The idea which formerly prevailed here that good brick could not be manufactured in Winona is now demonstrated to have been a fallacious one. Mr. Fockens, who has a kiln in the Burns valley, has shown us some specimens of his manufacture which apparently possess every good quality that a perfect brick should have. Mr. F. has taken especial pains to produce a good article, and we believe he has a length succeeded. At any rate, it is acknowledged by good judges that his present supply of bricks are superior to anything hitherto manufactured in this vicinity. To persons who contemplate building, this will be most satisfactory information. (The Winona Daily Republican, Tuesday, October 6, 1863, Page 3)
The Brick Business. The brick yard in Gilmore Valley, which for the past four years has been under the ownership and management of Mr. Philip Biesanz, is turning out some excellent building material and is doing a good business. It is supplied with a good clay bank, which was originally opened by Messrs. Blodgett and Foot, who put in two Empire State brick machines, each of which has a capacity of turning out 22,000 bricks per day. A large new shed has been erected the present season for the protection of the bricks while being placed in the kiln, and every care possible is taken by Mr. Biesanz from the time the bricks are moulded to keep them dry and free from exposure that might injure the quality. He employs a force of ten men, which can be readily increased as the trade demands. Last week a kiln of 60,000 bricks was burned out, while there are in the yard and partially laid up in arches ready to burn from 140,000 to 150,000 more. The utmost care is required in burning the kiln, which takes six or seven days; in fact, the entire business is one demanding a good deal of skill, close attention and a thorough acquaintance with the trade. The market price for brick is at present from $6.50 to $7.00 per thousand in Winona. The Republican representative is indebted to Mr. Charles Butler for his kind attention in pointing out the interesting features of this valuable industry. (The Winona Daily Republican, Friday, June 14, 1878, Page 3)
O. Biesanz, west of Winona, thirteen hundred thousand per year; sells at $8.00 per thousand; wood $4.00 per cord; uses the loam of the country, which there has no limy concretions. (The Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, Volume I, 1872-1882, N. H. Winchell and Warren Upham, Johnson, Smith & Harrison, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1884, Page 266)
Philip Biesanz, of Winona, Minn., thinks that prospects are bright for a good building season this year, and the city will pave one mile on Broadway. The sales of ’96, compared with recent years, were about one quarter less. Smooth, square red sand pallet brick is made at the Biesanz yards. The colors preferred by builders are dark gray and cherry red. Prices last year were: Kiln run, $6; veneer, $8; sidewalk brick, $8. There is very little demand for roofing tile in Winona and none at all for hollow blocks. P. Biesanz has, during the past two years, put in the pallet system, and no longer suffers loss, as in former years, by rains or crooked brick through the unevenness of yard dumping. (Brick, Windsor & Kenfield Publishing Company, Chicago, IL, January 1897, Volume VI, Number 1, Page 8)
Phillip Biesanz has started up his brick yard at Gilmore Valley, Winona, Minn. (Clay Record, Clay Record Publishing Company, Chicago, IL, May 27, 1899, Volume XIV, Number 10, Page 23)
Winona. Brick Manufacturing – Biesans (Biesanz) Stone Co. Second Inspection 1900. Adults – Male - 33. Total No. Employed - 33. No. Hours Labor Each Day - 10. Average No. Weeks Employed in Year – 26. (Seventh Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor of the State of Minnesota, 1899-1900, Pioneer Press Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1900, Page 106)
For Sale. One Anderson Soft Mud Brick Machine with 12 ft. Pug Mill attached. In good condition, with about $50.00 worth of extras. $125.00 takes it. Address, Philip Biesanz, Winona, Minn. (Brick and Clay Record, Windsor & Kenfield Publishing Company, Chicago, IL, December 1, 1901, Volume XV, Number 6, Page 38)
Page 220. Winona. Brick and Tile – 1903. Established in Year – Illegible.
Page 221. 1904. Total Number Wage Earners - 25. Adult Males (Excluding Office Force) - 25. Number of Hours Each Day – 10. Number of Hours Each Week – 60. Average Number Weeks Operated Last Year - 25. Number Employed between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. - 1. Number Persons Regularly Employed on Sunday - 2. Changes in Name of Firm or New Inspections – Phil. Biesanz. (Ninth Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor of the State of Minnesota, 1903-1904, Volume 2, Great Western Printing Company, 1904)
Shortage of Brick. Local Yards Unable to Supply the Demand. Which Was Very Heavy. The demand for building brick for use in Winona and other parts of the northwest is well emphasized at the present time in the fact that all home made brick has been sold and that if any more brick is required between now and the opening of the regular building season it will have to be brought in from the outside. Winona has two large brick factories which are located a short distance outside the city limits, that of Voelker & Groff in West Burns valley and that of P. Biesanz in Gilmore valley. It is impossible to make brick during freezing weather, consequently since the middle of October no brick have been turned out here, nor can the kilns again be set at work before about the middle of April. However, at the earliest possible moment the manufacture of brick will be resumed, and both the local brickmakers are planning to enlarge their output next season, as both of them could have disposed of a good deal more last season had they been able to turn it out. The brick which is made in Winona is a fine quality of the common red brick, the clay secured near here being well adapted to turning out these goods. Neither of the local brick factories have made any attempt to manufacture pressed brick, being well satisfied with the results attained in turning out common brick. It is, however, within the realm of possibility that in the not far distant future a particular kind of pressed brick may be manufactured here.
