It is believed that the first fired brick in Utah were made in Cedar City in connection with the attempt of the Deseret Iron Company to manufacture iron in 1852. The blast furnace was located in the vicinity of 400 North and 100 East. Fired brick was made near there for the use in the lining of the blast furnace and construction of some brick homes and public buildings.


By the turn of the century, most of the brick making operations had been moved to the southern outskirts of the city. These were located here, immediately north, northeast, east and southeast of this monument. They supplied the brick for homes, commercial and public buildings for Cedar City and some surrounding areas, until well into the 1930’s. The Old Administration Building and the Old Main Building on the Southern Utah University campus, several blocks north of here, were constructed from brick made in this immediate area. This monument stands on part of one of these brickyards, and includes some of the original bricks made here. It is a memorial to the various brick markers including Bryant, Fretwell, Dutton, Rollo, Jakeman, Palmer, and others unrecorded and those who worked for them.