More on the Roberts Tile Factory

THE ROBERTS TILE FACTORY

The first tile factory was built by Chris Anderson in 1883. The building was destroyed by fire in 1885. A new factory was built in 1886 by Chris Anderson and John C. Kenward on land in the Weber addition. Some of the buildings stood on the site of the Marie Hein residence and the Hethke Garge is the spot where the kilns stood.
Mr. Kenward spent many hours in the factory and some of his employees were, Nels Hensen, Walter Patterson, Jim Parkins, Mike Lally, Ernest Warnke, Mr. Hubner, R. Hamnon and Seward Arnold who died in December of 1984 at the age of 104. Before his death he wrote, "The Roberts factory made the best quality of tile within a 50 mile radius. It was in 1912, a snowy winter that Frank Kennedy and I hauled 13,000 tile on sleds to my parents farm. Nels Jensen was the best man that ran the tile factory. There were three or four kilns. The diggings can still be seen in the gulley east of William Sherfey's and north of the cemetery road."
The factory closed in 1913 but for many years the old factory grounds served as a recreation center for the youth of Roberts. In the summer, picnicking, swimming and boating were enjoyed. In the winter ice skating was popular.

--History of Ford County. 1985.


TILE FACTORY AT ROBERTS
BUILT: 1886
DISCONTINUED: 1913

The first Tile Factory in Roberts was built by Chris Anderson in 1883 and was destroyed by fire in 1885. This factory was (approximately) built on the site where Ken Eastin's home now stands.
The Tile Factory was put up in 1886 by Chris Anderson and John C. Kenward. John Kenward spent many hours in the factory, working. Others who worked there will be of interest to many and you may recognize some of the family names.
Nels Jensen
Walter Patterson
Jim Parkins
Mike Lally
Ernest Warnke
Mr. Hubner
R. Hamnon
Seward Arnold worked there one week.
The factory grounds served as a recreation center for the young of Roberts.
The tile factory land is now the Weber Addition and the Lawrence Seng residence and garage is the actual site of the old kilns.
This historical data was compiled with the help of Seward Arnold.

--Roberts Area Centennial Book. 1872-1972.


--These two articles were posted in October 2016 to the Roberts Illinois History Group page.
 
--Jean Fox added the following comments to the post:
The above, "Nels Hensen" should read, Niels Jensen. Niels Jensen, born in Denmark, married John Caleb Kenward's daughter, Sarah Jane. Niels is my great-grandfather. John Kenward went to Chicago to get workers for the tile factory and brought back, Niels and his brother, Soren, along with others. Since they were laying out the railroad and putting up telephone lines in the area, workers were hard to find.
The second tile factory was located in the Weber addtion. They dug up clay north of Lyman Park - just east of Bill and Donna Sherfey's house for the first tile factory. It was filled in with broken tiles and bricks over the years. The buildings for the second tile factory were all in the location of the "Weber addition." Yes, the tile pit is where they also dug for clay to use to make the brick and tile. It was not filled in after the factory closed because they continued to use it as a "recreation center." I have a picture somewhere to show the location. I will post it later.