Medalta Kilns - Medicine Hat, Alberta - Ovens and Kilns on Waymarking.com

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