The summer of 2022 has been a very dry one here in Massachusetts. While taking a walk along the old Boston & Maine Railroad's Fitchburg line in Ayer MA, I noticed part of an antique brick embedded in the compacted dirt which makes up the parallel access road. I found a nice stick and started to excavate the brick, resulting in a fine dirt "powder" mixed with what looked like a century of coal and/or petroleum product residue floating up and over my brand new shoes, the ground was so dry.
What I didn't realize at the time was the ground (and brick) was rather hot, too! I burned my finger tips without even knowing it until later in the day.
What I ended up with for my effort was half of a reddish clay paver. Being only a casual accumulator of old bricks, I posted photos of it on two Facebook groups to see if anyone could tell me what brand of paver I found.
One person answered: Patton Paver, made by the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company Inc. of Patton PA.
Patton Paver "in situ", Ayer MA |
Post-excavation |
1904 Ad |
1942 Ad |