Napoleon B. Heafer (1823-1898)

             Napoleon B. Heafer was born on December 14, 1823 in Charleston, West Virginia. At the age of ten, after spending only six months in school, Heafer began to learn the brickmaking trade. He moved to Kentucky and, while living there, married Elizabeth C. Clark of Jamestown, Kentucky in 1840. Heafer and Elizabeth had seven children: Edgar, Arthur, Waldo, Laura, Parthenia, Hallie, and Cora, and they moved to Bloomington in 1852.

            Not much is known of Heafer’s life in Bloomington until 1857, when gold was discovered at Pikes Peak in Colorado. Napoleon, along with several other Bloomington men, left to find their fortunes there. However, when he reached the plains of Kansas, Napoleon became ill and was forced to return to St. Joseph, Missouri, where his family joined him and he built one of the largest hotels in the city. It was also in Missouri where he began to engage in brick making. In 1859, Heafer and his family finally made it to Colorado. However, their prospecting endeavors were unsuccessful, and after 3 months, they returned to Bloomington. In this endeavor, Heafer lost everything he had except one piece of property in Bloomington, which would become the foundation of the fortune he would make in years to come.   

            Heafer still managed to become quite wealthy, though not in the way he expected. Instead of gold, he made his fortune in bricks. In 1861, Heafer and James McGregor established a brick kiln at the corner of Hannah Street and Croxton Avenue. Over the next 23 years, N.B. Heafer and Co. expanded to include seven acres of ground and multiple brick yards, as well as a large pond that was often used for swimming parties. By 1883, it was the largest clay tile factory in the United States. This was the first brick yard established in Bloomington and became the most extensive.

            By the late 1880s, the brick industry peaked due to an incredibly high demand from farmers needing a way to drain their swampy fields. Prior to clay tiles, the mole ditcher was the first crude instrument used to dig underground passages for excess water. However, nearly all of these ditches would eventually fill up with loose excess dirt. Clay was abundant in McLean County, and after much experimentation, Heafer made the first brick tile pipe in 1879. It was a round tile with a diameter of about 3 inches, though it later was enlarged to 24-30 inches in diameter, which was more effective. During this time, nearly every farm in the county was drained to some extent, employing clay tiles.

            The growth and development of Downtown Bloomington also helped Heafer. He is known as the inventor of brick pavement and for his work paving the streets of Bloomington. If he had patented his design for paving bricks, he would almost certainly have become a multi-millionaire. Prior to Heafer’s paving bricks, Bloomington had been paved with cedar wood blocks, which were often damaged by sharp horseshoes and weather-related expansion and contraction. The City Council then ordered coal shaft debris to be used in the paving of streets. In fact, in a report by the City Council printed in The Daily Pantagraph, the coal shaft debris, which had previously been touted as the best paving method, was then called “worse than useless” and was henceforth abandoned. Bricks allowed for a smoother, more weather-resistant surface. The first brick was laid on Center Street and was the first use of brick for paving material ever attempted in the United States.

            The bricks themselves were made in Heafer’s factory, which was one of the few tile factories in the United States with first-class facilities for drying bricks in the winter. In the summer, the bricks were made in “gangs” of men, which included a mud-wheeler, a molder, and two off-bearerers. The mud-wheeler would bring wheelbarrows of clay and dump it on the molder’s table, and the molder would then throw chunks of clay into the mold. When he was done, the off-bearers would carry the mold to the level brickyard surface to dry. The average wage that these men would make was $3.75 a day for the molder, $2.25 a day for the mud wheelers, and $1.00 a day for the off bearers. These gangs were quite efficient and made up to 5,000 bricks a day, allowing the factory to have a total output of 200,000 bricks each day. In 1883, Heafer’s factory turned out 4,000,000 feet of clay tile.

            Heafer bricks were used in many prominent McLean County buildings as well, including the Durley Hall block, the McLean County Courthouse, the Ferre Building Standpipe, the Roush building, Stevenson Flats, and the Arctic Ice Company. In August 1880, Heafer and McGregor were awarded a contract for $40,800 to provide bricks for the new McLean County Jail on Madison Street.  The new jail was three stories high and included a residence for the sheriff. It turned out to be one of the finest and most ornamental buildings in the city, built in the Queen Anne style.

            Sadly, the brick and tile factory burned in 1888, a year after McGregor withdrew from the company. It was reported that the fire was possibly the work of an arsonist. Very little of the original structure could be reclaimed, so Heafer decided to fully retire at that point. Prior to this, Heafer’s health had begun to fail beginning in 1883. He slowly began to withdraw from the business, turning more of his responsibilities over to his eldest son and partner, Edgar. Sadly, on July 10, 1898, Napoleon succumbed to his failing health (which was attributed to heart trouble) and died at his home located at 505 E. Jefferson Street. He had always been known as a hard worker and during his life had endured and survived many hardships. He was buried next to his wife, who preceded him in death, in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.