House Profile: George Hooper's Advertisement for Bricks

This house has always fascinated me with its unique brick construction. Although Bridgewater has been a center of brick manufacturing for hundreds of years, it has very few historic brick homes.

224-226 Plymouth Street, 2020. Photo by James Walsh.

224-226 Plymouth Street, 1984. Photo by Mass. Historical Commission.

This home was built in 1865 by George Hooper, who owned a brick manufacturing company (later called the New England Brick Co.). His kilns and brickyards, which produced over 4 million bricks per year, were located directly behind this house.

Plymouth County Atlas, 1903. Hooper's home can be seen in the upper-right, with his brickyards expanding north.

Located at 224-226 Plymouth Street, this home was along the main thoroughfare to Plymouth. This striking home would have caught the eye of anyone passing by, like the 19th-century equivalent of a highway billboard.

Today, the Stiles and Hart Company is the only remaining brick manufacturer in Bridgewater. They supply bricks for projects across New England, including Bridgewater State University's campus buildings and Boston City Hall Plaza.

Read more about this home and George's father's home at 350 Plymouth Street.