Early Redware Milk Pan Found in Winterport, Maine

The French and Indian War fought between British America and New France began over a dispute over land in the Ohio River Valley. Both sides felt  they had a valid claim - and eventually, both sides felt threatened by each other over land ownership in the manner each side approached the conflict. War eventually broke out with Britain eventually taking claim of the land known as New France in 1763. A portion of the land that made up New France is what many of us see today as part of Maine. The boundaries became a part of the American colonies and more specifically - it fell under Massachusetts governing control.

A group of Massachusetts soldiers stationed at Fort Pownall in the Penobscott River region of Maine founded the town of Frankfort in 1766. The region was originally a part of New France. The area became a major distribution center for areas that emerged inland of the eighteenth century. Like many rivers of New England that reach the Atlantic Ocean - the Penobscot River does not freeze over in winter months. It was a busy area for trade, commerce and ship building. The area's rich granite quarries became a major commercial enterprise, too. The commercial success of Frankfort's industries led to Maine's growth of further nearby inland settlements.

Frankfort was eventually divided into four equal parts in the nineteenth century. Frankfort became a shadow of its former self when Stockton Springs, Prospect and Winterport all formed.

Winterport was founded on March 12, 1860. The town was the heart of Old Franfort's marketplace. It was located directly on the Penobscott River and served many area needs before it was established as a town in New England. Winterport was a busy area for trade and shipping in the winter months - therefore how it was named Winterport. It served a major distribution center of imports that were received for industries outside the area of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Redware, stoneware, furniture, pewter, silver and produce were likely all included as imports as part of the local economy. Winterport merchants probably received the goods at the town docks and then distributed them to households in the region from shops in the local marketplace. There were likely many contracts between Winterport merchants and the industries which worked to the south. Imports were probably seen at Fort Pownell in 1750s and 1760s, but on a much-lesser scale.

There have been many stories by respected antique dealers of quality examples of early American hand-crafted antiques discovered in area homes in Winterport and the surrounding communities. Recently, I was offered a redware milk pan that came directly out of a Winterport home. Its entire history is not known, but odds are the milk pan is original to the area.

 Redware Milk Pan Found in Winterport, Me

Likely Late 18th or Early 19th Century
Circa 1770 to 1830

Large Redware Milk Pan with Nice Orange Glaze
Measures 17 Inches Across

The early potters in Maine were known for their redware milk pans. The form was a part of nearly all potters inventories and output. However, many Maine-made milk pans typically demonstrate a semi or completely rounded rim or lip. This milk pan's rim is flat and extends downward at a strong angle. I have seen milk pans made in Vermont with an extended flat rim, but those typically extend directly outwards not downwards. The rim on the Winterport found pan is about an inch long. It also shows an exaggerated rounded base that is not typically seen either. That too is a trait sometimes seen in Vermont.

  Redware Milk Pan Rim

   Redware Milk Pan Rim
Measures About 1 Inch in Length

  Redware Milk Pan Rounded Base

This summer I walked along the shores of the Mystic River in Charlestown, Massachusetts to see how the area appeared. I imagined the great battle that took place in 1775 atop Bunker Hill. I thought of Boston - when it was governed by England and the troops that commanded it until George Washington and an army of  patriots overthrew the British in 1776. The loyalists were all then forced north from Boston - into areas that we now see as Canada. If New France had still existed, they may have not gone as far north and instead, ended up in parts of Maine.

The march for America's independence all really began near the shores of Charlestown. I wanted to see what sorts of artifacts may be laying on the shores of the Mystic River. I was curious to see if any obvious redware or stoneware from industries past laid around. It was really a collective gathering of modern artifacts to those that date to the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There was no real rhyme or reason why what was where, but I still found it interesting.

Artifacts Found in Charlestown, Ma

All 18th or 19th Century

I found an 18th century clay pipe - possibly earlier. Probably an eighteenth century imported Dutch wine, rum or onion bottle. It most-likely predates the American Revolution and may have witnessed all that went on in Massachusetts in the 1770s. There were also a handful of domestic redware and stoneware shards from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The rim on the milk pan reminded me of a similar rim on a shard seen in Charlestown. It was not from a milk pan, but instead, some sort of storage crock. There is no way to really attribute it to a local Boston-area manufacturer, but it is possible. I carefully analyzed both rims and they appear to have a similar manufacturing technique. The rim on the Charlestown shard is smaller, but so wasn't likely the overall form. I personally do not feel the shard found in Charlestown is from the same potter who made the milk pan, but it certainly does indicate how potters influenced each other and techniques traveled.

 Redware Shard Found in Charlestown, Ma

Likely a Form Used for Storage

Found on the Shores of the Mystic River

Probably 18th Century

 Unusual Rim that is Flat and Extends Downwards

 Another Angle of Rim

Shows a Similar Rim to that Seen on the Milk Pan

It is my belief the milk pan was made in either Maine or possibly Vermont by a potter in those industries. A coastal Maine potter would make most sense. They probably used the coast of Maine as a means of transport and traveled west by way of the Penobscott River until they reached Winterport. The flat rim is rather indicative of potters who worked in Vermont; possibly Portsmouth, New Hampshire and apparently coastal Massachusetts. It is possible it did travel from one of these areas, but more evidence would be needed to actually guarantee it. Vermont is certainly a possibility.

Regardless of all that, the milk pan probably made its way into Winterport when it was still a part Frankfort under the import industry that once existed. There are other angles that can be taken on this, too - but I feel this is the most possible and interesting.

I am sure there are a lot of interpretations between the shard found in Charlestown, the milk pan, the imports of Frankfort and the travels early American accessories make over the years. It's all left up to theory and a process of elimination. Antique dealers have been known to pull a number of important antiques from Winterport area homes of years past. In many cases - the antiques have been found to have ties to the marketplace in Winterport that once existed. There is no reason to believe otherwise of the  milk pan and the early home it was found in, but like I said - it's all left up to interpretation.

Much more to come...