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Tag: Cloud Ceramics

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Susie Haver – Cloud County Convention and Tourism

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Where is the longest sculpted brick mural in the United States? Would you believe, in Cloud County, Kansas? Today we’ll learn about this remarkable rural tourism attraction.

The longest sculpted brick mural in the U.S. is in Concordia, Kansas.
The longest sculpted brick mural in the U.S. is in Concordia, Kansas.

Last week we learned about Cloud Ceramics, a brick manufacturer in Concordia. Not only does this company produce bricks for construction across the nation, it also provided bricks for an amazing artistic mural which depicts landmarks in the company’s home county.

Susie Haver is director of Cloud County Convention and Tourism. She grew up on a wheat farm west of Concordia where she lives today. “It’s a beautiful setting,” Susie said. “I love it there.”  She went to Cloud County Community College and then K-State. She and her husband lived in Missouri for a time before she came back to Cloud County.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Mike Kaiser – Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Let’s go to the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Here we see a beautiful new brick building under construction. Where do you suppose those bricks came from? Would you believe, they came from a plant in rural Kansas?

Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile are both based in rural Kansas communities.
Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile are both based in rural Kansas communities.

Mike Kaiser told me about Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile, two remarkable brick companies located in Kansas. They serve as the source for the bricks at Duke University and many other places across the nation.

Cloud Ceramics in Concordia opened its plant way back in 1947. In 1944, a Concordia businessman named Charles Cook had learned of some outcroppings of clay in a road ditch southeast of town. He did further testing with the state geological survey and found there was a large deposit of Dakota fire clay that was suitable for the manufacturing of quality buff colored building brick. He organized a business to manufacture those bricks, and Cloud Ceramics was born. It was named for Cloud County, the location of the plant.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Mike Kaiser – Cloud Ceramics and Kansas Brick and Tile” →