Dorchester Pottery Works facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Dorchester Pottery Works
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 101-105 Victory Rd., Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | 1914 |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000318 |
| Added to NRHP | February 21, 1985 |
The Dorchester Pottery Works is a historic place located at 101-105 Victory Road in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Dorchester is a neighborhood in the city of Boston. This pottery factory was started in 1895 by George Henderson. They made strong clay pottery called stoneware. The Dorchester Pottery Works closed its doors in 1979. The main building was recognized as a special Boston Landmark in 1980. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
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What is the Dorchester Pottery Works Building Like?
The Dorchester Pottery Works is in the Dorchester area of Boston. It is next to a large shopping center and railroad tracks. The building you see today is the last one left from the original factory. It is a brick building that once held the company's huge kiln. A kiln is a special oven used to bake clay pottery.
This kiln building has two main floors and a raised section called a clerestory. It is made of red brick and has a tall brick chimney, about 60 feet high. The building is nearly square, measuring about 45 feet by 49 feet. It stands about 25 feet tall.
Inside the Kiln Building
Inside, the building has a large open space that is two stories high. The second floor acts like a balcony around a big opening. This opening is about 25 feet across. Steel poles hold up the roof of the second floor.
The most important part inside is the large, round kiln. This kiln takes up most of the ground floor. It is about 30 feet wide and 12 feet tall. The kiln's walls are very thick, about 4 feet. It has nine holes for firing and a large arched entrance. Iron bands wrap around the outside of the kiln. These bands help the kiln expand and shrink safely when it gets very hot and then cools down.
Inside the kiln, it is about 22 feet wide. The ceiling is about 10 and a half feet high in the middle. The inner walls of the kiln have brick shelves. Over many years, a shiny surface formed on these walls from the glazes used on the pottery. The floor of the kiln has special heat-resistant tiles. These tiles let heat and gases flow through to an underground pipe that leads to the tall chimney outside.
Sadly, the other original buildings of the pottery works are gone. This includes a wooden factory building and the Henderson House. The Henderson House was where the company's founder, George Henderson, lived and showed off his pottery. It was destroyed by fire in 1980.
History of Dorchester Pottery Works
George Henderson started the Dorchester Pottery Works in 1895. For many years, the company successfully made pottery for businesses and farms. Before this, Henderson had made pottery in New Haven, Connecticut, since 1884.
What Did They Make?
Over time, the pottery made different kinds of products. At first, they made things for farmers, like feeders for chickens. They also made special pots for jewelry makers. A popular item was a foot warmer, which people called a "porcelain pig."
In 1940, Dorchester Pottery started making a special line of gray and blue tableware. These items were shaped by hand on a potter's wheel. This type of pottery is called slipware and had a "Bristol glaze."
The Giant Kiln
In 1914, Mr. Henderson built a huge, round kiln. It was 28 feet wide and he designed it himself. It was made of bricks without mortar. Workers would carefully stack two or three train car loads of unfired pottery inside. Then, the opening was sealed.
The kiln was slowly heated using 15 tons of coal and four cords of wood. The temperature inside would reach an amazing 2500-3000 degrees Fahrenheit! After days of cooling, the door would be opened, brick by brick. Then, the finished pottery pieces were removed. The whole process took about one week.
Growth and Changes
In the 1920s, Dorchester Pottery also bought finished pottery from other companies. This included containers, jugs, and household items like bean pots. At its busiest in the 1920s, the factory had 28 potters working there.
By the 1950s, the company made 1,700 different items. About 25% of these were tableware. By the 1960s, all of their production was tableware. In 1921, 23 people worked at the pottery, mostly from Dorchester.
When George Henderson passed away in 1928, his son Charles and daughter-in-law Ethel Hill Henderson took over the business. Ethel was a clothing and design teacher. She became the superintendent of the kiln. Her children, George and Lillian, also helped with the family business.
During the Great Depression, sales of commercial pottery dropped. Ethel started decorating the stoneware with designs from old New England. Her brother, Charles, who was a chemistry teacher, added new ways to mix colors. Many artists decorated the pottery, and some pieces after 1971 are signed "I.M.E.H.H." (In Memorial Ethel Hill Henderson).
The Final Years
Even though the handmade pots were popular, they couldn't compete with cheaper, mass-produced items. The last time the big beehive kiln was used was in 1965. After that, smaller gas and electric kilns were used. The pottery works finally closed in 1979.
The Dorchester Pottery Works made a wide variety of products. These included storage jars, beanpots, cheese jars, plates, pitchers, bowls, vases, and even bird baths. They also made special custom designs.
Common designs on the pottery included blueberries, cherries, pears, and pine cones. They also had designs of cows, codfish, and ships. These designs were painted with blue and white slip (liquid clay). Sometimes, they added shallow scratch work called sgraffito.
Until 1971, all the clay used came from New Jersey. The blue color for the decorations came from Germany. After 1972, the clay came from Ohio. For over 80 years, the company used the same apple wood drying boards. These boards were from another old company that Henderson had bought. The way they made pottery changed very little over time. It was a small factory where products were mostly handmade.
After the Closure
In 1980, a fire destroyed the family home and the main production building. For almost 20 years, only the boarded-up kiln building with its tall chimney remained. After the pottery closed, local community members tried to buy and save the kiln building. They hoped to create a Dorchester Pottery Museum. This effort was not successful.
Later, in 2001, an organization called Bay Cove Human Services bought the property. They renovated the building for their own use. However, they kept the kiln room and the kiln itself intact. This allows the community to use it for exhibitions and learn about its history.
See also
