Examples of Western New York Red Earthenware Owned by the Genesee Country Village and Museum

While there are many locations in America where red earthenware was manufactured in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, I have always felt the wares manufactured in Western New York deserve a lot more attention today. The wares from this region were just as skilled as any other, the glazes were often colorful and there was even the use of slip-decoration.

According to an article written by Jeffrey Bagel for 'Western New York Heritage Magazine,' "Red earthenware is a form of earthenware, and takes its name from the reddish clays used in its creation. Red earthenware clays were very prevalent in Western New York and were frequently dug by potters. 

Some of the earliest documented red earthenware potteries in Western New York were located in West Bloomfield, Ontario County. Census and newspaper records show pottery operations as early as 1810. 

In 1818, Nathaniel Rochester, one of three Maryland purchasers of the Hundred Acre Tract - today's City of Rochester, offered his West Bloomfield farm for rent as well as "a POTTERY and DWELLING HOUSE and LOT, adjoining said farm." Although not a potter himself, Rochester most likely purchased this property as an investment and rented it to potters to produce wares. Archaeological exactions on the site revealed fragments of red earthenware plates with a coggled edge and unusual swirled brown and white glazes."

The following jar is an example of some of the slip-decorated household objects manufactured at Nathaniel Rochester's pottery; Peter Wisbey, curator of collections at the Genesee Country Village and Museum says, "the attribution is based on fragments excavated at the pottery site in 1973 by George Hamell and the Rochester Museum and Science Center."

From my experience, any type of red earthenware adorned in slip at the Rochester Pottery is desired today among collectors and museums, especially jars and pitchers. The slip-decorated plate sherds that Bagel cites are believed to be the the only evidence of any such production today - and to my knowledge, there are no known surviving intact plates. Although, Robesonia, Pennsylvania potter, Lester Breininger did reproduced plates and platters from the sherds for the museum in the 1970s.

The Genesee Country Village and Museum also owns ten examples of red earthenware from the nearby Morganville Pottery in Genesee County, including two jars marked by Charles Gleason that are posted below. Peter Wisbey says, "The Morganville collection at the museum spans everything from tablewares to flowerpots that were produced in the latter years of the business. The museum's working pottery is even based on the footprint and plan for the Morganville site."

Many of the museum's examples of red earthenware are currently on display inside the Town Hall building; the exhibit is entitled, "Earthen Beauty."

I should also note that the Genesee Country Village and Museum owns over 180 pieces of stoneware, mostly from the Rochester and upstate New York region, including 34 pieces the museum just acquired from a private collector in 2016.

Examples of Western New York Red Earthenware

19th Century Slip-Decorated Red Earthenware Jar

Attributed to Nathaniel Rochester's Pottery in Rochester, NY

Circa 1820

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Genesee Country Village and Museum

19th Century Red Earthenware Jars Made at the Pottery in Morganville, NY

Both Jars are Marked "Charles Gleason"

Likely Circa 1840s or 1850s

See Article for More Information

Photo Courtesy: Genesee Country Village and Museum

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