These articles cover the history of the four earthenware pottery manufacturers that operated in Whitewater Wisconsin. These articles will open in a new window in your browser. Scroll down to see photos.
Whitewater - Fremont Street Pottery (1846 to 1858)
Whitewater - Cravath Street Pottery (1847 to 1852)
Whitewater - Depot Pottery (1854 to 1882)
Whitewater - Whiton Street Pottery (1859 to 1866)
George Williams - Came with his family to Whitewater in 1846 from Mt. Morris NY where he operated the Nathan Clark Pottery. He bought into the Fremont Street Pottery. Later his son James ran the Depot Pottery.
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Whitewater Pottery Examples
Despite the large size of the potteries, relatively few examples of their ware survived, especially undamaged pieces. Whitewater pottery is extremely porous and brittle so it easily cracks, breaks, chips, and the glaze tends to peel when it gets wet and freezes. This gallery contains photos of some of the pieces that did somehow survive.
Only a couple of surviving pieces have stamps but Whitewater pottery is often identifiable based on the glaze, decoration and light weight. We have attributed some piece to specific potteries based on similarities to sherd recovered from pottery sites, but most cannot yet be identified. Attribution of unstamped earthenware can never be 100% and there are many pieces of earthenware with similarities with Whitewater but uncertain at best. The photos below should help.
Grouping of Whitewater earthenware. Water cooler, bird waterer, shaving mug, syrup pitcher, and book bottle. These pieces were originally collected in the 1940's by Whitewater resident Joseph Thiele. Private collection.
This cream pot is stamped twice “WHITE WATER”. It was found in the Knapp-Calkin house in Palmyra, Wisconsin with its original pressed wood cover. From a private collection. The finger press marks at the base of the ear handles and pedestal at the base are not seen of other pottery attributed to Whitewater. This is the only known intact, stamped Whitewater piece. We believe it is the earliest known Fremont Street Pottery piece, probably dating from the 1847-1848 time period, which also gives it the distinction of being Wisconsin's oldest known piece of marked pottery. From a private collection.
In 1847 George William moved his family from Mt. Morris, N.Y. and bought a 50% interest in Warren Cole's pottery on Fremont Street. The salt-glazed jar is stamped "N. CLARK / MT. MORRIS, N.Y." The earthenware cream pot is unmarked but attributed to the Fremont Street Pottery. The resemblance between the decorations is unmistakable. It consists of a fern, a slash, and a scroll. The slash presumably represents the ground and the scroll the root.
Two-gallon Whitewater ovoid jug with manganese fern with a scroll decoration and clear lead glaze. We attribute this piece to the Fremont Street Pottery. While the fern decoration was used at both the Fremont and later by the Depot pottery, the shape and style suggest it is an earlier Fremont Pottery piece. Private collection.
Two-gallon Whitewater ovoid jug with manganese fern with a sinuous tail. We attribute this piece to the Depot or Fremont Street Pottery. Private collection.
Two-gallon Whitewater ovoid jug with large manganese fern, flower, and scroll decoration under a brushed "2". Probably Fremont Street or Depot Pottery. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon jug with a clear lead glaze and the fern and scroll manganese decoration under a large painted "2". It was probably made at the Fremont or Depot Pottery. Private collection.
We believe this jug to be from the Whiton Pottery based on similarity of the decoration to sherds found at the site. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon ovoid jug with lead glaze and manganese flower decoration. Attributed to the Depot Pottery. Private collection.
Whitewater earthenware two-gallon jug with lead glazed with manganese "ice tongs" flower decoration. Attributed to the Depot Pottery. Private collection.
Whitewater ovoid jug with manganese flower decoration. Attributed to the Depot Pottery. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon jug with clear lead glaze. It has a large brushed "2" over four lines, The highly ovoid form suggest it is a Fremont Pottery product. Private collection..
Whitewater two-gallon ovoid jug with hand painted "2" with underlines in manganese. Private collection.
