Adobe Brick Making, Balmorhea State Park, 1934 - 1936
The combination building, caretaker's residence, pump house, and motor court all relied on adobe brick. The men had to mix, form, stack, dry, and lay the bricks. In this photograph, the CCC enrollees have just removed forms and are preparing to stack the bricks for drying. M. B. Gibson, employed by the National Park Service and experienced in adobe construction, was in charge of these efforts and reported that the crews set a record by making 12,290 bricks in forty days. When he pitted two crews against each other in a contest, they churned out a combined total of 3,100 in three days.
National Park Service/National Archives and Records Administration