Bricks

Bricks most often are made of clay but can also be formed of shale, silicate, concrete, ashe or shaped stone. The oldest shaped building bricks date back over 9,500 years.

For years brick has been a major building material in this region of North Carolina mainly due to the abundant availability of clay–mostly red clay. That’s the reason the soil in this area has such a reddish color and why it bakes so hard in periods of high heat and dryness.

Brick construction is known for being well built–so much so that the term’s been used for other meanings and even a popular song by the group the “Commodores.”

Brick House (lyrics)

…She’s a brick—-house
The lady’s stacked and that’s a fact,
ain’t holding nothing back…

As a young lad I use to go on adventure walks and would sometimes visit a site in the woods perhaps three quarters of a mile from my family’s home where there existed an old brick pit. The pit was a round depression 30 feet in diameter and perhaps 3 feet deep where clay was dug for making bricks. It was located in a piece of bottom land near a couple of creeks/streams with abundant clay. I remember there were even a few very old pieces of brick pieces laying about.

I asked, but no one seemed to know when this brick pit was created and last used. Judging from the responses of people I asked and physical evidence it was no later then the early 1900s or late 1800s.

The brick highway bridge in the photo is located near Williamsburg, VA. I find it interesting and somewhat fascinating that a builder can take a square or rectangular material and create pleasing smooth curved lines–such as found in this bridge. Suddenly the lowly brick become something greater.