110 Years Ago
The December 23, 1915 Colorado Transcript reported that the Golden Pressed and Fire Brick plant, north of town, had been destroyed by fire.
The fire started at five o’clock, and so fast was the sweep of the flames that within a very few minutes the big buildings were a mass of embers. The blaze started in the engine room, as near as the night foreman, Jos. Maughan, could determine. The main fire hose was in this room, but he was unable to reach it, and the terrific wind which prevailed swept the flames to every part of the yard in an incredibly short time…. The…building was built of wood, with a corrugated iron roof. Great pieces of red-hot iron and blazing timbers were picked up and hurled in every direction by the wind and heat, and the employes of the plant were unable to do anything except stand and watch the destruction.
This was not the company’s first fire. The article recalled that the plant had previously burned in 1901. The company was originally located on 8th Street, along the Colorado Central tracks. That plant had burned in 1895.
According to Golden Rocks: The Geology and Mining History of Golden, Colorado by Donna S. Anderson and Paul B. Haseman, the company remained in operation until 1963. The location is memorialized by Brickyard Road, Brickyard Circle, and the Brickyard House.
