Claybank

Organized hamlet, pop 20, located approximately 16 km W of Avonlea on Hwy 339 at the foot of the Dirt Hills. The community takes its name from the rich hillside clay deposits found in the area, and is well known for its historic brick plant (see CLAYBANK BRICK PLANT). In 1902–03, large numbers of settlers, predominantly German Catholics, began arriving in the area. Construction of the plant began in 1912. Many of the people who lived in the community worked there, and Claybank reached its peak around the mid-1930s and into the 1940s. Subsequently, the community declined. Although the brick plant closed in 1989, it remains one of Canada’s finest examples of early 20th-century industry and has been declared a national historic site.

David McLennan