This 3" tall Whitewater earthenware jug has an old, painted vine with leaves. Lead glaze, loop handle. Private collection.
A highly ovoid form with a drippy lead glaze. We attribute it to Whitewater. This may be an early piece when the Fremont and Craveth potteries were developing their glazes. Private collection.
Whitewater jug with glossy clear lead glaze handle. Private collection.
Jug with a very light tinted lead glaze inside and out. No decoration, unknown size. We attribute it to a whitewater pottery based on the clay, form and appearance. Private collection.
Whitewater tall one-quart jug with loop handle. lead glaze and manganese decoration that resembles pieces attributed to the Cravath Street Pottery. Dug in Portage, Wisconsin. Private collection.
This jar is unlike most Whitewater pieces in several respects. First, ear handles on a jar is unusual for any Wisconsin Pottery. The decoration is also very unusual - quite elaborate for such as small piece. One-gallon and smaller pieces are rarely decorated at all. This could be an 1840's or early 1850's Cravath Pottery piece. Private collection.
Important earthenware jar with manganese decoration. It is important because it has the same decoration as a cream pot in the Baraboo Historical Society Museum that was made at the Baraboo Pottery, suggesting that a potter moved from Whitewater to Baraboo. See the article on the Baraboo Pottery on this site. We attribute it to the Fremont Pottery ca. 1850-1853. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Two-gallon ovoid Whitewater storage jar with manganese fern with a sinuous tail. Attributed to the Fremont Street or Depot Pottery. We attribute this piece to the Depot or Fremont Street Pottery. Private collection.
Whitewater food storage jar with a well-formed and tooled rim with an inner shelf for a lid. The manganese fern and capacity are exceptionally well done. Private collection.
Whitewater food storage jar with a fern and scroll decoration, clear lead glaze and double incised lines. Attributed to the Fremont or Depot Pottery. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Exceptional Whitewater jar with a unusually light-colored glaze with a highly contrasting manganese decoration and incised line. Attributed to the Fremont or Depot Pottery. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Two-gallon Whitewater earthenware food storage jar, two incised lines at the shoulder and clear lead glaze. We attribute this piece to the Whiton Street pottery based on its similarity to a sherds found at the site with a similar flower. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon jar with lead glaze inside and out. Manganese "2" over a small flower. We attribute this jar to the Whiton Street Pottery.
Whitewater food storage jar with a manganese "2" capacity over a flower and double incised lines. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Two-gallon Whitewater earthenware food storage jar with lid, two incised lines at the shoulder, an unusually bright and clear lead glaze and nicely contrasting flower decoration. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon jar with a clear lead glaze, no handles, one incised line, and a manganese tulip decoration with two leaves on the stem and a painted "2". This piece is probably from the Whiton Street pottery based on the similarity of the tulip decoration to sherds found at the site. Private collection.
Whitewater ovoid food storage jar with clear lead glaze, two-gallon capacity. It has a large brushed "2" over four lines, Private collection.
Whitewater food storage jar with clear lead glaze, two-gallon capacity. It was fired upside-down and the lead glaze and decoration ran glaze dripped. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Lead glazed jarthenware jar with a flat rim and two incised lines. The manganese decoration is semi-transparent - a "2" with five lines below. Private collection.
One-gallon Whitewater food storage lar with manganese Rockingham-style decoration dabbed on with a sponge sponge over yellow lead glaze. Private collection.
Whitewater food storage jar with underlined "2" decoration. The swirls in this jar are the result of incompletely mixed clay of two colors - either intentionally or by chance. Private collection.
Whitewater food storage Jar with clear lead glaze, flattened rim for a lid, and two incised lines. No decoration or capacity mark. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater Food storage jar with lid and clear lead glaze with an incised line at the shoulder. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater two-gallon crock with ear handles and a painted "2" with three lines below. The color is deep red/orange. While most Whitewater clay is light cream colored there are some darker colors. The dark color is probably caused by iron content exposed to air. It could from clay mined near the surface or clay that was exposed to air for a time before being turned.
