Town of Claysburg, Claysburg, Blair County, PA

See also HABS PA-5973 for additional information on the refractories industry.
Significance: The village of Claysburg more than doubled in size when the Standard Refractories Company built a refractory brickyard on its northern edge in 1913. The company built a total of 105 houses for its workers, but many found lodging in houses built by local investors. Claysburg is an example of a company town in which local residents contributed to the town's building boom by building a substantial number of rental houses for the influx of workers. The Claysburg brick plant was taken over by General Refractories Company in 1922. Life and employment in Claysburg continued to center around the brickyard until it closed in 1987.
Survey number: HABS PA-5970
Building/structure dates: 1839 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1913 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1917-1926 Subsequent Work