Machinery From First Factory in Athens
Athens, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established 1882 (at site 1.5 mi. NE) by local planter H. M. Morrison, to make building brick. Total original machinery consisted of this press and plunger. Press was hand-operated. A mule-drawn swivel ran the plunger, mixing clay dug at the plant site. C. H. Coleman bought into firm in 1891; after Morrison's death in 1899 he became sole owner. Harbison-Walker Refractories Company bought business in 1940; continued making Coleman brick and enriching economy until closing in 1968. These machines are a permanent loan to city of Athens from Harbison-Walker.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1882 local planter H. M. Morrison started Athens's first factory to make building brick, equipped with nothing more than this hand-operated press and a mule-drawn plunger that mixed clay dug on site. C. H. Coleman bought into the firm in 1891 and became sole owner after Morrison's death, and the plant kept turning out "Coleman brick" for decades. Harbison-Walker Refractories acquired the business in 1940 and ran it until 1968.
Why it matters
The simple press marks the humble, animal-powered beginnings of Texas industry, showing how local manufacturing grew from a one-machine operation.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the early 1880s, East Texas was still overwhelmingly agricultural. Henderson County's economy rested on farming, and most goods more complicated than what a household or local craftsman could make came from far away. Starting a factory, even a small one, was a real step toward a more diverse local economy.
Brick was in growing demand. Towns across Texas were replacing wooden buildings, which burned easily, with sturdier brick storefronts, courthouses and homes. The clay deposits in parts of East Texas made local brickmaking a natural business, and manufacturing often started exactly this way: close to the raw material, with simple equipment and animal power.
Over the following decades, American industry grew enormously in scale. Small local firms were often bought by larger national companies. That is how this Athens brickworks eventually ended up in the hands of Harbison-Walker Refractories, a major national maker of heat-resistant brick.
People & events
The factory's founder, H. M. Morrison, was a local planter. In 1882 he set up a works about a mile and a half northeast of the present site to make building brick. His entire original equipment was this press and plunger. The press was worked by hand, and a mule walking a swivel drove the plunger, mixing clay dug right at the plant. From that modest setup came Athens's first factory.
In 1891 C. H. Coleman bought into the business. After Morrison died in 1899, Coleman became sole owner, and his name stayed with the product. The plant's output became known as Coleman brick, a local name with lasting staying power.
In 1940 Harbison-Walker Refractories Company bought the business. It kept making Coleman brick and supporting the local economy until the plant closed in 1968. The machines that started it all are now on permanent loan to the city of Athens from Harbison-Walker, preserved as a link to the town's industrial beginnings.
Its place in the American story
The Industrial Revolution is often pictured in terms of giant mills and steel plants, but much of it began exactly like this, with a local entrepreneur, a single machine and a mule. In the late nineteenth century, small factories spread across the rural South and West. They turned local resources into manufactured goods and gave farm towns their first taste of industrial work.
The firm's history also traces a familiar American arc. It passed from local founder to local successor, then to a national corporation, and finally closed as industries consolidated and changed. Athens's brickworks lasted 86 years, long enough to shape generations of local livelihoods.
Brick itself is part of the story. It made towns more permanent and more fire-resistant, and much of the architecture of American main streets from this era was built with it. Surviving machinery like this press is rare, because most early equipment was scrapped as technology moved on.
If you visit
The press and plunger are displayed in Athens, the seat of Henderson County in East Texas. Take a close look at the machinery. It is simple enough that you can work out how it operated: the hand-worked press, and the plunger a mule turned as it walked its circle, mixing clay. Imagine the mud, the sweat and the patience it took to turn out brick by brick.
While you are in town, look around at older brick buildings. It is a good reminder that local industry once supplied much of what a town was built from, although you should not assume any particular building used Coleman brick unless it is documented.
Athens makes a pleasant stop on an East Texas road trip, with piney woods and lakes nearby. The marker is a short, rewarding visit, especially for families curious about how things were made before electricity and assembly lines.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · H. M. Morrison
- · C. H. Coleman
Themes & tags
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