Location Pamplin, Virginia NRHP Reference # 80004169 Designated VLR June 1, 2005 Area 1 ha | Built 1879 (1879) VLR # 006-0048 Opened 1879 Added to NRHP 25 November 1980 | |
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Pamplin Pipe Factory, also known as Merrill and Ford, The Akron Smoking Pipe Factory, and The Pamplin Smoking Pipe and Manufacturing Company, is a historic factory and archaeological site located at Pamplin, Appomattox County, Virginia. Located on the property are a wood framed factory building, a deteriorating brick kiln, and a collapsed brick chimney. It began operation about 1879 and was at one time the largest clay pipe manufacturer in the United States.
History
Passing through several owners, pipes were manufactured at the factory through the peak of clay pipe manufacturing around 1919 until the business was sold at public auction in 1938. The post-1938 owners changed the focus of the company to novelty and souvenir pipes and retail sale of local home industry handmade pipes, but were unable to make a profit. The company was dissolved in 1952.
Clay pipes made at the Pamplin factory have been found in archaeological sites throughout the United States. Clay making tools from the site, and pipes, have been preserved at several locations.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.