In the Haverstraw brickyards African and Italian workers lived and worked side by side, with possibly a majority of the workers being Black. Ginny Norfleet talked of everyone growing up having a Black grandma and an Italian grandma. Brickmaking made Haverstraw one of the richest towns on the Hudson River. The bricks made in Haverstraw supplied the growth of New York City but ended in 1906 when clay mining tunnels and pits dug by the brickyards under the town resulted in a landslide that destroyed half of the town, most of the brickyards, and countless workers. #shantyboat #brickyards #greed #capitalism #black #italian #neighborhoods #hudsonriver