The Waite family owned the property from 1663-1728 and built the first house, a single room stone-ender. Stone end houses are characteristic of the Narragansett Basin, which includes Westport. Most examples are found in Rhode Island, and the Waite-Kirby-Potter House is a rare example of the type found in Massachusetts.
The Kirby family owned the home from 1728-1838. The Kirbys were responsible for the home's major architectural changes with expanded rooms, an additional chimney and overall, doubling the size of the house.
The Potter family occupied the property after 1838 living in a new house, although, they still continued to use and improve the old stone end house. The glass and ceramics recovered from this context illuminate an aspect about the lives of the mid-nineteenth century Potter family. Older ceramics were recovered within this deposit, such as an eighteenth century Rhenish stoneware tankard from Germany and a posset pot, indicating the family kept important or useful items until they were no longer serviceable.
In 1940, this building was reportedly the oldest standing structure in all of southeastern Massachusetts. The home may have been extensively damaged by a hurricane in 1944, and although the building fell into disrepair and was dismantled in the 1950s, structural elements including the stone chimney base are still visible today."
Waite-Kirby-Potter House in Westport, Mass.
Waite-Kirby-Potter House in Westport, Mass.
Built Circa 1663
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: Westport Historical Society
The site of the Waite-Kirby-Potter House was excavated in the fall of 2009 by archaeologists from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. It was reported that the majority of the domestic red earthenware recovered was manufactured by New England potters. However, I was surprised to see the remains of an eighteenth or early-nineteenth century slip-decorated plate with crimped edges illustrated in the archaeology report from 2010. They were recovered within a circa 1750-1820 archaeological context, which suggest that they belonged to the Kirby family's ownership of the property.
These remains certainly appear like slipware made in Philadelphia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; although, this would not be the first time that red earthenware from Philadelphia has been recovered within an archaeological context in New England.
The potters in Philadelphia are known to have exported red earthenware to places, such as Delaware, New York City and Albany, New York; whereas, it appears that some Philadelphia red earthenware may have made its way into New England, as well.
Further proof of Philadelphia pottery found in New England is likely represented by two intact large red earthenware dishes that are owned today by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts and Historic New England. Both of these dishes retain histories of ownership in Massachusetts from the 1800s.
Other examples of domestic red earthenware recovered at this site include utilitarian pots only glazed on the interior, a green-glazed bottle possibly made in southeastern Massachusetts, a black-glazed bowl also possibly from southeastern Massachusetts and a green-glazed bowl, which may be similar to the wonderful red earthenware bowl that I wrote about last night.
Note: Here is a link to the archaeology report for the Waite-Kirby-Potter House in Westport, Massachusetts. I also apologize for the quality of this image, but it is the only picture that I currently have access to that shows these slip-decorated sherds with crimped edges.
Slip-Decorated Sherds Recovered at the Site of the Waite-Kirby-Potter House
18th or Early-19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Sherds
Likely Made in Philadelphia
Recovered at the Site of the Waite-Kirby-Potter House in Westport, Mass.
Found Within a Circa 1750-1820 Archaeological Context
See Article for More Information
Photo Courtesy: University of Massachusetts at Boston Archaeology Department
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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