Historic Sites of Manitoba: Leary Brickworks (Learys, Municipality of Lorne)

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Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Leary Brickworks is a small brick factory (now closed but clearly visible from the public road nearby) tucked into the banks of the South Boyne River in the Pembina Hills, just west of Roseisle in the Rural Municipality of Lorne. From 1901 to 1905, it was built and operated under the name of the Boyne Valley Brick Works Company by George Leary and partners including Hugh John Macdonald. Under Leary’s supervision, the plant produced common and dry-pressed bricks at a rate of up to 12,000 a day, obtaining their distinctive salmon-red colour when the grey-coloured shale from which they were made was exposed to high temperatures in a kiln. In time, the partners had plans to expand into commercial cement, earthenware, and pottery.

The necessary combination of shale (quarried from a riverbank immediately south of the brickyard), water and wood for fuel were all located here, as well as a railway siding to move the finished product to market. In 1905, the firm became the Dominion Pressed Brick Company, with R. P. Roblin as a partner. In 1910, the Leary family assumed sole proprietorship of the brickyard, under the name of Learys Brick Company, and made and shipped bricks throughout Manitoba. Buildings constructed of Leary bricks during this period included the Albert School, Brooklands School, the first Kelvin High School, the older part of the Fort Osborne Barracks, and some parts of the Manitoba Legislative Building.

In 1917, the brickyard was forced to close due to the scarcity of labour and business, both conditions arising from the First World War that was raging at the time. Leary’s son William, a decorated Canadian war veteran, returned to the area and took up farming, meanwhile refurbishing the old brickyard with the intention of reopening it someday. In 1947, William Allen “Bill” Leary (1892-1953) reopened the plant, which had stood idle for 30 years, and operated it successfully for six years. Regrettably, his plans were cut short when he died of complications following an injury in March 1953. Winnipeg contractor Erven Tallman attempted to resume operation in 1962, with bricks made under the Leary name, but he was unable to produce a satisfactory product, and many specimens of that failed batch survive today. Ownership of the site reverted to the Learys but the facility was never used again, leaving vacant an intriguing site that is both beautiful and evocative of the pioneer era.

Remaining from the glory days are a towering brick chimney, a massive beehive kiln for firing loads of some 80,000 “green” bricks at a time (at temperatures up to 1800°F), a three-storey-tall drying shed, and a building housing a shale crusher and brick press. All are now in an advanced state of deterioration, having been unused for over 50 years. This site is on private property and trespassers are at risk from unstable buildings and concealed hazards.

Permission from the property owners is required to visit this site. Those wishing to request permission should contact the MHS Webmaster.

Photos & Coordinates

An idealized sketch of the Leary Brickworks, from the company letterhead, when it was in operation between 1910 and 1917 Source: Ed Ledohowski. Leary Brickworks (circa 1950) Source: Ina Bramadat A worker monitors the 12- to 16-day process of firing freshly made bricks from atop the beehive kiln (May 1947) Source: Ina Bramadat The former Leary Brickworks from the site gate showing, from left to right, the brick press building, drying shed, beehive kiln, and kiln chimney (circa 2010) Source: Gordon Brown The former Leary Brickworks showing, from left to right, the kiln chimney, beehive kiln, brick press building, and drying shed at right (October 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Leary Brickworks showing, from left to right, the kiln chimney, beehive kiln, brick press building, and drying shed at right (May 2019) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Entrance to beehive kiln (September 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Interior of the beehive kiln showing the grated floor and brick wheelbarrow at right (October 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Brick press (September 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina A proposed drier/conveyor used in an unsuccessful attempt by contractor Erven Tallman to resume operation in 1962, now standing on the partially-collapsed bank of the South Boyne River (October 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Warning sign at the Leary Brickworks (October 2020) Source: Stow family An early moulded brick from the Leary facility, with the Learys name stamped into the “green” shale before it was fired in the kiln (October 2013) Source: Ina Bramadat Early pressed brick from the Leary facility, circa 1911. The foreground brick was salvaged from the former Brooklands School building in Winnipeg during its demolition (February 2009) Source: Ina Bramadat A later dry-pressed, single-frog brick from the Leary Brickyard (circa 1953) Source: Ina Bramadat The characteristic salmon-red Leary bricks in profile (circa 1953) Source: Ina Bramadat A brick from the failed Tallman operation of the Leary Brickyard (1962) Source: Lynette Stow Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.47723, W98.42683 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Leary Brickworks, Learys, Manitoba by David Neufeld
Manitoba History, Number 20, Autumn 1990

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Edith Leary Memorial Plaque (Learys, RM of Lorne)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Edrans Brickworks (RM of North Cypress)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Lac du Bonnet Brick Plant (Lac du Bonnet)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Leary School No. 1540 (RM of Lorne)

MHS Resources: Manitoba Bricks and Blocks: Leary’s Brick Company

Sources:

“Manitoba Gazette,” Winnipeg Morning Telegram, 1 April 1901.

“Boyne Valley Brick Works” by Hugh J. Borthwick, The Chronicle, 1901.

“Re-opening of Leary’s brick plant re-establishes district industry,” Dufferin Leader, 8 January 1948.

“Bricks from the Roseisle Hills,” Dufferin Leader, 9 July 1948, page 2.

We thank Ina Bramadat, Lynette and Murray Stow, Gordon Brown, Ed Ledohowski, and Rose Kuzina for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Sheila Grover.

Page revised: 13 June 2021

Historic Sites of Manitoba This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only. SEARCH the collection Browse lists of: Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner. Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes. Send corrections and additions to this page to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca. Search Tips | Suggest an Historic Site | FAQ Help us keep history alive!