Published as part of my seventh book, titled, From One Town Came Many: The Red Earthenware Industry of Ancient North Yarmouth Maine, is some very interesting red earthenware sherds recovered in York, Maine. Those sherds were recovered from a trash pit found behind a seventeenth century house in York owned by Joel Lefever, who is the executive director of the Old York Historical Society. The sherds were likely made by a local manufacturer, whether it was by an undocumented potter working in York or a potter located within the York and Portsmouth, New Hampshire area.
Nonetheless, I learned about this nineteenth century red earthenware jug yesterday from Peggy Wishart, who is the director of the research center at the Old York Historical Society. This jug was recovered upstream of Sewall's Bridge in the York River. The bridge was the first pile-driven drawbridge built in America based on a civil engineering plan. Designed and constructed by Major Samuel Sewall (1688-1769) in 1761, it served as a model for similar bridges in other locations, including Charlestown, Malden, and Beverly, Massachusetts, and even one in Paris, France.
The York River in Maine has a rich history, deeply intertwined with the development of the town of York itself, which was one of the earliest English settlements in the region. The location of the river and the harbor made it a focal point for early settlement and trade, attracting people to the area. This type of trade along the river existed into the nineteenth century with wares brought to the area from both domestic and interntational manufacturers.
It was noted in my seventh book that some of potters who worked in Maine peddled their wares to various communities throughout the state, including those located along the coast: "From notes obtained by (an early collector and writer) Miss Maragaret Jewell (in the early-20th century) from Benjamin Foster (potter in North Yarmouth) when he was an old man, we learn that the Fosters sold (some of) their wares by boat, taking a load "down east" every spring. Thus they disposed of North Yarmouth (today known as Yarmouth) pottery in Freeport, Brunswick, Windham, Gray and other places." It was also noted in the book that the Dodge family operated a successful multigenerational red earthenware business in Portsmouth during the late eighteenth and part of the nineteenth century; York is located about nine miles to the north of Portsmouth.
Note: For more information about York - see a cover story I wrote for the August 23, 2024 issue of Antiques & Auction News, titled, Tiles Made At The Moravian Tile Works In Doylestown, Pa., That Adorn Fireplace Surrounds In York, Maine: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2024/08/new-published-feature-story-in-antiques.html.
19th C. Red Earthenware Jug Recovered from the York River in York, Maine
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