Certain gentlemen have looked up the matter the past season, and found that the conditions here are excellent for turning out this particular brick, only it needs capital to set the matter going. Part of this has already been pledged, but not sufficient as yet to warrant the beginning of the undertaking. Hence any particular statement in the matter cannot be made at this time, further than to say that the project may go thru in the coming year. P. Biesanz of the Gilmore valley brick yards spoke in a good deal the same strain as Mr. Voelker. He said the past season had been a busy one and the demand large, so that it was true that at the present time there was not a single home made brick to be obtained in Winona. However, the time of year was now such that there would not likely be much of a demand for brick before the frosty weather was gone and the home works could again begin turning out brick. The Gilmore valley brick yards had begun operations the first of last May and had run thru to the middle of October, but their out put had been cut down somewhat by the continued rainy weather. The outside shipping demand had been large, and all of their brick could have been disposed of in this manner had there been no sale for their product in Winona. The erection of several large buildings here late in the season had helped along the shortage. The output of Mr. Biesanz’s yards was two million brick last season. (The Winona Republican-Herald, Saturday, January 23, 1904, Page 3)
The demand for building brick in Winona, Minn., and other parts of the northwest has been exceptionally brisk. Winona has two large brick factories, located a short distance outside the city limits, that of [Jacob] Voelker & [Louis] Groff in West Burns Valley and that of P. Biesanz in Gilmore Valley. These plants are both closed down at the present time, a renewal of operations being contemplated in April. Both Mr. Voelker and Mr. Biesanz comment favorably on last year’s business and the prospects for 1904. Brickmaking operations in 1903 were much hampered by wet weather. The annual output of these yards averages 2,500,000 brick. (Brick and Clay Record, Kenfield Publishing Company, Chicago, IL, Volume XX, Number 2, February 1904, Page 111)
Articles of incorporation of the Biesanz Stone company, Winona, were filed with the secretary of state yesterday. C. P. and Philip Biesanz and James E. Mohan are named as incorporators. (The Saint Paul Globe, Saturday Morning, September 24, 1904, Volume XXVII, Number 268, Page 10)
Brick Making Has Begun. The Two Winona Plants Look Forward to a Big Demand During the Present Year. Both Have Best Equipment. And Winona Made Brick is Known All Over the Northwest for its Superior Qualities – Weather Now Warm Enough to Begin Work. The Biesanz brick yards in Gilmore valley and the Voelker & Groff yards in West Burns valley will begin to make brick this week. The Voelker & Groff yards started yesterday and the Biesanz yards will begin Saturday or Monday. The prospects in the brick business are fairly good this year and trade is expected to be better than last. The Biesanz company has also sold nearly all of its output of last year, which was also a little below the average of 2,500,000, being only 2,000,000. The Biesanz yards have a capacity of 32,000 per day. Brick making may appear very simple, but it is somewhat complicated and requires some science and intricate machinery. The fine brick turned out of the two Winona plants, which has become known all over the Northwest for its superior quality, requires about a dozen handlings and thirty days in the sheds drying and in the kilns before it is ready for use. The brown clay is first plowed and then scraped into a car, which when loaded, is pulled by machinery up a grade to the pug mill, where it is disintegrated and mixed with water, at the same time being kneeded (kneaded) like bread thru the mill into the automatic Potts molder. The clay is formed into shapes and dropped into cherry wood molds lined with sand. From the molds it goes to the drying sheds to dry ten days. They are then put into the kilns, where they bake for ten days and ten nights and then are allowed to cool seven. The Biesanz kilns hold 250,000 bricks, all baked at one time. A force of eighteen men is employed at the Biesanz plant during the making season. (The Winona Republican-Herald, Thursday, May 6, 1909, Page 4)
Biesanz Brick Company. Manufacturers of High Grade Building Brick. The plant of this company was established in 1866 and has been supplying brick to the local builders and those of tributary territory since that time. They are manufacturers of high grade building brick, known to the trade as the sand mold red brick, one that has made a reputation, not alone with the local contractors but those in the states reached by this company. The plant in point of capacity is on a parity with others considered as large establishments in the manufacturing of brick. The capacity of this company is three million bricks every season. Fifty per cent of this output goes to supply the local demand, the balance is shipped to various points in Minnesota and the states of Iowa, Wisconsin and the two Dakotas. The equipment consists of a thirty horse power engine and a Potts machine for mixing. The kiln has a capacity of one million and a half. The drying sheds, of which there are twenty completes the necessary machinery and buildings used in the brick industry.
