National Gypsum — Buffalo and Clarence Center
National Gypsum began in the Buffalo region; its Buffalo corporate offices and its first manufacturing plant at Clarence Center are different workplaces.
Which workplace do you remember?
Start with the exact property, employer, job, years and department. Nearby sites with related names may have different operations and records.
Dates that may bring back a memory
1925
National Gypsum identifies its founding in Buffalo and its first gypsum wallboard plant at Clarence Center.
1930s–1940s
Company expansion created additional plants; a National Gypsum job may refer to different locations.
Later twentieth century
Products and corporate operations evolved; the particular plant and employment period require confirmation.
Details that help identify your workplace
- Was the workplace an office in Buffalo or a gypsum manufacturing facility at Clarence Center?
- Do you remember board production, paper handling, mixing, drying, shipping or plant maintenance?
- Which road, entrance, rail siding, department, supervisor or shift do you remember?
Think about entrances, routes to work, equipment, coworkers, shift changes, expansions, contractors and nearby landmarks.
Two locations, two kinds of working day
Buffalo offices
Remember whether your day involved desks, correspondence, purchasing, sales, management, or travel to a plant. A Buffalo mailing address does not by itself identify a production assignment.
Clarence Center plant
Remember the route into the plant, where raw materials arrived, the wallboard line, drying areas, finishing, storage and shipment. Production, repair and outside-contractor crews may have used different entrances.
Changing company footprint
If the employer name stayed the same while the job changed, note the transfer date, new address, and whether the work was in a plant, warehouse or office.
Questions worth asking
- A plant badge, payroll stub or union record may give a more precise location than a company name.
- Family photographs of a commute or an employee event may identify the year or site.
Put the years beside the place
A job title or company name may span several sites and decades. Start with the earliest and latest years you remember, then add changes in department, building, employer, supervisor, shift or equipment. A photograph, pay stub, union record or former coworker may help place an event in time.
Even ordinary details—where you entered, the route you traveled, what the plant produced that year—can help distinguish one workplace from another.
From a remembered workplace to records
Potential next sources include property maps, historical photographs, employment and union records, equipment manuals, work orders, contractor records, building plans and testimony. The correct evidence depends on the identified location and dates.
Start with what you remember → How H&S investigates worksites →