Kingston, Ulster County

The Hutton Brick Company operated in Kingston, New York from 1865 to 1980. The company was originally founded through the partnership of William Hutton and John Cordts, at first operating as Cordts and Hutton. Hutton was largely a silent partner, focusing on his nearby lumber business, while Cordts rant the brick making company. With Cordts retirement in 1887, and his death in 1891, William Hutton became the sole owner, and the company changed names to the Hutton Brick Company. The Hutton Brick Company operated from 1890 to 1980. Over its lifetime the company was hugely successful, manufacturing 16 million bricks in 1880, often employing over 100 men, and becoming the largest brick operation in the world by 1900.

The brick-making companies of the Hudson River Valley, with an abundance of clay and easy water access to the New York City market, manufactured tens of millions of bricks on an annual basis, making it in some estimations the brick-making capital of the world. At its height there were over 125 brick manufacturing companies in the valley, employing 8,000-10,000 people, and supplying the essential building material for the fast-growing metropolis. Over the course of the 20th century the brick industry entered a long decline “due to several reasons including new techniques of construction, such as steel framing and poured concrete, and a slowing population growth in New York City.”

For more information about the Hutton Brick Company or the industry at large, check out the well-researched and informative book titled The Great Hudson River Brick Industry by George V. Hutton.