On the corner of Summit Street and Eighth Avenue sits the former site of the Orton Memorial Laboratory where Edward Orton Jr. first began the manufacturing of pyrometric cones. Today, these cones remain the standard by which ceramic firings are monitored and controlled.
In 1896, Edward Orton Jr. began the Standard Pyrometric Cone Company and later manufacturing was started in Lord Hall on campus. The business grew and moved to the location of the former Old Heidelberg South on High Street. Then, in 1927, it was moved once again to 1445 Summit Street. The building was eventually named the Orton Memorial Laboratory.
Just what is a pyrometric cone? In the late 1800’s there was no way of knowing the actual temperature in a ceramic oven, said Dale Fronk, engineering manager of the Orton Ceramic Foundation. A man in Germany discovered that when he placed a cone in an oven it would bend at a certain time and temperature. Once the time and temperature were measured against the cone, firing would terminate before the ceramic would ruin.
These cones were perfected by Orton. They work as a temperature gauge for the ceramic industry; which increased the quality of the ceramic as well as the productivity. They are described as small, slender trihedral pyramids consisting of a mixture of minerals, similar to what ceramics are composed of.
Pyrometric cones are the most accurate device to determine when ceramics are properly fired, Fronk said. No electric device can determine temperature and heat better than pyrometric cones and they have been the world wide standard for hundreds of years. Products made from ceramic ovens are bricks, dishes, spark plugs, bathroom products and artwork, such as clay pots and ashtrays.
Orton designed the three-story building himself and made the basement foundation out of 27-inch reinforced concrete, Fronk said.
“He built the building to last,” said Fronk, who worked there. Orton chose an off-campus location because land was available and it was close to OSU, Fronk said.
The building became the first site of the Edward Orton Jr. Ceramic Foundation, which was established by Orton in his will. The intention of the foundation was to research and develop pyrometric cones. The foundation is a non-profit organization and, under certain contingencies, it may ultimately become the property of OSU, according to an OSU Board of Trustees report in 1932.
The purpose of the foundation is two-fold, Fronk said. First of all, it provided the standard for the firing of ceramics (manufacturing pyrometric cones). Secondly, the foundation generates income for ceramic research. The majority of income generated goes to research for the Material Science department at OSU and the remainder goes to other universities as well, Fronk said.
Three OSU employees serve as part of the seven member Board of Trustees for the foundation; Edward Ray, executive vice president and provost of OSU, David Ashley, dean of Engineering and Robert Snyder, chairman of the Material Science and Engineering Department. Each member makes a dollar every year.
In 1981, the foundation moved to Westerville because sales and manufacturing outgrew the Summit location. The space was then sold to an agency that did some form of incubator testing, Fronk said.
The current resident of the building is the Ohio Youth and Advocacy Group.
