34                    HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

Null place. In connection with his clay plant Smith also kept a country
store. In 1865 he sold the premises to John Everhart, who continued to
operate the shop in the production of ware, Finley Knisely and S. V.
White doing the moulding and burning.
    The first shop of this kind in the northeast part of the county, as
remembered by early settlers, was that of Neal Vestal, near the point
then known as the “Big Lick,” a mile or more northeast of Morgan’s
Crossing. Not distant from this point, later on, were the Cordrey, Sapp,
Brackney, Perry and Casteel shops. A few miles westward, in Dick
Johnson township, were the Torbert, Brackney, Billeter & Zeigler, Ball
and Husher shops. Henry Ball’s shop was on the Dunlavy place, near
the old school-house, where Brazil’s voting population used to go on
every recurring election day to cast their ballots. On one occasion, to
close out his stock on hand, Ball sent three wagon-loads of ware, on the
same day, to Martinsville, hauled by Sanmel McMilian, John Triplett
and Abe Rardan. Primarily, the output of these industries consisted of
crocks and jugs, then, later, of jars and cans, in part. On the 5th day
of June, 1859, William R. Torbert put in operation the first clay industry
on the site of the town of Brazil, which be operated until the year 1903,
a period of forty-four years. Were it possible to approximate by any
means of computation the number of gallons of ware produced from
Clay county clay, the figures of the enumeration would astound and
bewilder even the most conservative and credulous mind.