Peter Remillard
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Remillard brothers and members of their family were successful owners of brick manufacturing plants in
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
and
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
from the 1860s to the mid-1900s. The three brothers who founded the brick making company, and started the Remillard fortune, immigrated from St. Valentin (near Napierville),
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
toward the end of the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
.


Pierre-Nicolas "Peter" Remillard

Pierre-Nicolas "Peter" Remillard was born April 2, 1837, at St. Valentin, Quebec. In 1854 he came to California as an aspiring and self-reliant seventeen-year-old. He became involved in gold mining and saved what was later described in his obituary as a "snug sum" of money. In 1861, at the age of twenty-four, he moved to Oakland, where he became an employee of a brickyard. Within five years, he rose from hired hand at the brickyard to its owner and opened an office and yard at Clay and 2nd Streets and a brick plant in nearby Brooklyn. His brothers Hilaire and Edward also came from Quebec to join him in the enterprise. The business expanded and, in 1879, was incorporated as Remillard Brick Company. For a number of years, the Remillard brothers provided contracting service to the building trade in addition to manufacturing bricks. In 1882, the company established a large yard at Pleasanton. The Remillards supplied bricks for many important buildings including the old Palace Hotel in San Francisco and many large and important buildings in Oakland. For some forty years the Remillards were the only brick manufacturing company in
Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...
, supplied material for nearly every brick building in the county, and held a near monopoly on supplying bricks to the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...
and
Pacific Island The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...
s. In 1890, a yard was established at Greenbrae in
Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...
and two years later in 1892, the Remillards established a yard that employed over 300 men at San Jose,
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
. Pierre-Nicolas Remillard married Cordule Laurin in January 1867 in San Francisco. They lived in the Ashworth-Remillard House, a
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. He died suddenly on August 3, 1904, at his home on Adams and Perkins Street in Oakland, California from a heart attack. Although he had been in poor health for the previous year, he was able to go to his office until about three months before his death. Pierre Remillard was one of the founders of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland and one of the first members of the Athenian Club. Pierre Remillard's blue Eastlake frame home is in Preservation Park, at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 13th Street in Oakland. Remillard Park in Berkeley was named for him in 1964 after the land for part of the park was donated by his daughter, Countess Lillian Remillard Dandini.


Remillard Brick Company

The Remillard Brick Company was the largest brick manufacturer on the
Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...
. The Remillard Brick Company opened
brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or Yard (land), yard where bricks are made, pottery firing, fired, and stored, or sometimes Commerce, sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed ...
s in
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
area: * East Oakland Remillard Brickyard, opened in 1864 * Pleasanton Remillard Brickyard * San Jose Remillard Brickyard (1891-1968) * Greenbrae Rillard Brickyard ran for 103 years on the San Quentin Peninsula.
The Greenbrae Remillard Brickyard's Green Brae kiln is a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
No. 917. The remains of the Greenbrae kiln are between San Quentin and the Larkspur ferry landing. The Greenbrae kiln has been converted into an upscale restaurant. The Greenbrae Remillard bricks were used to build
Ghirardelli Square Ghirardelli Square is a landmark public square at the foot of Russian Hill and adjacent to the Aquatic Park Historic District in San Francisco. It is often considered to be part of the tourist attractions at nearby Fisherman's Wharf. A portio ...
, the Palace Hotel, and many other San Francisco buildings the 1906 earthquake and fire. Edward Remillard invented some improvements in brickmaking and has United States patents for some of these brick these improvements. Peter Remillard also make improvements in brick making. Cordule and Lillian, Peter's daughter ran the company after Peter Remillard died in 1904. In addition to bricks Remillard Brick Company also made and sold
cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
, lime, cleaned
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
and
plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
.


Philippe-Hilaire "Philip" Remillard

Philippe-Hilaire "Philip" Remillard was born December 18, 1834, at St-Valentin, Quebec. At the age of nineteen, he went to Boston where he learned brick making. He remained at Boston from 1852 to 1854 before heading west to San Francisco by the “Nicaragua Route” through the Isthmus of Panama where he arrived February 17, 1854. He first went to the mining areas in Nevada where he remained until 1860. He made some money in and around Auburn, California and then went to Oakland. He became interested in what was called the “Idaho excitement” and went there until 1862 when he returned to East Oakland. By 1864, he was involved in brick making in a very modest way and the business soon expanded to become the largest of its kind in the area. In 1878, he purchased a block at the corner of Adeline and 42nd Street, where the family home remained until about 1883 when his widowed mother erected a beautiful home at 999 43rd Street (not extant). Unmarried, he was referred to as "one of the most popular clubmen of Oakland" and a "bon vivant." He died March 12, 1901, after a fall. He was vice president of Remillard Brick Company at the time of his death.


Edouard "Edward" Remillard

Edouard "Edward" Remillard was born February 1, 1840, at St-Valentin, Quebec. In 1859 he left Quebec and went to California to join his two older brothers. He first went to the mines for a brief period and soon went to Oakland and San Francisco where the three brothers became partners in the Remillard Brothers Brick Company. He returned to Canada in about 1866 and there he married his second cousin Virginie Remillard on January 14, 1867, at Napierville. She was the daughter of Narcisse and Rosalie Monjon and was baptized December 15, 1847, at Napierville. He and Virginia first lived in East Oakland, where they erected a comfortable dwelling before moving to Clay Street, where they lived until 1887 when they moved to 1355 Webster Street. He died March 10, 1903, in Oakland at the age of 63 years while sitting in a chair talking to his brother, P.N. Remillard.


Countess Lillian Remillard Dandini

Countess Lillian Remillard Dandini was the daughter of Pierre-Nicolas and Cordule (Laurin) Remillard. She was born April 28, 1880, in Oakland and died July 17, 1973, in
Hillsborough, California Hillsborough is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located south of San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered by Burlinga ...
. She inherited the company from her father after the accidental death of her brother Philip from a fall from a San Francisco restaurant fire escape in March 1901. She was noted for her ownership and preservation of the architectural gem, Chateau Carolands in Hillsborough, California, at one time the second largest house in the United States, which she bought in 1953 and lived in until her death. She willed the Chateau to the city of Hillsborough for a museum of music and art, but left no money to acquire the music or the art and in the end, the city of Hillsborough sold the house. She married Count Alessandro Dandini about 1932; they divorced about 1939.


See also

* California Historical Landmarks in Marin County


Burial

Many members of the Remillard family were buried in the Remillard Mausoleum in
Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) The Mountain View Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Oakland, California, United States. It was established in 1863 by a group of East Bay pioneers under the California Rural Cemetery Act of 1859. The association they formed still operates the cem ...
, where many Bay Area millionaires are buried. Edward and his wife were buried in the adjacent Saint Mary's Cemetery.


References


Further reading

{{Cite book , last=Gunn , first=J.M. , title=History of California and Biographical Record of Oakland and Environs , publisher=Historic Record Co. , year=1907 , volume=2 , location=Los Angeles , pages=468–469, 748–749 , url=https://archive.org/details/historyofstateof00guin_3 Additional references a
California Bricks website
History of San Francisco People from the San Francisco Bay Area