Medalta Kilns - Medicine Hat, Alberta
Posted by: BruceS
N 50° 01.899 W 110° 38.996
12U E 525071 N 5542208
Historic beehive kilns in Medicine Hat,Alberta.
Waymark Code: WM2DXF
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 10/17/2007
Views: 49
Medicine Hat Clay Industries
During the first half of the 20th century, Medicine Hat was the centre of
the clay products industry in Western Canada. The industry was built on
three essential elements: the presence of local clays suitable for both brick
and pottery, a ready supply of natural gas for firing the kilns, and the arrival
of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883. The first brick plant was built
in 1885 at the foot of the clay escarpment. By the end of the First World
War a string of factories had sprung up along the 1.2 kilometre length of the
railway spur line. Pottery for domestic and commercial use, ceramic
building tiles, sewer pipe, and porcelain insulators were made here and sold
across Canada. By the 1960s the firs of these plants shut down and by 1990
only brick continued to be produced. Many of the original buildings with
their kilns and machinery have, however, survived. Together they preserve
a unique industrial landscape that speaks to the importance of the industry to
the economic development of Western Canada. ~ text of plaque