“Sustained By Clay” Theme Will Premiere at 17th Annual LCBD Day

Event Will Move to Shawnee’s Historic Main Street

SHAWNEE, OHIO-“Sustained by Clay” is the newly adopted theme for the Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council a non-profit organization that shares the history, natural environment, culture and contemporary civic life of this boom-to-bust coal mining microregion located at the corners of Hocking, Perry, Athens and Morgan Counties in southeastern Ohio. The theme will premiere at the 17th Annual Little Cities of Black Diamonds Day, set for Noon-5PM on Sunday, October 16th in the historic district of the southern Perry County village of Shawnee. The event is moving to Shawnee to take advantage of and showcase the recent opening of the Tecumseh Commons on the first floor of the Tecumseh Theater and the recently installed Hocking Valley Miner bronze statue located in a new park next to theater. Additional bronze signage that tells the story of Shawnee will be unveiled on the day of the event.

Shawnee is one of four National Register of Historic Places districts in the Little Cities microregion, joining Haydenville in Hocking County and Nelsonville and Hocking (Eclipse Company Town) in Athens County. These districts, excepting Eclipse, all demonstrate the lasting impact of the clay industry on the legendary Hocking Valley Coal Fields where brick and clay tile products were mined from the abundant deposits of clay found underground along with coal, oil and iron ore in this mineral rich region. The opening of brick and clay products plants in many of the boom mining towns during the Hocking Valley Coal Boom Era (1870-1925) further added to their rapid growth, with many of the plants remaining open and contributing to the economy of the long-distressed region well into the 19th Century.

The production of paver and sidewalk bricks first established the region as a well-known brick producer, with the products used in streets throughout the region, state and beyond. As paving bricks were replaced by other road surfaces, the region’s clay products industry continued to thrive with the production of structural bricks and clay tile for sewers and underground conduits. The last brick plant to close in the area was at Diamond in Hocking County during the 1990’s. However, clay tile products are still being made in the Hocking Valley with clay sewer pipe production at Logan Clay in Logan and clay roofing tile at Ludowici-Celadon in New Lexington still employing area citizens. Both of these companies will have exhibits of their products at Little Cities of Black Diamonds Day. Products made from clay not only extended the economic boom of this boom-to-bust coal mining region, they have sustained the built environment of many of the mining towns of the region and, when restored, provide an asset for the microregion’s efforts to reimage itself around its rich history. Shawnee’s West Main Street and the Tecumseh Theater building showcase iron clay structural bricks from the nearby Rock Run brick plant which featured specks of iron that gave the bricks a distinctive look. There are also two early brick buildings in the town made from “soft bricks” dried in the sun on-site before the technology of coal fired kilns could reach the temperature necessary for structurally sound bricks. In nearby New Straitsville most of the remaining downtown structures are made from bricks produced at the New Straitsville Impervious Brick Company. These buildings went up after fires in 1913 and 1923 burned quickly-built wooden buildings from the boom town’s start during the 1870’s. Haydenville is the most legendary of brick and tile communities in the region, and one of two company-owned towns built around the clay products industry in the Little Cities.

At Haydenville the brick company houses, company store and company built church served as a virtual catalog of products for the brick and clay products made at the Haydenville Mining and Manufacturing plant there, later known as National Fireproofing Company (NATCO). Among the treasures here are decorative clay chimneys and sewer pipe installed as decorative elements in the company houses. Also scattered throughout the town and region are the hollow glazed Haydenville Block, which is of similar size and is the forerunner of modern day cinder block. These blocks were also used for building silos shipped to nearby farm markets in the Midwestern states. Most of the company houses at Haydenville are intact today and attract visitors regularly from U. S. Rt. 33 that bypasses the town south of Logan. The other brick company town in the region was located at nearby Greendale , where the once thriving brick operations abruptly closed during the Depression after a 30 year run. Operated by legendary industrialist Niles Kachelmacher, the primary product made at Greendale was “rug-faced brick”, a popular construction brick used in the early 1900’s whose rough front was created by dragging steel prongs over the face of the clay before it went to the kiln for firing. The region’s most abundant and well known paving brick operations were at Nelsonville, where today the only remaining brick kilns in the region are located in a small park along St. Rt. 278 on the outskirts of the town. Nelsonville, Hallwood, Hocking Valley and Athena pavers were made here as well as “world famous” Star Bricks, which were utilized in sidewalks here, around the nation and beyond, still visible on Public Square in this Athens County community. The Star Brick design has become a symbol and logo for the town’s historic preservation and arts renaissance in recent years. Public Square not only features Star Bricks, the buildings surrounding the square feature both early “soft bricks” and structural bricks made at various local brick plants.

Brick plants in the Sunday Creek Valley of the Little Cities microregion were located at Corning, Glouster and Trimble, all makers of paving brick that were stamped to indicate the name of the plant or community where it was made. Among these were Lincoln Block (Corning), Wassal (Glouster) and Trimble (Trimble). Trimble lays claim to producing a portion of the brick that was used in the construction of the Indianapolis Speedway. An exhibit featuring the various clay products of the region, past and present, will be located in the Harigle Garage Building on West Main Street during Little Cities of Black Diamonds Day, and will include a wide selection of photos as well. Special presentations by representatives of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Ceramic Center, and Ludawici-Celadon tile plant will be also made in the exhibit area during the course of the afternoon. A storefront on East Main Street will feature a sale of modern day art created from clay. The clay exhibit will join other venues at various locations on Shawnee’s Main Street providing exhibits ranging from local historians and history groups, civic and natural environment groups, and artisans. Live music and food will be available in the Tecumseh Commons on East Main Street. The Little Cities microregion is made up of a series of boom mining towns that appeared overnight in the late 1800’s during the great Hocking Valley Coal Boom era. The Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council was established in 1995 to share the story of this region as part of efforts to improve the quality of life and promote geotourism in the remnant coal towns of the region, now surrounded by Ohio’s only national forest, the Wayne National Forest. Little Cities of Black Diamonds Day is free and open to the public, although donations are solicited at the door. Entertainment and graphic design support for the event comes from the Ohio Arts Council. For more information about the event, or to loan items for exhibits, visit www.littlecitiesofblackdiamonds.org or contact the Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council at 740-394-3011 or via e-mail at lcbd@ohiohills.com. Radio PSA’s/Calendars/Briefs The 17th Annual Little Cities of Black Diamonds Day will take place from Noon-5PM on Sunday, October 16, 2011 in the historic district of the southern Perry County community of Shawnee. The theme for this year’s event is Little Cities: Sustained by Clay celebrating the brick and clay products industry that complimented the coal industry during the Hocking Valley Coal Boom Era. The event features live music, exhibits, presentations, the Southern Perry County Quilt Show and food.

For more information visit www.littlecitiesofblackdiamonds.org or contact the Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council at 740-394-3011 or via e-mail at lcbd@ohiohills.com. Upcoming News Releases News Release # 2 will feature announcement of additional bronze signage, including an Ohio Historic Marker celebrating the Knights of Labor Hall in Shawnee” to be unveiled in Shawnee on LCBD Day. (Released on Thursday, October 6) News Release #3 will be the final summary news release for the event and feature musicians and speakers who perform at the event. (Released on Friday, October 7)