The loam is everywhere fitted for making red brick. Several establishments were noted, viz.: Ernst Stoll, at Elgin, makes from two to three hundred thousand per year, selling for eleven dollars per thousand, shipping to other towns; mixed wood four dollars per cord, and oak five. (A Report on the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 1882-1885, The Geology of Minnesota, Volume II, N. H. Winchell and Warren Upham, Pioneer Press Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1888, Page 18)
Half a mile from the station of Elgin, in this county (Wabasha), loess loam to a thickness of 12 feet overlies a deposit of stratified sand, over an area of 25 or 30 acres. A small hand mold brick plant has been in operation for over 30 years, and the capacity of the plant has been about 250,000 bricks per season. (Clays and Shales of Minnesota, Frank F. Grout and E. K. Soper, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1914, Page 164)