In 1907, Morley D. Snyder started the A. Snyder and Company brick yard located two miles east of Gilbert Plains on the north side of the railway tracks, on land purchased from the Crittenden family. By 1912, the Snyder yard had a number of kilns in operation and each was able to burn 250,000 bricks at one time. Each individual burning lasted six to nine days and the brick they produced was reddish or buff-coloured. Snyder brick was used in the construction of the Brickburn Consolidated School No. 998. Snyder shut operations down during the First World War, due to labour shortages, wartime restrictions and the downturn of the local construction business. After the war, in May 1919, he reorganized the firm as the Gilbert Plains Brick Company. It was operational by June and the brick yard survived until 1922 when its incorporation was cancelled. It continued to function as M. Snyder and Sons until 1929 when the plant closed due to the Great Depression and never reopened. Snyder pursued other business interests in the Gilbert Plains area until his death in July 1948.
Manitoba Brick Yards by Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch Report, May 2010.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 May 2020
Manitoba Bricks and Blocks
A history of the manufacture of bricks and concrete blocks in Manitoba, based on research by Randy Rostecki for the Manitoba Historic Resources Branch and supplemented by information compiled by Gordon Goldsborough of the Manitoba Historical Society. .
Bricks | Blocks | People | Glossary
We thank Hugh Arklie, Gordon McDiarmid, and Heather Bertnick for their help in the development of this online guide. Financial support of the Thomas Sill Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Additional information was provided by Ina Bramadat, David Butterfield, Neil Christoffersen, Frank Korvemaker, Ed Ledohowski, Ken Storie, Lynette Stow, and Tracey Winthrop-Meyers.
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Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch, Gordon Goldsborough, and Manitoba Historical Society.
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