KITTANNING BRICK AND FIRE CLAY COMPANY
The Kittanning Brick and Fire Clay Company was
organized in 1894, with a factory at Kittanning, Pa., and
has continuously manufactured face building brick since
that date, increasing the number and capacity of its plants
as the demand for this character of building brick expanded,
until they are now the largest manufacturers of face brick
in the United States. This company was the first to manu-
facture and introduce to the public a high grade vitreous
buff and gray, or white, building brick. The company
therefore rightfully claims to be the manufacturers of the
“Genuine Original Kittanning Brick.” The introduction
of an entirely new and untried product was not an easy
task in the early days, but the artistic and practical value
of a non-absorbent, light-colored face brick was soon recog-
nized by architects and builders.
The increasing use of Kittanning Brick and the general
demand for a similar high grade brick of slightly different
texture or color, led to a policy of expansion on the part
of the original company. Additional plants were built at
Kittanning, and the Martin Brick Company was organized.
A short time later, the Yingling-Martin Brick Company at
Johnsonsburg, Pa., and the Kittanning Buff and Grey
Brick Company, at West Mosgrove, Pa., were incorpor-
ated. The Pittsburgh-Callery Brick Company plant was
recently leased for a term of years, for the manufacture of
building tile and brick. In addition to the production of
all of these plants, the Martin Brick Company arranged
to purchase the yearly output of several high-grade brick
and tile plants, for distribution locally and throughout the
United States. This policy of expansion and quantity
production resulted in a marked decrease in the manu
*acturing overhead and selling cost per thousand brick.
“Kittanning Brick” and “Artbrick,” produced at John-
sonsburg, have not only successfully withstood the test
of time, but have also been subjected to every known
physical and chemical test by architects and government
engineers. These brick have frequently been substituted
for the more expensive limestone and marble, in both
