In 1883, when the telltale water-well drill came out of the mysterious hole on D Street (now Main Street) at the depth of 57 feet with coal in its jaws, a thrill of delight ran through the heart of every forward-looking citizen of the town.
With the discovery of coal, every man who had the future of Vandalia in their heart took a new grip on the wheel of progress.
Not many weeks after the day when the earth gave up what was hidden for centuries, S.D. Ely was making dirt fly on the future site of the “Old Salamander” (located west of the original town and south of the railroad tracks). At 65 feet, Sly verified what the water well drilled had discovered, a 36-inch vein of coal and beneath 10 feet of the “gray substance”—fire clay.
S.D. Ely had not pioneered in the coal business exceptionally long until he found the development of this great material too big a job for one man. He appealed to some of his fellow citizens to join him. All these men understood the hazards of the first year’s new enterprise but felt that the welfare of the town required them to do so, with an agreement on distribution of profits.
By 1886, the Audrain Manufacturing and Coal Co. was incorporated by S.D. Ely, G.H. Utterback, C.G. Daniel, J.H. Cootnz, H.T. Davis and others. Their beginnings were made in the manufacturing of pottery, tile and brick.
Gradually the brick took precedence. The workforce increased, both above and below the ground. More men employed meant more houses built, more merchandise sold and a general stimulation of business in Vandalia.
After a number of years of relentless efforts to build their brick business, investors realized they needed a worldlier marketer, so the plant was sold to the Mississippi Glass Co. in 1900.
At the time, the general output was 17,000 bricks per day and a storage capacity of 3 million. The average shipment was three railcars of bricks per day and one railcar of raw clay.
After the acquisition, C.B. Bishop was appointed General Manager of the firebrick plant and Ernest Detienne, foreman of the mineshaft. By 1908, the plant employed about 100 men, and their trade expanded over all of North America.
The Mississippi Glass Co. was satisfied with the success of the Vandalia plant, but in 1909 they were also looking for a location to build an even larger operation. The Glass Co. had several Missouri locations in mind for the new plant, and there were pre-negotiated leases for available land around Vandalia to do so, but those agreements were expiring in June of 1910.
Meetings in the Vandalia Hotel were held with Mississippi Glass Co. officials and Vandalia residents, including Lee Alford—president of the Vandalia Commercial Club. Mississippi Glass’s attorney, T.M. Pierce presented their plans for a potential new plant in Vandalia, including blueprints.
However, he wanted to understand the community’s level of support they would receive if this site was chosen. Peirce asked Alford and the other citizens attending the meeting to raise funds from local businesses and residents to measure this excitement. Pierce also added that this money raised would not go toward the building of the new plant, it would be re-invested in the community.
Before the meeting was adjourned $6,100 has been raised from those in attendance. By 6 p.m. that same day, $10,000 was raised and the Mississippi Glass Co. finalized their mineral rights leases. A deal was struck.
After all of this was completed, the Mississippi Glass Co. fell on hard times, along with the rest of the country and construction plans were delayed.
In 1915, the Mississippi Glass Co. was reorganized as the Walsh Fire Clay Products Co. Further delays were brought upon the plant with a lack of labor, resulting from the nation’s involvement in World War I. Despite these difficulties, the plant was finished, and the first brick came out of the kiln in July 1918. At this point, the new plant was turned over to W.H. Schewe as plant superintendent.
The new Walsh Plant ran at an extremely efficient rate, and in 1927, the plant transferred ownership to Harbison-Walker Refractories. The Harbison-Walker acquisition was regarded as the anchor for the future expansion of one of Vandalia’s leading industries and its success is still being seen in the community today.