Harbison-Walker Refractories Company

Along the northwest edge of Mount Union, on the east flank of Jacks Mountain, sits a refractory brick complex built in two adjacent works. The W.H. Haws Company of Johnstown began the plant in 1898-99, and in 1900 Harbison and Walker of Pittsburgh acquired the entire property. It was the first works in the United States built exclusively for refractory brick manufacture. The No. 2 works was begun in 1903 and completed in 1905, and the two plants were designed to run independently. By 1910 the combined operation employed more than 600 men and could produce 150,000 bricks a day. Two railroads served the site: the East Broad Top supplied coal for the kilns and boilers, and the Pennsylvania Railroad handled shipments. The district is regarded as a good example of a refractory complex because it keeps its original storage sheds, production buildings and offices, and its kilns remain connected by underground heating tunnels. Its ganister rock supply and its early origin give it local importance.