The 19th Century Potter's Industry in Florida

According to a book written by Dr. Alfred R. Frankel, 'Old Florida Pottery: Potters in Paradise, 1859-1966,' "Florida pottery reflects the lives of the pioneers who founded this state. Food and liquid had to be contained and preserved, water cooled and transported, oil burned for light. Basins were needed for washing; containers for soap; stew pots and bread pans for open hearth cooking; and pitchers, mugs, and bowls for the table. Milk was a farm staple, and crocks were needed for cream rising and butter storage and churns for butter making. Meat was salted, vegetables pickled, lard and tallow stored in large jars; cane syrup, vinegar, wine, and liquor were put in jugs; fruits and jams preserved in small jars. The potters also made sieves, water coolers, funnels, measuring cups, baby bottles, animal feeders, chimney flues, spittoons, chamber pots, inkwells, clay pipes, playing marbles called 'peedabs' and grave markers. Clearly, to understand our world and our place in it - Floridians must study our pottery, our art, and our material culture.

Florida Pottery is American folk art at its best. Made of Florida clay and the sweat of pioneers, it reflects in its shiny alkaline and Albany slip glazes the lives and dreams of its creators. The story began in 1859 at Knox Hill near DeFuniak Springs in the Florida panhandle. The first Florida potters produced the jugs, churns and food storage jars needed to survive in the wilderness. When the Civil War ended and railroads began to push south into the state bringing more immigrant settlers and then winter tourists, the needs of the people changed - and Addison Mizner, an architect from California, began to produce roof and floor tiles and decorative pottery for the homes he was building in Palm Beach - and Mary Ward, a Tennessean, arrived from Bradentown with thoughts of producing decorative pottery for the home."

There were few traditional utilitarian potters, who worked in Florida in the 1800s; although, for those who did, the focus was stoneware products that resembled some of the wares that were made in other southern American states, such as Georgia. I also suspect that some of the Florida stoneware, which survives today may be mistaken for wares made in Georgia; whereas, the forms and glazes were similar - such as when Dr. Frankel wrote that alkaline glazes and Albany slip glazes were the focus in 1859 in Knox Hill, which was the place of a settlement founded by Reverend John Newton, who had migrated from Pennsylvania with a degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts.

The Knox Hill Pottery was established by M.M. Odom and Robert Turnlee, where according to Dr. Frankel, "Turnley (Turnlee) provided the money and the land and Odom was the potter, but the (landmark) operation only lasted a little over a one year." 

It is known that some of the objects produced in Knox Hill were marked; although, I suspect that the majority of the production was not marked. I also suspect that wares made in places like Alabama and Georgia may have have occasionally been shipped to Florida in the nineteenth century.

Location of Knox Hill in Florida

DeFuniak Springs, FL Marked on the Map

Photo Courtesy: Google Maps

Knox Hill, Florida Stoneware

Mid-19th Century Alkaline Glazed Stoneware Jar Made at the Knox Hill Pottery in Florida

Ca. 1859-1860

Stands 15 1/2" Tall
See Article for More Informatioin

Photo Courtesy: Museum of Florida History - Tallahassee, FL

Knox Hill Stoneware Exhibit
Understandably, due to the rarity of Knox Hill stoneware today, as-well-as identification issues, I have not found any auction results in the past ten-years to show as examples. But I did come across an old newspaper article from the DeFuniak Springs Herald that was published on November 27, 1975, which previews an upcoming exhibit at the Walton County Historical Society Museum. Whereas,  the museum had borrowed seven examples of Knox Hill Pottery that were loaned by the Florida State Museum - and, they were the centerpiece of the upcoming exhibit.

 Article from the DeFuniak Spring Herald, November 27, 1975

Previews a Group of Knox Hill Pottery Exhibited at the Walton County Historical Society

Article from the DeFuniak Spring Herald, November 27, 1975

Previews a Group of Knox Hill Pottery Exhibited at the Walton County Historical Society

More About Pottery Produced in Florida
Dr. Frankel continued, "The first successful commercial pottery in the state of Florida was started by John William Kohler in Pensacola in 1869 (1869-1908)." This business was later followed by the York Pottery (1888-1890) in Lake Butler, Florida in the 1800s.

Nonetheless, the majority of the businesses that emerged in the 1900s were almost entirely products made by decorative companies that produced wares, such as painted earthenware vases that were often adorned with native Florida plants and animals. Although, there was also some products that were painted with ancient Grecian-type scenes.

But there were other businesses that operated before 1950 in Florida, which were mostly art pottery-type companies that focused on decorative products and floral wares.

Note: For more information on this subject - I suggest checking out Dr. Frankel's website.

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...