Whitewater two-gallon crock with ear handles, manganese decoration and a single inscribed line. Note the prominent and highly shaped rim that is typical for Whitewater crocks and cream pots. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon crock with a tooled rim, ear handle and incised line and clear lead glaze with a manganese flower under a painted "2". These is an interesting spray of manganese dots on the front. Private collection..
Whitewater two-gallon crock with ear handles, clear lead glaze, and manganese decoration. It has a simple round rim. Probably from the Whiton Street Pottery. Private collection.
Three-gallon straight-sided crock with a primitive decoration. it was probably made at one of the Whitewater potteries based on the glaze and Manganese decoration. Private collection.
Three-gallon Whitewater butter churn with a large painted capacity number below the left ear and a unique, large manganese decoration. Broken and reassembled with pieces missing. Whitewater churns are extremely rare today. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater earthenware three-gallon butter churn with an unusually tall rim and clear lead glaze, ear handles and painted "3" with four lines below.
Two-gallon cream pot with a distinctive glaze, form and decoration. This could be an 1840's or early 1850's Cravath Pottery piece. Private collection.
Whitewater earthenware cream pot with fern and scroll Manganese decoration, ear handles and two-incised lines. Private collection.
Whitewater two-gallon cream pot with ear handles and clear lead glaze. Painter "2" over a large fern with a scroll below. Private collection.
Three-gallon Whitewater cream pot with elaborate manganese decoration with a flower, fern, and scroll. It has strong resemblance to pieces recovered from the Baraboo Pottery waster dump but was more likely made at the Fremont Street Pottery based on the tooled rim, a charateristic not found on Baraboo sherds. It was probably decorated by a potter who moved to Baraboo. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Despite predominantly light colored clay in Whitewater there are examples that look more like redware, despite having a clear lead glaze. This is due to oxidized iron in the clay, either due to prolonged exposure to oxygen or more iron content in certain layers of the clay. Private collection.
Six-gallon cream pot with a bright, clear lead glaze and manganese flower decoration. The decorator started marking this pot as a four then changed it to a six. This piece was originally collected in the 1940's by Joseph Thiele. Private collection.
Whitewater 3-gallon cream pot with lead glaze inside and out, ear handles and manganese tulip flower decoration. Private collection.
Whitewater six-gallon cream pot with and unusually light cream colored lead glaze and manganese flower decoration under a painted "6" with ear handles and a single incised line. Glaze loss on Whitewater pottery was a common and widespread problem due to the porous clay used. Large pieces like this rarely survived. Private collection.
Whitewater six-gallon cream pot with clear lead glaze, ear handles and a pair of incised lines. Private collection.
Whitewater earthenware bird waterer decorated with manganese on both sides. The front shows a long-beaked bird sitting on a fence above the basin. The back has flowers. Knob handle on top. This piece was originally collected in the 1940's by Whitewater resident Joseph Thiele. Private collection.
Whitewater earthenware countertop string holder with lead glaze on the exterior and unglazed interior. Manganese flower decoration. It has no bottom so it can sit on a countertop over a ball of string. We attribute this piece to the Depot Pottery. Private collection.
Hanging String Holder with lead glaze and manganese flower decoration. There are three original holes near the base to allow hanging it and a hole at the top for the string. Shopkeepers used these for wrapping packages. Attributed to the Whiton Street Potter. Private collection.
Whitewater Countertop String Holder with lead glaze inside and out and manganese lines encircling the knob, which has a hole for the string. Private collection.
One-piece Whitewater earthenware birdhouse. Concentric incised scratched lines on the roof with a peg hole below the opening for a perch. Clear lead glaze. Stands about 6" tall. Private collection.
Whitewater earthenware foot warmer bottle. Wheel-thrown and flattened. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater earthenware shaving mug, 3" tall x 4 3/4" diameter. This piece was originally collected in the 1940's by Joseph Thiele. Private collection.
