Old brick factory De Ooij - Ooij

The former brick factory De Ooij was an important industrial site in the Ooijpolder. Much information has been lost because a lot of (old) paper was burned in the brick kilns. However, historical maps show that there was a brick kiln on the Erlecomsedam at the end of the 17th century. The factory used clay from the River Waal.

The first brick factory mentioned is the Vijgenwaard brick factory. This factory went bankrupt in 1876, after which the Van Heukelom family took over the business. When the last descendant of this family died out in the 1920s, it came into the hands of N.V. Steenfabriek de Ooij. This company also had brickworks in Lobith, Kekerdom, Druten and Spijk.

In addition to employment, the brick workers at De Ooij could also count on housing. They lived in cramped one-room dwellings near the factory. Today, we would call them slums. Much of the wages earned were spent on drink in the workplace, for example in pubs set up by the brickworks themselves.

The factory contributed to the economic development of the region and was a focal point in the social life of the community. The presence of the factory also influenced the infrastructure and landscape of the Ooijpolder.

The bricks were mainly produced in the spring and summer so that they could dry sufficiently in the sun. The work was physically demanding. The clay mixture had to be stamped barefoot to mix it into a consistent mass. The clay was then thrown by hand into moulds to form regular balls. This was often done by women and children. The slightly dried bricks were then taken, again often by the women, to drying huts to dry further in the air and wind.

Everything was then fired, often in field kilns, but in De Ooij the first ring kiln was built in 1921. This allowed different phases of the firing process to take place simultaneously.

In the 1970s, the De Ooij factory filed for bankruptcy. The site was then taken over by other companies. The chimney of the kilns can still be seen today.