The Beehive Brick Kiln - Lorton, Virginia - Ovens and Kilns on Waymarking.com

The last of nine kilns stands as an example for future generations on brick making. Using prison labor from the Lorton correctional facility, bricks were made while sitting in the kilns for days. Visitors cannot go into the kiln but can walk around it and look inside.


Plaque Text:
The Beehive Brick Kiln

From the turn of the century until the late 1960's nine kilns on this site were operated by inmates of the Lorton correctional facility.
The bricks were stacked inside this kiln are ready to be baked. For 4 to 5 days coal fires in each of the hearths were stoked around the clock. Hot air rose along the inside of the vaulted ceiling. Heat was sucked down through the bricks, between louvers in the floor, across an underground flue, and up the tall chimney which stands beside the kiln.
These kilns were a primary local source of the red brick used in constructing the historic durable buildings now seen throughout northern Virginia. Today beehive kilns are little used.

Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority

Type of Oven / Kiln: Brick Status: Historical Site Operating Dates: 1900 - 1960 Website: [Web Link] Additional Coordinate: Not Listed Additional Coordinate Description: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Tell of your visit, and post original photos of the waymark and yourself/gps if possible.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/13/2024 Cacher_Alec visited it