In 1911 E. G. Hitchins,
then General Manager of General Refractories, started construction of the
Hitchins General Refractories Firebrick Plant. This large modern
brick plant was completed the following year, and many people moved to
area, then known as Anglin, and obtained work. The appreciation of
the community was evident when the following year, the name of the community
was changed to Hitchins. In 1919, the plant was the largest fire
brick plant of its kind in the world.
The plant had a number of
superintendents. The first superintendent was Clayton S. Hitchins,
son of E. S. Hitchins, who served from 1913-1920, followed by:
Freeman Webb, Ernest C. Williams, Edd Ratcliff, James
T. Jaggers, Glen Rucker, Faye Eldridge, Ronald McClure,
Robert Uhler, Robert Langford and David Ireland.
Submitted by Garrett and Sherry Lowe