WWCo, Sparta

Anonymous said...


Have two bricks I would like more info. on. They both came from a wooded area in Northwestern, Ohio. They were used to hold sap pans above a fire in an old maple syrup camp.

W.W. Co.

SPARTA - Mineral Springs, Ohio



41 comments:

  1. Anon, The WWCo is a fire brick made in Parral, OH by the Robinson Clay Products Co.

    The Sparta is an architectural brick made for "looks' This brick was a type made by adding salt to the fire as it was being burned (baked) to give it a glazed look. The Sparta was made by the Federal Clay Products Co of Mineral City.
    Jim Graves, in his work, "Brick Manufacturers of the United States" lists them as being in business in the time period of about 1928 - 1939

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    1. I just found one on my property. Southern Indiana.

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    2. We just found one on our property in Northeastern NY

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  2. Hello, Fred. I'm also trying to find information on the WWCo brick. How did you come up with your information? I cannot find anything online linking the two except for your comment. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

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  3. Buffalo, NY here. I found a W.W.C.O. brick a few years ago and then found some again built into a fireplace in Aurora, NY. I found a site saying that the fireplace's cabin was a log cabin constructed in 1940 for the kellog family by Sanford Hubbard (b.1887–d.1955). Hope this helps.

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    1. I have found a number of them in 2 spots locally to Manchester and East Dorset Vermont. One spot being the Freedley Marble Quarry on Mount Aeolus and in the basement of the old Opera House in Manchester Village

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  4. I own a 1927 house in Fort Wayne, IN. The fireplace is made of brick and one in the back has W. W. CO. stamped in it. I was trying to find info about the company and came across your post. Hope our info exchange helps each other.

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  5. We own a house originally built in late 1700s in West Orange NJ. We found a couple W.W. CO. Bricks in our garden

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  6. I have a business in Burlington Ont that is expanding. As we are digging the new foundations we have found W.W. CO bricks from what was once the Glover Box, barrel and basket factory (1893-1966)
    VJ

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  7. Another WW Co. fireplace brick in a 1923 South Bend, Indiana house. I've never found a reliable answer, and the Robinson Clay lead is the only one I've ever seen. Let me know if that's right!

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  8. I have found one in a Peru Indiana home and decided to use it as a turtle home decoration I have no idea where it came from but I like the fact that it has markings on it. If it is valuable that makes it even better for my turtle. I do NOT mean any rudeness but the turtle is my children's.
    I do what I think is best for them

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  9. I just bought a house built in 1942 in Kingston, ON. I am digging up the ground and finding an old patio or walk way made of them. They are under an inch or more of dirt and grass. It is a tough dig. There is a similar looking brick in the inside of the fireplace however I don't know if they are W.W. Co. as well.

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  10. Found ww co and some freeman fire brick in fire place in nabb IN 1800 a house

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  11. I found a brick that had washed up in my yard after a flood. I live just about 20 miles from Athens Ohio. The brick is in really good condition. 'THE FEDERAL CLAY PRODUCT CO.SPARTA MINERAL CITY OHIO' My question is are they worth anything?

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  12. Their worth lies with how much you like it versus how much to buy it from you. The real value is having enough of them to build something. Old bricks make nice decorations and conversation pieces. I believe they have little worth unless linked to a historic structure and still not much.

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  13. I too found a W. W. Co brink in my garden. My house was built in 1923 in Scotia NY.

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  14. I found some of these bricks in Miamiville, Ohio. They are in the remains of an old fireplace that is deep in the woods, near The Little Miami River. This location is also in very close proximity to the former Little Miami RailroadCamp Dennison, a historic Civil War training site.

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  15. I just happened to know where there are pallets upon pallets of these bricks never used that are quite unique and old .... They were manufactured in mineral city ohio... They were used as fire brick or fireplaces...

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  16. Anonymous,

    I am looking for Sparta bricks made in Mineral City Ohio by the Federal Clay Company. Where are these pallets you are referring to?

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  17. Anonymous June 15, 2017 3:06 PM

    I have a rather huge, old stone barbecue on my property. It is made of large rounded stones and stone slabs, all mortared together. It has been falling apart gradually for a few years. Today, we reached in and drew out a heavy, pale, pinky-beige colored brick with the initials "W.W.Co." (It could indeed serve as a weapon: 9 1/2" long, 4 1/2" wide, depth 2 1/2" and just shy of 7 1/2 lbs.) Peering inside the barbecue, we spotted more of the same bricks, all appearing in pristine shape. This, and several writers above, lead us to believe these bricks were first class parts of fireplaces, cooking sources and the like. We would be very interested in any further shared observations concerning the W.W.Co., especially located in New England.

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  18. Found one in Mary Brown's dingle in Northampton Ma, in the area of the area of the old Round Hill School. It was in good shape and lined up with other bricks, purpose unknown.

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  19. I have bricks that were dismantled from an outdoor fireplace in Manchester NH.
    W.W. Co, S Crown and MFB. We are hoping to make our own backyard fire pit using these unique bricks.

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  20. I think I win the award for furthest brick! I found a few in Hercules, CA at the former site of The Hercules Powder Co. The largest producer of dynamite in the US for quite a while. Found it with several other California made fire bricks.

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  21. I bought a 1901 Victorian in North West Indiana that has three W.W. CO. bricks inside the fireplace.

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  22. I found one brick at this with the WWco on it. The site on the old Paul Revere Copper mill site in Canton Mass.

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  23. I just found one of these bricks in my back yard. I recently had a shed torn down. The rain washed the dirt away. I live in NC.

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  24. ron 9-15-2019 found one in westland michigan walking my dog. looks kinda white in color which fits for fire places

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  25. Found a w.w co brick on the shores of the Otonabee river Peterborough Ontario Canada

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  26. I have several w.w.co. Bricks from a Finn sauna probably from the early 1920’s. Also, have evens and Howard brick. Some are large reddish brick evens and Howard and some unmarked ones. Like 9x6 inches.

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  27. I found one of these bricks in the black River today in Watertown NY.

    I don't know the year or anything, the the ends and edges have been smoothened down as if it were closer to an oval. I imagine that would take a fair amount of time. The wwco stamp remains very clear on the brick.

    I brought it home with me because I was curious.. which led me here.

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  28. Does anyone know what the w.w stands for? Found one while tilling a garden in Va.

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  29. Found one today.
    Bolton
    Ontario
    Canada

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  30. Found one in Tunkhannock creek (Tunkhannock PA) in front of my house. Did a search and found this blog. I’m going to go retrieve it today and find a spot for it.

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  31. Found 3 buried under newer brick around our fire pit. We have 1920-40’s cabins on Squirrel Lake in Minocqua, WI.
    That brought me here. I was also wondering the the WW. I was originally thinking maybe one W stood for Wisconsin but it looks like these are found all over the North East area by the posts. So ???

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  32. Salvaged some wwco bricks from a tear down site in traverse city Michigan.

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  33. Found one in North Eastern Ohio on a hill where there used to be an old foundation. Found this website, had no idea the story behind it. Very cool.

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  34. i have a lake home in deep creek lake md built in 1937 with an old outdoor fireplace lined with W.W. CO. bricks

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  35. Found a bunch up against a rock hillside Sault Ste Marie, Ontario with a metal pan nearby....apparently maple syrup production 1930's 40's

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  36. Found several today in the basement of a mansion built in 1880 on Cape Cod.

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  37. Found one WW CO brick in a creek in Thunder Bay Ontario _ May 17, 2024

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  38. Found one in McVicar Creek in Thunder Bay Ontario

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