Erin Finally Discovers What the ‘LFB’ Initials on Her Fireplace Bricks Stand For

Yes, that's my inoperable and very old fireplace at my apartment. Even though it doesn't work, I think the tile and fireplace itself is beautiful. One fact about me, I've always lived in apartments in older houses. Not only do they have character, but they can be a lot cheaper; you just have to seek them out. From what I can gather, this piece has to be part of the original house, but when I looked closer, I found some initials.

I've lived in my apartment for a little over 3 years, and I've noticed the initials before, but I decided to dig a little deeper and see if there was any other letters carved inside the fireplace. Check this out:

It's faint, but I can make out "Louisville Fire" but then I can't make out the entire marking. So I did some research on the initials, "LFB". I learned it stands for "Louisville Fire Brick Works". Here are some old pictures from the plant in Carter Co. German immigrant Karl Bernhard Grahn built the first plant in Louisville in 1889. The plant in Grahn, the community named for the man himself, was constructed in 1913. In 1959, the Louisville plant closed and the Grahn plant was modernized for around $1 million. Today, the plant is still located in Carter County, with offices back in Louisville.