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Inside one of the intact kilns.   MrPExplores / Atlas Obscura User
  KRenee / Atlas Obscura User
  KRenee / Atlas Obscura User
Inside one of the brick kilns   TravelwithAustin / Atlas Obscura User
Looking up the brick kiln chimney.   MrPExplores / Atlas Obscura User
The entrance to the collapsed kiln.   MrPExplores / Atlas Obscura User
Nelsonville Brick Park   https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/com...
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About

By the mid-1800s, the United States was well on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse. Raw materials, booming industries, and new technologies were making the country an industrialized force to be reckoned with. In Ohio, these innovations took root and grew in Hocking Valley, located in the southeastern corner of the state.

Bricks for paving and construction were crafted in this region. One of the main centers for brick making was the town of Nelsonville. By the 1880s, the biggest brick company in the area, Nelsonville Brick, was crafting 25 million bricks a year, baking them in large beehive-shaped ovens. The company slowly expanded over the next few decades and into the 20th-century.

By World War I there was less demand for brick as concrete became more prevalent. Nelsonville Brick closed around 1937, and most of the other brick factories in the area were defunct shortly thereafter during the 1940s.

Most of the remnants of the old brick kilns were torn down, except a few that were left to slowly crumble. In 1979, a decision was made to restore several of the old kilns and revitalize the area into a small park to commemorate Nelsonville's brick history. In 1980, the city created Brick Park on the grounds of the former Nelsonville Brick Company.

Inside the park is one fully intact kiln which can be entered and photographed, a collapsed kiln, two sizable chimneys, and a large commemoration plaque made of Nelsonville brick. Located on a very quiet and bucolic road on the outskirts of town, the Brick Park makes for a short but interesting historical walk-through. 

Related Tags

Parks Industrial History & Culture

Know Before You Go

Park on the opposite side of the road, walk across the road and explore. Be careful as you enter the kilns due to the low doorways.

Community Contributors

Added By

MrPExplores

Edited By

jonathancarey, TravelwithAustin, KRenee

  • jonathancarey
  • TravelwithAustin
  • KRenee

Published

August 3, 2020

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Nelsonville Brick Park
580 Lake Hope Dr
Nelsonville, Ohio, 45764
United States
39.459046, -82.247954
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Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ohio

Ohio

United States

Places 232
Stories 22

Nearby Places

Hope Iron Furnace

New Plymouth, Ohio

miles away

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miles away

Athens Lunatic Asylum

Athens, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ohio

Ohio

United States

Places 232
Stories 22

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