CHATTAHOOCHEE BRICK COMPANY
ABOUT
Situated on a scenic bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River within the Chattahoochee RiverLands corridor and at nearly the exact center of the “Atlanta Reach,” lies the former site of the Chattahoochee Brick Company (CBC). The CBC supplied countless bricks for buildings and infrastructure across Atlanta during decades of rapid growth after the Civil War. The company relied exclusively on leased convict labor from its inception in 1885, forcing primarily African-American men, often arrested under petty or dubious charges, to work under brutal, sometimes fatal, conditions. Reports of cruel, inhuman treatment of prisoners first published in 1895 led to investigations ending Georgia’s convict leasing system in 1909. The CBC eventually ceased operations in 1972, and its successor, General Shale Brick, continued operations using paid labor into the early 21st century.
While the CBC is a significant site within the RiverLands corridor and will be included in the Atlanta Reach planning, engagement around the specifics of the redevelopment of the Chattahoochee Brick Company site will have a different focus than the Atlanta Reach. In 2022, the City of Atlanta acquired this 75-acre site with a purposeful intent - to redevelop it as a public park, greenspace, and memorial to honor the victims of its dark past. This transformative project will be a crucial step in the realization of the larger Chattahoochee RiverLands vision, connecting people to the outdoors in a meaningful way.
Guiding this endeavor is the Chattahoochee Brick Company Memorial, Greenspace, and Park Board (“CBC Board”), an appointed advisory group representing a diverse range of expertise and local community members. They will provide guidance throughout the project, ensuring that the greenspace, park, and memorial serve as a powerful reminder of the past while fostering truth, understanding, and healing. Aspects of the planning, especially around the interpretation of the site’s history and memorialization, will center on the CBC Board and the non-profits and community groups who have been advocating for the reuse of the site and memorialization of the victims of convict leasing. Consultant’s expertise will also be vital in planning and designing a vision that respects the site’s history while aligning with the aspirations and needs of the community. The goal is to create a space that fosters healing, understanding, and unity. Chosen Consultants will be expected to present periodic updates to the CBC Board.
Together, we embark on a journey to transform this historically significant site into a place of hope and renewal, weaving a narrative that unites the community and honors those who endured great suffering. With compassion and dedication, we endeavor to create a park, memorial, and greenspace that stands as a testament to our collective commitment to healing and growth.
CITY DESIGN CORE VALUES
All Office of Design initiatives incorporate at least one of the Atlanta City Design core values.
COVINCT LEASING IN GEORGIA
The state prison at Milledgeville was burned in 1864. Prior to the Civil War, this prison was only for white prisoners. During the Reconstruction era, passage of “Black Codes” led to many newly freed Black citizens being convicted of petty crimes. The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery, with the exception of those convicted of a crime. Convict leasing was created to handle the influx of new prisoners. Three Penitentiary Companies were set up, to lease convicts to business owners who would be responsible for their care. They worked in a variety of industries including coal mines, quarries, road and railroad construction, and manufacturing of brooms and bricks.
The Chattahoochee Brick Comapny
In May 1885 J.W. English became the major investor in the newly formed Chattahoochee Brick Company, which merged two other companies. As mayor and police commissioner of the City of Atlanta, J.W. English was able to find many civic uses for his bricks in City public works projects. His connections in the business world also led to the bricks being used in many private enterprises. This, coupled with the proximity of the railroad to the Chattahoochee Brick Co., meant that business boomed as bricks were shipped across the South.
The use of convict labor kept production costs low, allowing the company to underbid on any contract. By the 1890s, Chattahoochee Brick reached peak production of 200,000 bricks a day. In that same decade, J.W. English controlled 42% of all convict leases in the State of Georgia.
In 1890, John C. Klein of the New York World went undercover to expose the corruption of convict leasing, but owners denied his allegations. Amid growing criticism about the inhumanity of the practice, convict leasing would be abolished by 1908.
STORIES OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE BRICK COMPANY
It is not known exactly how many convicts served at Chattahoochee Brick from 1885-1909. Statistics from 1900-1909 show that the amount of convicts on site ranged from 175-200, but this was constantly shifting, as Chattahoochee Brick was the staging location from which convicts were sent to other parts of the state. Reading accounts it is clear that convicts ranged in race, age, and gender. These stories also reveal that to enter the convict lease system, was also, in many cases, a death sentence.
“This site was one of the most terrible places anywhere in America at the end of the 19th century. There were hundreds of African American men forced to labor here against their will, accused of crimes that many of them had never committed. They suffered terrible abuses and indignities, hunger, and whippings. We don’t know how many people died here or how many may have been buried here, but this was a place of grim terror.” - Douglas A. Blackmon in Slavery by Another Name
“We found 178 men at this camp. The men were compelled to work on Sunday and at night. We also found that the convicts were compelled to go in a fast trot, heavily loaded with brick, in loading cars for shipment, even trotting over loose and broken brick. We also found that the convicts were compelled to go into hot dry kilns, which were likely to kill them. We found the food poor and badly cooked. We found the bedding in a very dirty and unsanitary condition; the floors of the sleeping apartments were also very dirty, and the dining room was unusually filthy and unfit for use for use of any purpose.” ~Testimony given before the Felder Committee, 1908
“How many whippings were there a week? I’ve seen eight or ten a day, and there were a lot I didn’t see. They’d average five a day, easy. Is a report of twenty-five whippings a month correct? It’s nearer 200 or 300 a month.” ~Testimony given before the Felder Committee, 1908
KNOWN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
The Chattahoochee Brick property has significant soil contamination as a result of more than a century of industrial activity. The site of the former Chattahoochee Brick Company meets the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) definition of a brownfield site. After extensive sampling and assessments, it was determined that several areas of the site soils are contaminated with high levels of lead and other industrial pollutants. The previous owner did a partial cleanup of the site contamination, but not to the degree necessary to allow public recreation. A Phase II
Environmental Site Assessment and an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives, conducted by environmental consultants under the City of Atlanta Brownfield Program, confirmed site contamination and recommended excavation of contaminated soil at an estimated cost of $2.5M based on the future recreational use at the site.
The Chattahoochee Brick site is part of the State of Georgia Brownfields program, with certain sections having soil contamination exceeding State standards due to lead and industrial pollutants. While the City plans to remediate the site contamination, archaeological work will need to occur well before the site remediation. In 2023 the City was awarded an EPA Brownfield grant to remediate the contaminated soil in order to make the site safe for the visiting public - a critical step towards the redevelopment of the site as a park, greenspace, and memorial. Concurrently, the City is preparing an Environmental Management Plan to tackle contamination and perform necessary preliminary archaeological work before the remediation process begins. The site cleanup will take place simultaneously with the planning of the site and is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026.
