The Old Rincon Creek Brick Quarry - Part 2

So hmmm.. Part Two. I knew I could dig up some more information on this subject if I was just patient. Well.. um. First we have to back up the first paragraph of Part One. I take that all back. Oops.. The Brick Factory was not 6-8 miles up the creek as it was related to me by, surf ski friend, Barron. According to David, who maintains a small file on the factory over at the Carpinteria Historical Museum, the factory was much closer to the rivermouth than that. That also confirms what another long time Carp local, beachcomber, and brick collector had told me.

The factory which operated under the name of Carpinteria Clay Products Company was located on what is now the L.L. Brenter Ranch. That puts the site about a 10th of mile up the creek from the railroad track. This of course makes my foray into the upper part of the creek, which resulted in the worst case of poison oak I have ever had, or seen for that matter, and subsequent scarring, completely unnecessary. Nice..


Carpinteria Clay Products Company operated in the 1920’s using native yellow adobe clay dug on site, hence the unique color of these bricks. The production machinery cost $37,000. They also manufactured tiles and in 1922 made the claim “our product is much superior to the tile that is made near Los Angeles" I have no trouble believing them on that one. I found both tiles and bricks in abundance after this winters consistent surf, and sand rearrangement.

I also took a quick drive around Carp and found two chimneys using these original bricks. One was painted but the other is still in its natural state. On a side note: When I first began thinking of moving down to La Conchita I found one of these bricks in the back yard of one of the houses I was looking at. (used in construction, not from the creek) Sly’s Restaurant on Linden Street is also reputed to be built of these bricks as well. However there are far too many layers of paint on those to really tell.

The Carpinteria Clay Products factory closed presumably around the start of the great depression, and reopened again in 1931 under the name, Montecito Clay Products Co. This time with an expanded product line which I assume included all the other colors of bricks that come out of the creek. I have had at least one person tell me “it’s just the yellow ones” Hmmm.. The yellow ones may be the original Rincon bricks but I can assure you that the pinks, oranges, beige, and multicolor bricks have all come out of that creek.

There is no information as to when Montecito Clay Products closed but, in 1960 they began construction on the double lane divided highway that was to be cut though Rincon. The factory was buried under the debris from cutting the highway and the terracing of the hillside. One idea is they tossed imperfect bricks into the creek and eventually washed out in all their glory. If that were the case I would assume they would have all washed out long ago. My guess is they are still buried and when the creek really gets going, like 2005, 1995, it uncovers a few more. Maybe the creek had to cut a new path right through the buried factory. I don’t know but the long time collectors say they come out every time we get one of those really, really, wet years.

No bricks came out of there this year. My collection has been built entirely on littoral drift and the non-stop wave action we had this winter. Speaking of littoral drift.. The furthest south I have even found one is Stables at C-Street in Ventura. That is a good 15 miles to the south at least. I am sure some have made it as far as the Mugu Submarine Canyon never to be seen again. Actually my ex-wife found that one for me at C-Street. Ouch. Dang it.. Thought I could get through a whole blog. Someone save me..

When you see Santa Clara Rivermouth doing this..

It time to go looking for bricks!!

Field notes from Dolphins of the Rincon.

8:15 am - Getting a late start so lets get started. There have been a lot of fins this past week so I spent the early morning posting new fin id shots and.. Yeah! I finally saw the same dolphins twice. Earlier in July I ran across that huge pod, which I will now call a herd (Pods may combine for several minutes or hours to form larger social groups called "herds" ) Anyway.. I came across some fins about 7:00 am on the 1st of August at Indicator. Of course didn't have my camera. I was down for a quick walk with Riley who got a cut on one of his pads last week. I was trying hard to keep him out of the water and test out the new waterproof/sandproof bandage design I came up with. He had this super nice bandage job courtesy of Animal Medical Clinic in Carp that I didn't want to mess up so I wrapped it in a plastic bag and threw a sock on over it. It would have worked if he just stayed out of the water. Oh well. So here come the fins heading south. I was over the waterproof bandage experiment so I figured I would head them off down in the LC. Riley was like hey, "no way we just got here" Even though he is smarter and more handsome than me.. I tricked him into getting back in the van and we headed home. Grab the Canon and got on the beach by 7:23. The surf was minimal so they were coming in quite close and a got a few good shots. This was a good size pod of about 7-9 dolphins and I called them Riley's Pod. Turns out 3 of the fins are from the Solimar herd back on the 19th July. After cataloging over 50 fins.. Finally a match. I guess that's a good thing. More dolphins than you can count..

8:26 am - After months of anticipation, and thanks to David over at the Carpinteria Historical Museum I am proud to announce I will finally be writing part two of the Old Rincon Creek Brick Quarry Anyway I went to the cove to get a few shots of one of the bigger stockpiles of bricks i have seen. Mission accomplished. Not quite. Riley still insisted on taking a walk so we headed around Indicator and up the coast..

8:53 am - I saw it exactly the same time as Riley which is too late. I made a run for it but Riley had it and was off down the beach. California Brown Pelican. This is quite a conundrum. On the one hand I don't like the leash laws but, sick and injured birds are no match for most dogs.. Curtis excluded. About a hundred yards down the beach we ran into Debbie and her dog which was enough distraction for me to get the pelican. Surprisingly he was looking good as far as injuries go. Riley had him by the scruff of the neck so no blood, no broken wings, didn't even really lose any feathers to speak of. But he was still sick so I figured I should get him to June's seabird rescue in SB before another dog came along. With the help of Debbie, I got the bird back to Lou's in the upper parking lot. Lou made a call to our local seabird care expert Connie, and a couple hours later he was looking pretty good and heading to June's.

Disclaimer: Dogs are Dogs. I don't like seeing any animals getting hit by a dog, cat, or car for that matter. I worked for a few years at the SB Wildlife Network for those exact reasons. In the case of birds that don't fly away when they see a dog coming.. Well.. They are usually pretty sick or injured already. In this case the pelican was lucky that Riley didn't get him, and lucky that he ended up getting the fluids and nourishment he is going to need survive. So if I twist it enough I could say Riley did him a favor.. but really.. bad dog.

9:33 am - Of course while all this is going on I caught some fins heading south out of the corner of my eye. Sheesh.. Walking on the beach is a full time job.. lol. There is probably enough time for a bowl of cereal before cutting them off in LC. I came out of the tunnel and there they were.

9:43 am - Haven't had a chance to do the fin id's yet but there were about 6-7 in this pod with another 2 following close behind (about 200 yards) I followed them for about 10 minutes down the beach then headed back to Rincon to check up on the Pelican.. Lot's of other sightings this week. A couple surfing down in Oxnard Shores.. A few more along Bates. See you out there tomorrow with the Dolphins of the Rincon..