EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: A Collection of Red Earthenware Sherds Recovered in Brooksville, Maine

Sunday, July 1, 2018

A Collection of Red Earthenware Sherds Recovered in Brooksville, Maine

Two yeas ago, Maine collector, Dr. Brian Mills contacted me and told me about a large collection of red earthenware sherds that he had discovered in Smith's Cove while sailing in Penobscot Bay in Maine. Many of the sherds were glazed black and brown, but he also found sherds that were decorated with colorful glazes, as well as slip-decoration.

The site is located in the Old Mill Pond area of Smith's Cove in the town of Brooksville, Maine, which is a very short distance from Castine, Maine. Although, the aspect about this location that is interesting is the fact that Old Mill Pond is known to have employed brick makers in the nineteenth century, but there is no documentation of a local red earthenware manufacturer.

According to Dr. Mills, "I've returned for the third year in a row to the Old Mill Pond area of Smith's Cove and continue to find significant quantities of red earthenware sherds near the shoreline. I think it is safe to say that I have stumbled upon a previously unknown potter's site in Maine. It seems the pottery was located near a dam as this is where the vast majority of the sherds were found. Water power may have even been used here.

You can get pretty close to the site by ship, but the town road is a long uphill walk and no evidence exists that I can see of any other road.

Interestingly, some of the sherds are decorated with slip, a characteristic rarely found on Maine red earthenware. But besides the black and brown glazes, there are a couple of attractive swirly greens, a real nice beige with black spots and a red glaze also with black dots.

Many of the sherds are heavily potted, but a few are surprisingly thin. There are also a number of sherds that exhibit no glaze, whatsoever. Overall, I must have collected ten pounds of red earthenware sherds so far and I imagine more will wash out as clam diggers and the tide uncovers them."

Red Earthenware Sherds Recovered in Brooksville, ME