Whitewater Pitcher with pewter spout and lid, 5 3/4" tall. Sponged Rockingham manganese decoration over yellow base glaze. The diamond-shaped impression at the base of the handle terminations resembles a Masonic insignia. A Masonic Lodge was located close the the Fremont Pottery in the 1850's. This piece was originally collected in the 1940's by Joseph Thiele. Private collection.
Milk pan with clear lead glaze inside and out and a wide rim. Most potters made many of these but few survived. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater Milk Pan with lead glaze inside and out. For many early potteries the milk pan was the best selling item. However, very few of them survived. Private collection.
Whitewater stacking bowl or milk pan with rim tooled to form three beads. Wheel-thrown with orange lead glaze inside and out. Bowls of this type were typically made in sizes that allow stacking. Private collection.
This appears to be a later piece (1870's - 1880's). It was made to stack with other bowls of the same or smaller size for general kitchen use like food preparation, serving or storage. Private collection.
This milk pitcher was initially covered with clear lead glaze and then was dipped in manganese slip. The vertical lines were caused by chattering of the smoothing tool used to shaped the exterior. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater milk pitcher 8 1/2" tall, with lead glaze on the interior only. Private collection.
One-gallon milk pitcher with clear lead glaze on the interior and an unglazed exterior. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater one-quart tall crock or storage jar with yellow lead glaze inside and out, with two incised lines around the body. Private collection.
This unmarked Whitewater earthenware bottle was probably made in the 1840's based on the long-neck style. This may be the oldest bottle from Wisconsin. Private collection.
Unmarked Whitewater bottle with lead glaze. The is typical of bottles made before 1860. It was probably made at the Depot or Fremont Street Pottery. Private collection.
We attribute this earthenware bottle to a Whitewater pottery based on the color and glaze. 8" tall. Private collection.
Unmarked Whitewater bottle with clear lead glaze. The is typical of bottles made before 1860. It was probably made at the Depot or Fremont Street Pottery. Private collection.
Whitewater tall handled bottle or jug with orange lead glaze. Private collection.
Whitewater bottle with lead glaze. The design of the bottle suggests that is was used for something other than soda or beer - it could be for any liquid. It is not stamped. Private collection.
Five gallon capacity water cooler with twist handles and double flower decoration and an oversized rolled lip. The lid is missing. It has the original spigot and a replica probably made in the 1940's. This piece was originally collected in the 1940's by Whitewater resident Joseph Thiele.
Wheel-thrown earthenware water dispenser in a barrel form with yellow glaze. It has an integrated top with an applied filling spout and air vent on top. The dispensing hole in the side is applied. There is an applied bullseye on the front with swirled manganese decoration. We attribute this to the Depot Pottery. It is 14" and 11" in diameter at the widest point. Private collection.
Wheel-thrown barrel-style water dispenser with lid and lead glaze, about six-gallon size with applied decorative medallions and spigot hole. The inside of the lid has a handwritten tally that appears to be the total of the customer’s purchase of four items totaling 80 cents that day. The first item on the list cost 24 cents, probably this five-gallon dispenser, priced at 4 cents per gallon. The three other items were probably also large, priced at 20, 20 and 16 cents each. Prices fell over time from 10 cents per gallon in the 1840’s and 50’s. We attribute this to be from later years of the Depot Pottery, probably the 1870’s or early 1880’s. Private collection.
One-gallon flower pot with sponged Rockingham-style manganese decoration over a clear lead glaze. Original drain hole in the bottom. Flowerpots were mostly unglazed. Private collection.
Cylindrical earthenware flowerpot with slanted sides. Exterior glazed yellow with sponged manganese spots to mimic Rockingham. It is most likely from a Whitewater Pottery based on the cream colored clay body. Interior is unglazed,
5"H x 5 ½" diameter. Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wda/id/2176/rec/21 Object 1981.402.434
Pair of Whitewater Garden Urns unglazed, with three coggled bands around the center. They were made in two pieces. The upper portion is wheel-thrown while the lower section is at least partially molded. Note the color difference of the clay body of the upper portion of the piece at left. Some of the clay in Whitewater had orange color from oxidized iron content. Private collection.
