Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company was founded in 1892 by Arthur A. Denny (1822-1899) when he bought out predecessor company Puget Sound Fire Clay Company. Clay's popularity over wood as a building material grew substantially after the Great Seattle Fire in 1889. Raw material was extracted with hydraulic mining equipment from heavy glacial clay deposits in Taylor, Washington (near Black Diamond). By 1905 the company was the largest producer of brick pavers in the world, and ornamental terra cotta from the Renton factory can still be found in buildings in downtown Seattle. After Arthur Denny's death his son Orion O. Denny (1853-1916) became president of the company. The company was bought by Gladding, McBean in 1927 and the mine closed in 1947 when Taylor was condemned to become part of Seattle's Cedar River watershed. This image of Orion Denny (left) and John H. Pritchard (1857-1930), the first superintendent of the mine, was taken outside the clay mine at Taylor, Washington.

Handwritten on negative: Clay Tunnel, Denny Clay Co., Green River. A. W. O., Photo 93

• Subjects (LCTGM): Clay mining--Washington (State)--Seattle
• People: Denny, Orion O., 1853-1916; Pritchard, John H., 1857-1930