The active management of the business in now in the hands of Frank D. Biesanz and his brother Fred J. Previous to this year, Mr. Phillip Biesanz had entire charge of the business. Both Frank D. and Fred J., his two sons, are practical brick men, having been affiliated with their father for years. Being as it is a large company, and one established under essentially the same management for two generations, the business, the organization and equipment for all manufacturing operations, and its finished product, have been brought to a high standard. The company ranks with the large brick producers of the Northwest and its brick is known to about all people in construction work in the territory in which it is practicable to ship building brick from this point. Prices are quoted on the best building brick made. Telephone 40-L, or address Biesanz Brick Company, Box 164, Winona, Minn. (The Winona Republican-Herald, Wednesday, July 26, 1911, Page 59)
Brick Was In Much Demand. Winona Brick Manufacturers Do a Larger Business in 1913 Than During Previous Year. Five and a Half Million. This the Number Turned Out At the Two Plants in This City – Close to Fifty Men Given Employment at the Plants. More brick was made at the two Winona brick yards during the past summer than during the previous year, the total of 5 ½ millions bricks being turned out. The increased demand and improved facilities for making the brick resulted in an augmented output. The Biesanz company produced 2 ½ millions at their kilns in Gilmore valley and Voelker & Groff made three millions in West Burns valley. Besides furnishing brick for numerous jobs in the city the Biesanz company made shipments to Iowa, southern Minnesota points and to points in western Wisconsin. They started brick making the latter part of April and will close down the first of October, when the frost stops claywork. The price on brick has advanced during the past year. The Biesanz company has installed electrical apparatus at their plant obtaining power for operation from Winona. Voelker & Groff have employed about twenty-five men during the summer and the Biesanz company has had from fifteen to twenty men on the pay roll. Both companies expect to increase their business next year. More brick building was done in Winona during the past year than in 1912. (The Winona Republican-Herald, Friday, September 26, 1913, Page 6)
Four miles northwest of Winona more than 100 acres of loess loam are exposed to a depth varying from 8 to 20 feet. It is irregularly sandy, and has a few small beds of gravel. A plant is turning out red brick of very fair quality at a rate of about 35,000 per day. (Clays and Shales of Minnesota, Frank F. Grout and E. K. Soper, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1914, Page 168)
Biesanz Brick Maker In Early 1800s – Before City Founded. The arrival of the first white settler in Winona was still 15 years in the future when the grandfather of Frank Biesanz, owner of the Biesanz Brick Yards in West Burns Valley, entered the brick business in America. The first brickmaker in the Biesanz family was John Biesanz who came to America in the early 1800s from France and settled in Buffalo, N. Y., where he operated a brick manufacturing plant for nearly 30 years. One of the elder Biesanz’ eight children, Philip, moved with his parents to Iowa and after service in the Civil War came to Winona where for seven years he worked in several brick yards in this area. Because of the abundance of surface clay near Winona there were a number of brickyards in this vicinity – four of them near Dresbach alone – and Philip Biesanz finally became associated with Charles Butler, a well-known Winona contractor who had established a brick yard in Gilmore Valley in 1866.
Becomes Foreman. Philip Biesanz was retained as a foreman by Butler who earlier had laid the first brick in Winona in the construction of the Orrin Smith & Sons Bank in 1856. In 1871 Philip Biesanz purchased the Gilmore Valley brick yards from Butler and subsequently opened a stone quarry still operated by the Biesanz family. Philip Biesanz continued to operate the brick yards until 1911 when two of his sons, Frank and Frederick, took over the management. They remained in the business for only a year, at the end of which time Frederick left the city and Frank decided to go to Canada and enter the sand and gravel business in Saskatchewan. In 1920, Frank Biesanz learned that his father was ill and "because I didn’t want the business to die" Frank returned to Winona to reassume management of the yards. Philip Biesanz died the following year. Frank Biesanz continued to operate the brick yards in Gilmore Valley until 1941.
The following year (1942) he purchased the Voelker-Groff brick yards in West Burns Valley and has continued the manufacture of bricks at that since then. Bricks made at the Biesanz yards are known as sand-mould, soft mud brick and are used in all types of construction work. There are facilities at the yards for the manufacture of up to three million bricks a season (because of the manufacturing process used, operations are suspended during the winter months) and in recent years the production has been in the neighborhood of a million a year. Surface clay, running to a depth of about 25 feet, used in the manufacture of the brick is taken from a 1,200-foot area near the yards. The clay is loaded by shovel into trucks which bring it to crushers. From the crushers the material is fed into mixers where water is added to bring the clay to the consistency of dough. Placed in sand-mould machines, the clay is pressed to form and then emptied in groups of six onto pallets which are carried automatically by cables to drying sheds which have a capacity of 250,000 brick. The bricks are dried in the sun and air for periods ranging from 10 days to two weeks before they are carried on lift trucks to the kilns. There are four kilns, each 14 feet high, 22 feet wide and 60 feet long, into which 250,000 bricks can be placed. After the kilns have been loaded fires are started in the 16 forced draft fire boxes that line each side of each kiln. The burning continues to 10 days and 10 nights with another six days required for cooling after the burning has been completed. Approximately 100 tons of coal are required for each burning and the temperature in the kilns ranges from 1,800 to 2,000 degrees. The Biesanz brick yards delivers its product within a radius of 50 miles and employs a crew of 10 men to furnish bricks for customers throughout this area. (The Winona Daily News, Saturday, November 19, 1955, Page 94)