Suttles Pottery
La Vernia, Wilson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Following the Civil War, two brothers, both Union veterans, moved from Zanesville, Ohio to Texas. Isaac Suttles (c. 1840-1884), who wed Mary Ann McBride in 1866, appears in the 1870 census for Seguin, where he worked at Wilson Potteries. Records indicate his wife may not have moved to Texas with him. His brother George Washington Suttles (1844-1930), who married Elizabeth Strate (1845-1905) in 1861, first appears in Wilson County records in 1877. They reportedly moved to Texas in 1876 for her health. George joined his brother at a kiln in the sand hills near La Vernia, where they fired bricks and household and decorative stoneware. An 1877 newspaper article highlighted the brothers' workmanship and noted the high demand for their products. Around 1882, they moved their operation into La Vernia to a kiln near this site. The Suttles were members of the Asbury Methodist Church, now La Vernia United Methodist Church. In September 1884, Isaac was killed in Abilene, Texas, possibly during a robbery attempt. George continued operating the kiln in La Vernia for many years. He and Elizabeth reared four children, and their descendants remain in the area. Few records exist about the Suttles Pottery operation in La Vernia, but firsthand accounts and archeological excavations, as well as ongoing investigations, indicate George had an updraft-type kiln and probably used a salt glaze, Albany slip techniques and perhaps an alkaline glaze technique in his work. His operation here would have included a clay mixing area, a potter's wheel, the kiln and waster piles of broken pottery sherds. Although no apparent physical evidence of the kiln remains, the Suttles operation was a significant part of La Vernia's past and of the history of Texas industry and artistry. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After the Civil War, brothers Isaac and George Washington Suttles left Zanesville, Ohio—a noted pottery region—for Texas, where they turned the sandy clay near La Vernia into bricks and salt-glazed stoneware. An 1877 newspaper praised their craftsmanship and the strong local demand for their wares, and around 1882 they moved their kiln into town near this site. Isaac was killed in Abilene in 1884, but George kept the pottery running for years, and archaeology of the kiln, waster piles, and glazing techniques still illuminates the trade.
Why it matters
Small frontier potteries like the Suttles operation supplied the everyday jars, jugs, and crockery that made settlement possible, marking an early chapter in Texas industry and folk artistry.
Plan your visit
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Attractions
- Green Acres Golf and Games11.0 mi away
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Related people
- · Isaac Suttles
- · George Washington Suttles
Themes & tags
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