Responding to the building boom and need for brick throughout the Spokane area after the devastating fire of 1889, brickyards were established in a number of locations.  However, most of these yards did not last for more than a decade and the American Firebrick Company brickyard at Mica is the only remaining yard from the time.  Much of the brick used in the buildings of Spokane, both now and in the past, was fired in the kilns at Mica.  The brickyard was also responsible for the development of the Mica community and continues to function as a key economic contributor in the area.  The beehive kilns are among the few remaining in the country that date back to the turn of the century.  The unique architectural design of these kilns provides a rare glimpse of early industrial technology.