EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: An Incredible Discovery Today Inside an 18th Century Farm House in Saco, Maine

Sunday, October 4, 2015

An Incredible Discovery Today Inside an 18th Century Farm House in Saco, Maine

I made an incredible discovery today thanks to Scarborough, Maine antiques dealer, Rachel Gurley, who directed me towards a very-special group of red earthenware and stoneware objects that were found in an eighteenth-century farm house in Saco, Maine. Personally, I feel this is an incredible discovery for historical reasons rather than aesthetic purposes; however, I also feel this is a local museum-quality discovery in respect to the historical context.

I know very-little about the history of this home, but the homeowner did provide me with some basic information. This is what I know - the home was built in 1767 - it became known as the McKenney family home in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries. I was also told that multiple generations of the McKenney family lived in this house. I received a quick tour of the home today - and, it appeared that most of this house was still in untouched condition. Rarely, are homes still found in this type of condition today.

This morning, the homeowner held a moving sale - and, he sold a collection of pottery that he found buried behind boards in the attic of this historic home. The group of pottery had been placed inside an eighteenth-century drawer taken from an odd piece of furniture that has not been identified. What is so special about this discovery today is that these objects were found behind the attic boards. The homeowner discovered the group when he was doing work in the attic years back. I personally feel that all of the evidence suggests that these objects were hidden in the attic in the nineteenth-century, which means they may have been discovered in their original context. I don't believe there is any reason to believe otherwise.

All of the objects are damaged - and, thus the reason why the homeowners (possibly the McKenney family) may have placed them in the attic. Frugality may have been a factory here - or, there could be more to this story. It's possible that these objects were put in the attic for a future generation to discover - none-the-less, this is a remarkable discovery. It's not just the context, either. These objects may provide a time capsule into how the utilitarian wares appeared in this part of southern Maine in the nineteenth-century. All of the red earthenware appears to have been made nearby at the Bickford Pottery in Buxton, Maine in the early-to-mid-nineteenth-century; although, there is also an example of Charlestown, Massachusetts stoneware that was probably made before 1830. This stoneware jug may suggest an import system occurred from Charlestown to either nearby Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Portland, Maine - and, that's how this jug made its way into this home in the 1800's.

1767 Farm House in Saco, Maine

Another View of the House

18th or 19th Century Barn that Goes with the House

This is the Attic Where all of the Objects in this Report were Discovered

I don't think there's a lot more to be said about how wonderful a discovery this is - I'm thrilled over it. I should also note that the following group of photos were not taken in Maine - instead, these pictures were taken in my cellar in my home in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

These objects are all in 'as-found' condition. The homeowner told me when he found the box he left it in the attic. He said he never removed it until he sold it today. I'm someone who usually cleans my pottery for display in my house; however, I will not clean any of these objects. I feel the dirt that covers each item helps tell the story of what was discovered today.