Adobe bricks keep Fort in shape

Making adobe bricks is a family affair. Ismael Ramirez’s children like to help their dad, while their mother, Saby Sarabia, supervises. The children are Andrea, top, Ismael, right, and Isabella. The bricks match existing adobe at the fort well.

Adobe bricks have been used for millennia to provide building material.

Adobe bricks are made out of mud and straw. The building material, as well as the word itself, has remained nearly the same since Egyptians used it in antiquity.

In an era of modern building materials, there are still some people around to remind the rest of us about the durability of adobe and that using it successfully is as much an art form as it is a practical construction skill.

Reggie Mackay is a little newer to the scene compared with the Egyptians but still practices the art of using adobe bricks as a building material.

Hired out of Florence, Mackay has most recently been using his skills to help make repairs to assist in the preservation of Fort Verde State Historic Park.

Mackay has been working with adobe for more than three decades and has done restoration and preservation work around the Southwest on several historic structures.

In fact, Mackay has won several awards for his work.

The Army never intended the fort to be a permanent structure when it was built in the late 1800s.

To read the full story, see the Wednesday, Aug. 6, edition of The Camp Verde Journal.

Mark Lineberger

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