Truly Blessed Antiques

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Introduction to West Virginia Pottery for The
Weston Rotary Weston, WV August 25, 2004 By
Bill Hunt
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• Agenda
• Introduction
• Manufacturing Process
• Decorating Techniques
• West Virginia Potteries
• Morgantown, W.Va.
• Fairmont, W.Va.
• Shinnston, W.Va.
• Jane Lew, W.Va.
• Parkersburg, W.Va.
• Lindside, W.Va.
• Additional References
• Questions/Feedback

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• Introduction
• Who I Am
• How I Got Started Collecting Stoneware
• How Collecting Became a Business
• Meaning Behind My Business Name
• Business Overview
• Business Location
• Presentation Outline

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• Manufacturing Process
• Clay was almost always imported
• Used a plug mill to break up the hardened, dry
  clay
• Worked through a screen to remove any lumps or
  stones
• Clay molded using potters wheel
• Stoneware dried from one to three days out in
  the open or in a special drying oven
• Firing done in a kiln
• Once kiln was heated to 2200 2300 degrees
  Fahrenheit, the salt glazing began
• Heat kept at a maximum for a few days and then
  slowly cooled
• The whole process took from six to eight days

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• Decorating Techniques
• Several techniques were used in the decorating of
  stoneware
• Incising
• Freehand using either a plain wooden-handled
• instrument with a sharp blade or a thin iron
  rod.
• Impressing
• Performed by a stamp made of fired clay or
• carved wood with a design in relief.
• Brushwork
• A stiff brush was used to paint motifs on the
• stoneware in short, spontaneous strokes.
• Stenciling
• Became popular after the Civil War. The
  stenciled
• designs were made by tracing with cobalt blue
• through a stencil held against the side of
  the stoneware.

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• West Virginia Potteries
• Potteries were located in
• Morgantown, W.Va.
• Palatine, W.Va.
• Shinnston, W.Va.
• Pruntytown, W.Va.
• Clarksburg, W.Va.
• Jane Lew, W.Va.
• Parkersburg, W.Va.
• Lindside, W.Va.

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Morgantown, W.Va. In 1827, John W. Thompson
purchased an existing pottery from Francis
Billingsley. In circa 1850, the Thompson's change
from lead glazed redware to salt glazed
stoneware. In 1853, John Thompson retires and
three of his four sons take over. In 1863,
John Thompson dies. In 1875-1876, Robert
T. Williams partners with one of the
Thompson's. It was a short-lived business
relationship. David Greenland Thompson dies and
the pottery ceases operation.
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Morgantown, W.Va.
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• Palatine, W.Va.
• Site A Manufacturers/Owners
• From the mid to late 1800s until the early
  1900s, there were two pottery
• sites in Palatine, W.Va. Site A was located
  between Polk Ferry Streets
• adjacent to the Monongahela River, which
  separated the towns of Palatine
• and Fairmont, W.Va. Palatine later became a part
  of Fairmont. This location
• took on a number of owners during its existence
  including (in chronological
• order)
• Knotts Co. Circa Prior to 1875
• Boyers Knotts Circa 1875
• Knotts Swindler Co. Circa 1875 - 1878
• Palatine Pottery Co. Circa 1878 (J.M. Harden)
• Richey Hamilton Circa 1880
• Palatine Queensware Pottery Co. Circa 1886 -
  1889
• Rager Lloyd Co. Circa 1889 - 1901

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• Shinnston, W.Va.
• Shinnston Pottery Manufacturers/Owners
• Knox Haught Co.
• Haught Co.
• John L. Haught
• Wilkinson Fleming
• A. Conrad
• In 1870, Alexander Conrad purchased
• a pottery in New Geneva, PA. and was
• very successful. Conrad was still firing
• a great amount of ware in 1882 when
• he apparently accumulated heavy debt.
• In that year, he sold his New Geneva
• firm to Charles W. Williams and moved
• to Shinnston, W.Va. to start a stoneware
• business there.

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Jane Lew, W.Va. The Jane Lew pottery, located
across from the schools, was started in 1858 by
J.P. Parker and John T. Hacker. J.P.
Parker operated the pottery until 1870 when the
pottery was purchased by S.A. Colvin Son from
Akron, OH. Colvin operated the pottery until
1890 when he rented it to William S. OBrien and
later sold it to Gordon B. Late of Bridgeport,
W.Va. The pottery was last operated by a Mr.
Swentzel who discontinued it about 1903.
(Taken from A Pictorial History of Old Lewis
County The Crossroads of Central West Virginia by
Joy Gregoire Gilchrist and Charles H. Gilchrist)
Above is a picture of the old pottery building
with some of the products stacked in front.
Uncle Noble Colvin is standing in the doorway
with Uncle Jim and Mrs. Colvin nearby. The
wagon load of clay was from Broad Run, about 2
miles away. Bob Colvin is at the controls.
Charlie Colvin is astride the horse standing in
the road. Others in the picture are employees or
people interested in having their picture
tooken. (Taken from Hillbilly, Sept. 1961,
pg.1 Jane Lew Pottery 10 Cents a Gallon, by
Donee Cook.
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Jane Lew, W.Va.
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Parkersburg, W.Va. A.P. Donaghho/Excelsior
Pottery The Donaghhos began their pottery
production in Fredericktown, PA in the 1840s
under the helm of Polk Donaghho. Alexander Polk
Donaghho apprenticed at one of the district
pottery, but decided to seek his fortune in
California in 1852. Upon his return to
Fredericktown in 1855, A.P. first partnered with
Bower and later with Beale before going out on
his own. By 1870, A.P. Donaghho had moved to
Parkersburg, WV, where he started the A.P.
Donaghho Pottery Company. His company was on 14
acres near Bull Creek, which was known
as "Pottery Junction" by the locals. Products
produced by him usually had "A.P. Donaghho" or
"Excelsior Pottery" on them. Pottery production
continued (after his death in 1899) until 1903 or
1904, when it went out of business. Then, in
1906, family heirs sold the land on which the
company had stood.
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Lindside, W.Va. Rice Kroyles Morton's
"History of Monroe County" (1916, republished
1998) has the scantiest mention of pottery
making. From page 261   "With respect to mining
and manufactures, the industrial side of Monroe's
history is a brief tale. The circumstance that
no important railroad penetrates this county
except in the northwest corner and in the extreme
east is enough in these days of steam transit to
bar out any other industrial operations than
those of saw and grist mills....   "During the
now extinct reign of small local industries there
was a different story. Pottery was made at
several points at Lindside as late as 1880.
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• Additional References
• United States Decorated Stoneware Book I
• United States Decorated Stoneware Book II
• Americas Cobalt Decorated Stoneware Book III
• By Dr. Carmen A. Guappone
• Old Pots
• Big Ware Turners
• By Phil Schaltenbrand
• Pottery A Utilitarian Folk Craft
• By Elmer L. Smith
• Stoneware A Guide for the Beginning Collector
• By Regina Stewart Geraldine Cosentino

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Open Forum Questions/Comments??
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Contact Information Bill Hunt, Owner Truly
Blessed Antiques Collectibles 214 Fern
Drive Weston, WV 26452 P 304.269.5346
Email bill_at_trulyblessedantiques.com