This pot is one-piece - possibly turned as several separate pieces that were then attached. It was probably custom made the way a customer wanted it. It has no drain holes so it may have been used for water. It is unglazed. Private collection.
Unglazed Whitewater flowerpot with attached underplate. It has two bands of incised decoration around the body. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Unglazed wheel-turned with a cloud-like white band around the outside top and attached underplate. 5" tall and 6" diameter. Private collection.
Small (5" diameter) unglazed hanging teardrop flowerpot with original chain. It has traces of blue paint added by the buyer. Small original drain hole in the tip of the bottom point. Private collection.
Unglazed hanging flowerpot with applied medallions of flower and birds. It has remnants of old wire used to hang it. This style of hanging pot was very popular. Private collection.
Unglazed hanging flowerpot with applied decorative medallions. It has three holes for chain or wire hangers. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Whitewater unglazed hanging flowerpot flowerpot with a drain hole in the bottom. Private collection
Unglaze flowerpot. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Unglazed hanging flowerpot with old paint. They were sold unpainted but some customers chose to paint them. From the collection of the Whitewater Historical Society.
Pressed (molded) flowerpot found at the Depot Pottery site. The pressing process used pressure and rotation to form the complete piece. 3" tall with a drain hole in the bottom.
Sherds from the Fremont Street Pottery site
The photos of the few sherds from this site were found by Kori Oberle many years ago.
This sherd stamped "COLE & KI... / WHITE WA" is historically important for several reasons. It establishes that Eli King was a partner in the pottery, not just a seller of land to Warren Cole. It is Wisconsin's oldest known marked piece of pottery since King was out of the business by 1847 when George Williams bought in. Wisconsin was still a Territory when this piece was made. Private collection.
The glaze on the fragment appears to be very over-fired. In 1846 Thomas Mouford wrote a letter to his father in England saying that he had "tried some of the glazes you sent me and they work very good". The glaze on this piece and the early cream pot - see Figure 3 in the article on this site "Whitewater – Fremont Street Pottery (1846 to 1858)" - illustrate the challenges in developing the beautiful clear glazes used later by Whitewater factories.
This unglazed fragment appears to be a tool designed for some unknown purpose, possibly for shaping or smoothing pottery on the wheel, as a spacer, or some other function.
Sherds from the Depot Pottery site
These fragments were found during sidewalk replacement within the top foot or so of the surface. They are intended to help understand the forms, glazes and decorations used at this site.
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds. Unglazed flower pot rims.
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds with mangansese decorations. The large piece at left has part of a scroll decoration that includes the horizontal slash - an element found on all scroll decorated pottery. This convention was used by George William when he was in Troy NY and at the Fremont Pottery in Whitewater. This proves that the scroll was used at both Fremont and Depot potteries.
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds with traces of manganese decorations.
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherd rom an unglazed drain tile.
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherd from an unglazed drain tile.
Whitewater Depot Pottery sherds. Ear handles.
Sherds from the Whiton Street Pottery site
These fragments were found by a groundhog that happened to dug into the waster dump and other framents scatter on the surface of the site. They are intended to help understand the forms, glazes and decorations used at this particular site.
This document describes the numbered sherds in the first photo below: Milz & Ohnhaus shards
These are surface litter from the site collected in April 2015 and described in "Milz & Ohnhaus Potter"
Collected by Kori Oberle
This fragment is shown with a similarly decorated intact example.
Collected by Kori Oberle
Whitewater factories tended to adopt distinctive decorative motifs. Fremont and Depot often used a scroll, and one of the potteries used a triangular base (we don't know which one yet). Whiton sometimes omitted the base altogether based on this single sherd. We suspect all three were made at Whiton Street.
