Early Clay Mining

The S & F Company operated clay pits in Sayreville, South River, South Amboy, and East Brunswick (Musser, 1988: 9-10). In the early days of clay mining, the clay was dug by hand in the pits. It was then loaded onto dump carts, which were pulled by horses. In some places, such as J. H. Wilkerson & Son Brickworks in Delaware, dynamite was used to loosen the clay. Holes were dug in the clay, banked about 10 feet apart, filled with dynamite, and then detonated. This would create a crack in the clay which could be pried apart to break off a large block of clay (Dergane, 1976: 3).

Woodbridge, NJ (Historical Association of Woodbridge Township collection of Robert McEwen)	A Sayre & Fisher Clay pit. (Sayreville Historical Society, 2001)
	New Jersey Clay Miners. (First published in the Geological Survey of New Jersey, 1904. Courtesy of Uncommon Clay: New Jersey's Architectural Terra Cotta Industry published by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, 2006 Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, 2004)

Later Clay Mining

In 1894, narrow-gauge railways took the place of donkey carts to deliver the clay from the mining pits to the tempering pits. In 1895, the first steam shovels were put to work in Sayreville, and the mining of clay became less backbreaking. In 1896, S & F Company purchased several locomotives to haul clay from the pits (Sayreville Historical Society, 2001: 12-13).

A Sayre & Fisher Steam shovel(Sayreville Historical Society, 2001).

A steam shovel at work in Sayreville(Sayreville Historical Society, 2001).