History of Old Edgefield Pottery
Dr. Abner Landrum is credited with establishing the Edgefield Pottery tradition in the first decade of the 1800’s. Using local materials and his extensive knowledge, he began to produce a fine stoneware that was food safe and could be sold to markets up to 150 miles away.
From this origin, dozens of other potteries sprang up across Edgefield District and created wares from that time until the present, going through various changes and technologies.
For over two centuries, Edgefield Pottery was made by such famous names as Landrum, Chandler, Rhodes, Storke, Dave Drake, Miles, Baynham, and Hahn. The tradition was carried into North Carolina and across the South to Texas.
The wares that they produced were essential commodities for every family in the backcountry. These forms included storage jars, syrup jugs, stew pots, jordans, butter churns, cream risers, coffee mugs, tobacco pipes, bricks, water basins, ring jugs, face jugs, tea pots, and grave markers. Over the years, as many of the originals were broken or lost, the pieces that remain have become highly collectible.
From this origin, dozens of other potteries sprang up across Edgefield District and created wares from that time until the present, going through various changes and technologies.
For over two centuries, Edgefield Pottery was made by such famous names as Landrum, Chandler, Rhodes, Storke, Dave Drake, Miles, Baynham, and Hahn. The tradition was carried into North Carolina and across the South to Texas.
The wares that they produced were essential commodities for every family in the backcountry. These forms included storage jars, syrup jugs, stew pots, jordans, butter churns, cream risers, coffee mugs, tobacco pipes, bricks, water basins, ring jugs, face jugs, tea pots, and grave markers. Over the years, as many of the originals were broken or lost, the pieces that remain have become highly collectible.