I am incredibly grateful for all of the information discovered by a group of researchers for my forthcoming eleventh book, A Monumental History: Stories of Red Earthenware Production in Western Massachusetts, the Berkshires, and Vermont. Together, we uncover remarkable discoveries that fundamentally change how we understand the history of red earthenware production across this region.
What has been uncovered regarding Vermont's red earthenware industry is particularly astonishing, especially when contrasted with what has been previously published. For instance, the established history claimed that Captain John Norton (1758-1828) was Vermont's first potter, beginning red earthenware production in Bennington in the mid-1780s. However, we have now identified dozens of overlooked red earthenware operations spanning the entire state, including at least two businesses that predated Norton.
One of these pioneering figures was Jacob Barrows (1757-1843). Though his story was completely forgotten by history, Barrows has emerged as one of the most significant post-Revolutionary War potters working across Connecticut, Thetford (Vermont), and Hanover and Dalton (New Hampshire): https://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2026/08/the-fenton-connection-rediscovered.html.
Barrows was also among the first in a vast network of red earthenware potters tied closely to the prominent Webber and Fenton families. This regional tradition largely began in Connecticut, with potters migrating north along the Connecticut River Valley into Vermont during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
For example, Barrows first appears in Thetford records between 1781 and 1782, having previously served in the American Revolution out of Connecticut, where he also trained under the Fenton family. He is later named in this historical town document from 1782, which records local votes on community taxes, jury selections, and public standards like ox sled widths. Additionally, the text outlines a legal agreement releasing him from a guardianship obligation over a resident's grandchildren.
In total, we estimate the discovery (so far) of 30 to 40 distinct red earthenware businesses throughout Vermont. Their operations closely mirrored the production patterns found in New Hampshire. A prime example is one of the entirely forgotten businesses in Rutland County, Vermont, where Christopher Webber and his brother, Justus (also spelled Justice), opened a dual enterprise shop around 1794. The family originated in Connecticut, though they arrived in Walpole in the late 1760s, likely learning from the Fenton family. In Rutland, Christopher ran the pottery while Justus operated a tailor shop. The red earthenware business thrived until 1812, when it was purchased by Sanford and Draper Ruggles, operating as S. & D. Ruggles. Much of the Ruggles family also originated in Connecticut, although Sanford and Draper were born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, relocating to Vermont in the early nineteenth century.
By the 1820s, the Ruggles brothers opened a retail store in Rutland, selling a mix of general goods alongside the red earthenware produced at their kiln just a mile away. A June 12, 1827 advertisement in the Rutland Herald vividly illustrates their operation, noting at the bottom: "...They have also on hand at their Store, and are manufacturing at their WORKS, 1 mile north of this village, a large supply of EARTHEN WARE." The advertisement goes on to detail their specific forms, which included milk pans, bake pans, jugs, jars, churns, platters, and cream pots, etc. etc.
Another family that operated multiple businesses in Vermont during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was the Clark family of New Hampshire. In the meantime, you can read more about their extensive history in my eighth book, An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/.
Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...
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