Little Falls, Minnesota, was high on my list of priority items this past summer. In my research into historical Minnesota bricks and brickyards, one name I constantly run across is the name Odilon Duclos. Odilon Duclos owned a brickyard in Little Falls, Minnesota, and was one of the pioneer brick men in the state. Odilon started in Little Falls, and then went to St. John’s University, where he helped make the brick that went into the original buildings at the St. John’s campus. Odilon and his brother helped make these early bricks, but they were not the first bricks made in Minnesota (close though).
Odilon eventually left the area, only to return to Little Falls at a later date. This time around, he established a brickyard a couple of miles west of town. How did I find out this information? I had to stop at the Little Falls Historical Society, which is located in the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser house on the west side of the Mississippi River in Little Falls. The folks at the historical society were very helpful, and answered most of the questions that I had about Little Falls brick. I even found some closure to the main question I had, which was what happened to Odilon in later years. I knew he had left Little Falls, but to where?
Anyway, after getting my historical information, I wanted to find the old brickyard locations. I say locations, because there were several brickyards operating about two or so miles west of Little Falls. Odilon just operated one of them. So I drove the main road west of town and found where the brickyards had been. You really have to use your imagination, as there is almost nothing left here. There was one really neat old brick house and it appeared there were more in the same yard. The photograph below shows this house. I would not be surprised if Odilon or another brickmaker had lived in this house.
The most common thing remaining today from the big brickyards are clayhole lakes. During the process of mining clay for a number of years, a huge hole is usually left in the ground. Water was pumped out of these areas when they were in use, but since they are no longer used they just fill up with water. I could not locate any of these lakes, because nearly the entire area is posted with “No Trespassing” signs everywhere. I guess the landowner does not want people poking around. I did try to see an aerial perspective by looking at some old maps, but that is not quite the same thing. You can still tell there were quite a few railroad lines that once covered this area, but most of them have been removed. So the area has really been wiped clear!
Returning to town, I took some photographs of some of the neat, old brick buildings I found. Little Falls brick were cream brick, and many of these buildings are cream colored. Therefore, many of the bricks made at the Little Falls brickyards are still around, some in the buildings still scattered around town. I saw the name “Sprandel” at the top of one building downtown, and Sprandel was one of the brickyard owners. A nearby restaurant also occupied a neat old building and was called “Black and White.” If you are ever in Little Falls, make sure you stop at this restaurant, it serves some of the best food I have ever ate!!
