In the early 1900s Clayton, Wash., was a bustling little town. Clayton, meaning “Clay Town,” had a clay and a brick factory.

Although the factories have long since been shut down, many memories, buildings and sculptures remain.

“I remember seeing the smokestacks being dynamited,” recalls Clayton resident Taffy Long, who owns the Clayton Drive In.

Formed in 2002, the Clayton and Deer Park Historical Society strives to preserve as much of the area’s history as possible. Last winter, the organization took on an unexpected project in the rescue of an almost 90-year-old giant terra cotta eagle sculpture created in Clayton.

Originally contracted by the Washington State Air National Guard in 1920, the “National Emblem Eagle,” was to be placed atop the rebuilt State Armory at 202 W. Second Ave. in Spokane. Created at the Washington Brick & Lime Co., in Clayton, the eagle consisted of 29 separate pieces and was placed on the pinnacle of the Armory in 1922.

“People used to see it at the Armory, go to dances and boxing matches under it,” said retired mason Lyle Thompson, of Mead. Thompson was one of two masons who helped restore the eagle. “Lots of people in town know about it, they just forgot about it,” he said.

In 1976, the Armory building was sold to the city of Spokane for $1. The eagle was moved to Geiger Field, where it was permanently planted in a concrete stand.

Then, in early December, the eagle started the long road back home with a memorandum that the eagle must be moved before Geiger Field was sold to Spokane International Airport, according to the museum group.

On Dec., 4, Bill Sebright, president of the museum group, received an e-mail from the office of Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, commander of all Washington Army and Air National Guard forces, stating that the eagle needed to be moved before the new year if it was to be salvaged. He forwarded the e-mail to Bob Clouse, of Spokane, who took up the project.

“I was the only one at CDPHS that had even seen the eagle,” Clouse said. After some research, Clouse asked the club for the estimated $5,200 that was needed to cut the eagle free from a concrete base. His proposal was “turned thumbs down.”

On a wing and a prayer, Clouse personally promised Knight Construction of Deer Park that the funds would be raised and told them to cut the eagle free. Knight Construction donated the moving and storing expenses. The Clayton and Deer Park Historical Society successfully raised the funds and the eagle was moved on Dec. 30. “It was a massive heavy equipment undertaking,” Clouse said.

In early June, the eagle was uncrated in a large empty barn in Clayton. The restoration team was a group of local volunteers headed by Pete Coffin of Deer Park. The restoration work began by “chewing” out the old mortar in the joints, Coffin said. Then the team went about refilling the joints and cracks, and sanding down the entire eagle before repainting it. Overall the whole process took about seven days, Coffin said.

After being restored, the eagle was placed on a new platform and displayed on the southwest corner of the Clayton Drive In, at 4535 Railroad Ave. Donating the land “was the right thing to do for Clayton,” said Long. “The historical society didn’t have a place of their own.”

In addition to making a tall metal platform for the eagle, the historical society arranged for a concrete viewing area and planters. American and POW flags wave up high near the sculpture. “Here almost 90 years later, we get a chance, to bring something back to Clayton that’s a big part of the history,” Sebright said.

The dedication is scheduled for Aug. 7 at 1 p.m. at the Clayton Drive In. “Anybody (who) hasn’t seen it ought to go up and see it,” said Thompson. “It’s something else.”