Site of Old Potter's Shop
Thornton, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The fine, white clay mined near here was used at this shop from the 1840s to 1912 to make pitchers, jars, crocks, churns, flower pots, and ornamental urns, which were used locally and shopped out of county. In the 1870s the shop, built by Alberry Johnson, was a major industry in Pottersville (later Oletha) Wm. C. Knox later bought the plant and hired J. L. Stone as the chief artisan. John Fowler then became owner and was joined by his son E. J. Fowler about 1900. Men dug kaolin clay from pits and hauled it to the plant, where mules provided labor to grind the clay to powder and it was fashioned into ceramics. Historically, kaolin -- still mined today from the deposits nearby -- has been used to make fine porcelain and china. It ranks with gas, oil, and stone as a major commercial resource in Limestone County. During the 19th century, vast natural resources throughout the state were creating new enterprises. Cattle and cotton headed the list of products, which also included lumber, iron ore, stone, and salt, as well as finished articles such as cloth, iron kettles, soap, flour, brick, and matches. These businesses, although crude and not of the "luxury" type, initiated the industrial growth of Texas. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
From the 1840s to 1912, a pottery here turned the fine white kaolin clay mined nearby into pitchers, jars, crocks, churns, and ornamental urns sold across the region. Built by Alberry Johnson, the shop grew into a major industry in the community of Pottersville, later Oletha, passing through owners who employed skilled artisans and used mule power to grind the clay. The same kaolin deposits are still worked today, ranking with oil, gas, and stone among the county's commercial resources.
Why it matters
It captures the small, resource-based manufacturing that quietly industrialized 19th-century Texas alongside its better-known cattle and cotton.
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Related people
- · Alberry Johnson
- · William C. Knox
Themes & tags
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