Another one of my favorite pieces of pottery from Crocker Farm's summer 2021 auction in Sparks, Maryland is an early nineteenth century red earthenware jar manufactured by William Jackson in Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts, which is stamped on the base "Jackson." Saugus is located just a few miles north of Boston. Interestingly, this jar was previously displayed in an exhibit at the York County Historical Society in Pennsylvania from May 12th through October 12th in 1974, and it was published in the exhibit catalog Regional Aspects of American Folk Pottery (see below).
According to Massachusetts author Lura Woodside Watkins' (1897-1982) book, Early New England Potters and Their Wares, "Potteries may have been in existence in Lynn (Massachusetts) at an early period, but the only one of which I have a record was in a section of the present town of Saugus (Massachusetts) known as Cliftondale. It was started by William Jackson, from Manchester, England.
He had bought a farm in Cliftondale (then a part of Lynn) in 1808 (known as Jackson's Meadow), and, finding a deposit of clay on his land, he came to the conclusion that it would be possible to make from it a fine kind of earthenware, similar to what was imported from England.
In this hope, he put up a suitable plant, consisting of a large building and two smaller ones, and procured the best equipment and workmen he could find. Production began in 1811 and kept up for four years, but Jackson was doomed to disappointment, financial and otherwise, for the clay proved to be the usual variety from which only common red earthenware was made.
Jackson advertised his wares in glowing terms in the Boston Gazette on December 16, 1811. It is evident from the list of forms that they did not greatly differ from those turned out by New England potters, although there was perhaps a greater variety.
Jackson's pottery was also sold by Wainwright and Jackson in their store on Exchange Street in Cliftondale. Thomas Jackson of this firm was connected with the Boston Porcelain and Glass Company. The two may have been related."
Jackson also got into politics; he was a signer of a petition that requested that Lynn's Second Parish be set off as a separate town known as Westport. The plan was abandoned, however the following year the Second Parish separated from Lynn and became the Town of Saugus. Saugus' first town meeting was held on March 13, 1815 and Jackson was elected Saugus' first Town Moderator. In 1827 and 1828, Jackson represented Saugus in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
To my knowledge, this is the only jar known like this today that bears Jackson's name, although there is a jar in the Woodman Museum in Dover, New Hampshire that may be related, which I wrote about on this website in July 2018. There has to be other pieces out there that were made by Jackson, and they may be misinterpreted for other areas in New England, but this is the only object that I currently known about today.
Note: The jar sold for $3,500 plus the auction premiums.
An Excellent Red Earthenware Jar from Saugus, Massachusetts
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