• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SC Picture Project

The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

  • FIND A LANDMARK
    • BY CITY
    • BY COUNTY
    • BY CATEGORY
    • BYGONE LANDMARKS
  • ADD IMAGES
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SPONSORS
  • DONATE

Stork Brickyard

SC PICTURE PROJECT 2 Comments

SC Picture Project / Richland County / Stork Brickyard

In the early 1880s, settlers to Edgefield discovered its abundance of red clay and kaolin, and in short order the area became a hub for alkaline-glazed stoneware. By 1817 Abner Landrum, whose family had arrived from North Carolina around 1773, was operating a pottery. He also established a village surrounding his pottery, aptly naming it Pottersville. His brother, the Reverend John Landrum, was a circuit preacher who also owned a local pottery.

Stork Brickyard Chimney

Michael Mascari of Blythewood, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Abner relocated to Columbia some time around the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and by 1832 he had established a pottery off Alms House Road (now Bethel Church Road) in present-day Forest Acres. He got much of his clay from the Broad River.

Stork Brickyard Marker

Michael Mascari of Blythewood, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Abner Landrum’s sons worked with him in the pottery, and his son Linneaus particularly enjoyed the craft. When Abner Landrum died in 1859, Linneaus took over his father’s business. For decades, the Landrums had used slaves to manufacture stoneware; following the Civil War, Linneaus employed four adult males and two children. Among his workers were John and William Stork. Linneaus’s sister Juliette married John Stork.

John Stork ran his own pottery, along with his sons, on his property in Dentsville. His sons, Robert and Edward, later began a pottery near Landrum’s on Alms House Road, and their stoneware differed greatly from Linneaus’s in its form and glaze.

Linneaus Landrum died in 1891, and in 1899 Robert Stork purchased his uncle’s pottery. Later in his life, Linneaus had ventured into the manufacture of firebricks, and Stork converted the pottery into a brickyard. By 1911 the Stork Brickyard at the Landrum site was operational.

Robert Stork died in 1954 and his son, Raymond, became the head of the company. The brickyard remained in operation for a few more years. In 1970 the facility was razed to build Brickyard Condominiums, leaving only its chimney intact. Today the chimney stands in front of the community’s clubhouse, which can be seen in the background of the photo above.

The original chimney was built in the late nineteenth century and is encased in a newer chimney, constructed in 1935. Before ground broke on the condominiums, collectors recovered stoneware fragments along with bricks and other related items from the site.

Plan Your Trip: Stork Brickyard

Where is Stork Brickyard located?
Address: 4443 Bethel Church Road, SC 29206
GPS Coordinates: 34.034686,-80.981276
What else should I see?
Dovilliers-Manning-Magoffin House 2.8 miles
Trenholm Road Methodist 3 miles
Eastminster Presbyterian Church 3.1 miles
Fort Jackson Headquarters 4.2 miles
Show me more like this!
  • Columbia Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina Mills
    Stork Brickyard Map

    Please Help Us Stay Online

    We’d like thank everyone who generously supports the South Carolina Picture Project. You provide us with the inspiration and financial support we need to keep doing what we do. Every reader’s contribution, larger or small, is valuable. If you have enjoyed this website or found it helpful, please pitch in. Each donation helps – and it only takes a minute. Thank you!

    Support the SC Picture Project!

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    You may also like

    You may also like

    Olympia and Granby MillsOlympia and Granby Mills Adluh Flour MillAdluh Flour Mill Default ThumbnailSouth Caroliniana Library Tunnelvision MuralTunnelvision, Busted Plug and Neverbust Chain Columbia Fire StationColumbia Central Fire Station

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mendy Perdew says

      February 7, 2021 at 11:32 PM

      I live in Beaufort, South Carolina and just found a brick like the one you described on the bank of the Broad River near Parris Island. After doing a little research, it seems the Broad River runs through Columbia near the old Brickyard site and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. I am about 3 1/2 hours north of you. If the brakes could make it here, who’s to say they didn’t float right on down to you? How cool is that?

      Reply
    2. Melody Ziegler says

      May 7, 2020 at 3:25 AM

      I found a brick in my backyard with RM Stork, Columbia, SC and I had other old bricks but this one was the only one that was stamped so I researched the history. Curious how it found its way to Saint Augustine, Florida!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    FIND A LANDMARK

    Why This Site Matters

    Help Keep This Site Online

    We depend on the support of today’s readers to document South Carolina’s landmarks for future readers. Please help us continue this important work by making a donation below.

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    Recent Posts

    • H.L. Hunley
    • Strand Theater
    • Camden Depot
    • Charleston City Marina
    • Secession Hill

    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

    Footer

    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

    CONTACT US

    We’d love to hear from you! Send us a quick email at share@scpictureproject.org.

    If you are looking for permission to use a photo, please reach out directly to the photographer listed in the image’s credit.

    JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

    The South Carolina Picture Project has two Facebook groups. One is dedicated to SC Historic Landmarks and Iconic Landscapes, and the other is dedicated to SC Nature and Wildlife.

    South Carolina Picture Project © 2022 · All Rights Reserved