EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: The Old E. Swasey & Company Pottery Building in Portland, Maine Today

Thursday, September 28, 2017

The Old E. Swasey & Company Pottery Building in Portland, Maine Today

I have previously cited a large brick building, where the Charles A. Lawrence Pottery once operated in Beverly, Massachusetts, circa 1866-1906. Unfortunately, this building is long gone; although, what always stood out to me about the building from what I have seen through old photographs, which are owned by the Beverly Historical Society is how the company's name had been prominently painted on the building.

There is a nineteenth century brick building with a similar style of paint that can be seen today near the waterfront at 273 Commercial Street in Portland, Maine; this building was once the location of the E. Swasey & Company Pottery, circa 1890-1930. It is remarkable to see this building today still prominently painted with the Swasey name.

Eben Swasey was an Exeter, New Hampshire trained potter; however, he was in Portland, Maine by 1876, where he reportedly acquired and operated a red earthenware business with another Exeter trained potter, Rufus Lamson. They had purchased the Dodge Pottery, which is a red earthenware potter's business that deserves a lot more research and recognition today. I have recently written a few articles about the archaeology of the related Dodge Pottery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and I believe that the Dodge Pottery in Portland was just as successful.

According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), "Upon the death of Benjamin Dodge, Jr. in 1876, the Dodge Pottery was purchased by Rufus Lamson and Eben Swasey. The Portland directories list this firm from 1877-1883. But by 1882 they had become manufacturers of stoneware. In 1884, Lamson's name is missing, with the name Swasey, Jones & Company. From 1886-1889 the firm name was Swasey, Lamson & Company. In 1890 it was run by Eben Swasey, his son, Fred D. Swasey and George A. Young as E. Swasey & Company and was then known as the Portland Pottery Works. By this time we may be sure the output had assumed a wholly commercial character."

Eben Swasey's youngest son, Perley Swasey joined the business in the late-1890s; whereas, the business continued to prosper on a commercial level even after Eben's death in 1906. This business eventually ceased operation in 1930, as-a-result of the Great Depression, but there may have been other factors, as well.

Nevertheless, it is definitely exciting to see this building still standing today, especially since so many similar buildings were torn down across America in the twentieth century. The smaller Dodge Pottery used to be located in this part of Portland, circa late-eighteenth century to 1876, where the Dodges produced skillfully made household red earthenware. However, this building shows how production standards had changed in the mid-to-late-1800s and early-1900s; whereas, an Industrial building was now needed for production.

The stoneware forms that this business is known for today include crocks, jugs, bean pots and bottles, among many other items. Many of these objects were also marked.

Note: Here is a link to a wonderful circa 1880s stoneware crock decorated with a dog that is marked "Lamson & Swasey / Portland, ME," which sold at Crocker Farm in Sparks, Maryland in 2013.

E. Swasey & Company Buildings, Circa 1890