About three years ago, I wrote about a nineteenth century red earthenware handled pot owned by the Meredith, New Hampshire Historical Society thought to have been locally made in the Lake Winnipesaukee region. I have always had an interest in any red earthenware made in this area in the 1800s, seeing that very little is documented today outside of this pot and a few examples owned by the New Hampshire Historical Society.
According to Massachusetts author, Lura Woodside Watkins (Early New England Potters and Their Wares), "There are vague accounts of several potteries in the region around Lake Winnipesaukee. At Gilford, once a part of Gilmanton, Nathaniel Goodhue was running a shop about 1830. Duane Hamilton Hurd's 'History of Belknap County' says that he carried on the business for many years and that he got his clay from The Weirs. Goodhue advertised it for sale in the New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazetteer, March 1, 1833, describing it as a "large pottery for making earthenware and a good kiln on same." He was apparently succeeded by Charles Stark, who four years later "contemplating a removal from Gilford," offered for sale a "shop, kiln, and apparatus for the manufacture of brown ware."
Cornelius Weygandt, in the White Hills has noted a potter named Bennett in Moultonborough and the existence of a pottery in New Durham, near Alton. In November Rowen, the same author describes a quart mug tooled with lines marked "old Cider" that he found in Meredith. He notes its resemblance to pieces from the Gill Pottery. The mug could, however, have been made in Meredith.
During the excavation of a cellar under the house of H.B. Twombley on Plymouth Street in Meredith, setting tiles and other examples of kiln furniture were unearthed. For several years Mr. Twombley did not know the significance of these curious baked clay objects and he was greatly surprised to learn that his house stood directly over a potter's dump. The circumstance was explained by the fact that the house had been moved from another site to its present location. A perusal of Meredith history reveals that Joshua W. Burpee, eldest son of Jeremiah (1781-1862) from Boscowan, New Hampshire, lived in Meredith for about nine years preceding his death in 1839. It is more than likely he was responsible for the waste pile.
Another craftsman of the 1830s, Jeremiah Bean, worked in Bristol. He was a native of the town and was twenty-seven years old when he started his potworks on Hemlock Brook. The business was short-lived, as Bean soon removed to Boston, dying there in 1834."
While in Meredith yesterday, I acquired this dark green glazed nineteenth century red earthenware jug that seems more refined than most of the wares manufactured in New Hampshire. However, its history is of particular interest, seeing that it was just discovered in a 200 year old barn in Meredith and it is known to have belonged to the family owning this property dating back to at least 1940. The jug may have even resided on this property since it was originally manufactured.
It should also be noted that I do see some similarities in the way this jug was produced and the wares made to the south in the Boscowan and Concord area, although, it does not exactly seem to fit with that production based on what I have studied and written about in the past for the New England Antiques Journal and Maine Antique Digest. And its form does not exactly remind me of wares made by the Osborn family in New Hampshire or by the potters who worked in the Plymouth, New Hampshire area. As a result, I feel there is a good chance that this jug was locally manufactured somewhere in the Lake Winnipesaukee area or possibly even the area where it was found in Meredith.
Note: For some reason, though, the green glaze on this jug is difficult to accurately photograph, although, the jug is covered in a dark green glaze.
19th Century Green Glazed Red Earthenware Jug
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