Claybank Brick Plant is a National Historic Site located outside the small town of Claybank, Saskatchewan. The site has many buildings including 10 kilns, a factory, a laboratory, an office, a boiler room, stock sheds, residences, a carpentry shop, outhouses, and a bunkhouse all dating from 1912 to 1937. With over 132 hectares of land the plant only compasses 37 hectares and the remainder is mostly the clay pits. There is also a narrow gauge rail line and a spur line that was part of an internal and external transportation system.
This site is a great example of an early 20th-century brick-making complex. Clay was mined on site to create a distinctive face brick which was used in the construction of many buildings across the prairies.
Buildings you may recognize that used Claybank brick include the Government House, Gravelbourg Cathedral, Chateau Frontenac (Quebec), Delta Bessborough, Weyburn Mental Hospital, Humboldt and Swift Current courthouses and other public buildings.
The Claybank operation closed in 1989 and was offered to the Government. This was accepted in 1992 through the help of the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation.
Today the site is open to visitors in the summer. The Bunkhouse is used as an interpretive center and cafe. The massold clay canyons near the plant are open for hiking. Unfortunately, visitors are no longer permitted to view inside the buildings due to safety reasons. It is unfortunate that, as a National Historic Site, more funds are not available to help restore and revive the plant. Other similar sites are well funded and restored while this one seems to be going the opposite direction, it has all the potential to be a beautiful historic site for visitors.
