Alberhill, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alberhill
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 Alberhill
Location in California
Alberhill
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Riverside County |
| Elevation | 1,234 ft (376 m) |
Alberhill is a small, unincorporated community in Riverside County, California. An unincorporated community means it's not an official city with its own local government. It's located about 5.5 miles (9 km) northwest of Lake Elsinore. Alberhill sits at an elevation of 1,234 feet (376 meters) above sea level. The community was named after C.H. Albers, and brothers James and George Hill.
Contents
A Look Back: Alberhill's History
Finding Coal and Clay
In the late 1880s, a man named John D. Huff discovered coal and special clay in the Alberhill area. This clay, called fire clay, is useful because it can handle very high temperatures.
Soon after, C.H. Albers, James Hill, and George Hill started the Alberhill Coal and Clay Company. From 1890 to 1940, they mined low-grade coal (called lignite) and fire clay. Workers dug the coal by hand using picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows in underground tunnels.
The coal mine was located in a canyon, about 0.9 miles southeast of where Alberhill would later be. A special short railway track, called a spur line, was built in 1896. This track connected the mine to the main California Southern Railroad line. It allowed coal to be easily loaded onto trains.
A company called Pacific Sewer Pipe Company had a factory nearby in Terra Cotta. They used Alberhill's clay to make sewer pipes. They also used Alberhill's coal to heat their kilns, which are like big ovens for baking clay products. This factory operated from 1890 until 1915. After that, production moved, and the company became Pacific Clay Products.
The Company Town
In 1895, the Los Angeles Brick Company began its business in the area. This company soon grew into the town of Alberhill itself. They made many different brick products, including face bricks, paving bricks, sewer pipes, and roofing tiles.
By 1918, the company changed its name to Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company. Many famous buildings in Los Angeles were built using their bricks and tiles. These include Royce Hall and Powell Library, both built in the 1920s.
Alberhill was a "company town." This means the town was built and largely owned by the company for its workers. It had a Catholic church and a small elementary school with three rooms, which stayed open until the 1960s. Alberhill also had its own post office from 1915 to 1969. The town's name honored C.H. Albers and the Hill brothers, who owned the land and the mines. In 1963, Pacific Clay Products bought the Los Angeles Brick Company.
Alberhill Today
Today, not much of the original town of Alberhill remains. You can still find the brick production factory of Pacific Clay Products, Inc. The old Alberhill Schoolhouse at 33°43′32″N 117°23′38″W / 33.72556°N 117.39389°W also stands. These buildings are surrounded by the waste materials, called tailings, from the old clay mines.
See also
In Spanish: Alberhill (California) para niños
