Brickyards - the Irish Connection

Just as St Patrick's Day approaches I discovered that at least two of the important figures in the Elgin brickyards were Irish immigrants.

Michael Butler (1842-1909) sailed from Ireland to New York City in 1866. He moved around a bit and by 1869 he had settled in Dallas and established his first brick plant. He then moved to Austin in 1878, having sold the Dallas plant to his brother Patrick. The Austin plant thrived on the clay from what is now Auditorium Shores. (The clay was transported across the Colorado River in buckets on a tramway!) His son John Frances Butler, who studied ceramics engineering at Ohio State University, discovered the clay deposits along Sandy Creek. He persuaded his father to buy the land and moved there to establish Elgin-Butler Brick. The plant began operation in 1901.

Thomas O'Connor came to America in 1869, just a few years after Butler. He, too traveled around and ended up in Austin and then Elgin in 1882. O'Connor, who was a master of several trades, set up his brickyard in Elgin itself (across the railroad from Central Avenue and downhill towards W 2nd St). Many early Elgin buildings are made from his bricks.