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Ludowici Roof Tile
Ludowici Roof Tile, LLC., based in New Lexington, Ohio, is an American manufacturer of clay roof tiles, floor tiles, and wall cladding. The company was established in 1888 with the formation of the Celadon Terra Cotta Company in Alfred, New York. It has created tiles for many prominent buildings throughout the United States.
Carl Ludowici was a machinist in Ensheim, Germany and in 1857, he purchased a local roof tile factory, upgrading it with machines of his design, and founded the Carl Ludowici Ziegelwerke. The firm moved to a factory in Ludwigshafen in 1861 and gradually expanded, largely due to the innovative nature of Ludowici's steam-powered tile press. After Carl died in 1881, his sons, Wilhelm and Franz, took over the company, with Franz taking over business management and Wilhelm leading design and development. The company largely relocated to Jockgrim, where it grew into one of the major German tile manufacturers of its era.
In 1893, the Ludowicis licensed their patents and designs to the newly formed Ludowici Roofing Tile Company of Chicago. This company exhibited tiles at the World's Columbian Exposition that year, and with its factory in Chicago Heights, grew to become a leading producer of roof tiles by the turn of the century.
Ludowici built a factory in the unincorporated community of Liberty City, Georgia, in 1902. As a tribute to the company, the city was incorporated as Ludowici, Georgia, in 1905.
In 1888, a sculpting professor at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, found that the local supply of clay was well-suited for ornamental sculpting work, and found other local investors to form the Celadon Terra Cotta Company, named for the green hue the clay took on when salt-fired. After visiting a friend in the area, George Herman Babcock became interested in the possibilities of terra cotta and bought stock, eventually becoming the president of the company. As president, he filed patents for multiple profiles of tile, such as the Conosera tile and unique combination tiles with different designs but a standard base, allowing for multiple styles of interlocking tile to be used on the same roof.
Babcock died in 1893, but the company continued to grow as it shifted focus towards roofing tile and was renamed the Celadon Roofing Tile Company in 1900. Shortly after this, the New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics was established at Alfred University following lobbying effort by Celadon executives and others. The presence of this school allowed the company to collaborate with leading ceramicists of the time such as Charles Fergus Binns, who did extensive consulting work with Celadon.
The Celadon Company purchased the Imperial Clay Company in 1905 and gained its factory in New Lexington, Ohio.
In 1906, the companies merged to form the Ludowici-Celadon Company. A plant in Coffeyville, Kansas, was purchased in 1908, and in 1909, the factory in Alfred, New York, burned to the ground. The company never rebuilt in the village, but the original Celadon Company office survived and remains there to this day.
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Ludowici Roof Tile
Ludowici Roof Tile, LLC., based in New Lexington, Ohio, is an American manufacturer of clay roof tiles, floor tiles, and wall cladding. The company was established in 1888 with the formation of the Celadon Terra Cotta Company in Alfred, New York. It has created tiles for many prominent buildings throughout the United States.
Carl Ludowici was a machinist in Ensheim, Germany and in 1857, he purchased a local roof tile factory, upgrading it with machines of his design, and founded the Carl Ludowici Ziegelwerke. The firm moved to a factory in Ludwigshafen in 1861 and gradually expanded, largely due to the innovative nature of Ludowici's steam-powered tile press. After Carl died in 1881, his sons, Wilhelm and Franz, took over the company, with Franz taking over business management and Wilhelm leading design and development. The company largely relocated to Jockgrim, where it grew into one of the major German tile manufacturers of its era.
In 1893, the Ludowicis licensed their patents and designs to the newly formed Ludowici Roofing Tile Company of Chicago. This company exhibited tiles at the World's Columbian Exposition that year, and with its factory in Chicago Heights, grew to become a leading producer of roof tiles by the turn of the century.
Ludowici built a factory in the unincorporated community of Liberty City, Georgia, in 1902. As a tribute to the company, the city was incorporated as Ludowici, Georgia, in 1905.
In 1888, a sculpting professor at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, found that the local supply of clay was well-suited for ornamental sculpting work, and found other local investors to form the Celadon Terra Cotta Company, named for the green hue the clay took on when salt-fired. After visiting a friend in the area, George Herman Babcock became interested in the possibilities of terra cotta and bought stock, eventually becoming the president of the company. As president, he filed patents for multiple profiles of tile, such as the Conosera tile and unique combination tiles with different designs but a standard base, allowing for multiple styles of interlocking tile to be used on the same roof.
Babcock died in 1893, but the company continued to grow as it shifted focus towards roofing tile and was renamed the Celadon Roofing Tile Company in 1900. Shortly after this, the New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics was established at Alfred University following lobbying effort by Celadon executives and others. The presence of this school allowed the company to collaborate with leading ceramicists of the time such as Charles Fergus Binns, who did extensive consulting work with Celadon.
The Celadon Company purchased the Imperial Clay Company in 1905 and gained its factory in New Lexington, Ohio.
In 1906, the companies merged to form the Ludowici-Celadon Company. A plant in Coffeyville, Kansas, was purchased in 1908, and in 1909, the factory in Alfred, New York, burned to the ground. The company never rebuilt in the village, but the original Celadon Company office survived and remains there to this day.