Clay Spur Bentonite Plant & Camp, Garage-Machine Shop, Clay Spur Siding on Burlington Northern Railroad, Osage, Weston County, WY

Significance: The Clay Spur Bentonite Plant and Camp is associated with the early 20th century bentonite mining industry in Wyoming and the United States. The Clay Spur Bentonite District was the center of the pioneer Wyoming bentonite industry and remained the premier Wyoming producing district until reserves began to dwindle in the 1950s. The plant embodies the distinctive engineering technology of the bentonite industry. The camp also reflects early twentieth century company town architecture with simple buildings and floor plans that could be quickly and cheaply constructed and adapted to many different uses. The garage-machine shop is a long one-story wood frame structure, 24 feet east-west by 81 feet north-south, with a gable roof. This is one of the oldest intact buildings in the plant area and was built prior to 1930. The roof and exterior walls are covered with corrugated tin sheeting. The interior is divided into two large segments, with the larger segment on the north. The west elevation is divided into six sets of double-leaf wood garage doors. The interior has a dirt floor and numerous bins for wooden parts.
Survey number: HAER WY-23-L