Project Ideas: Imagining 19th Century Potteries in South Carolina

   I have been researching akaline-glazed stoneware production in South Carolina for about a year and a half now. In all that time, I have yet to find any source that maps all of the 19th century potteries making the stoneware in one place. In fact, there are hardly any historic maps that do so either. An important part of my project from the start has been understanding the spatial relationships between the potteries, and the users and consumers of the products. For instance, at what is today Sesquicentennial State Park, the individuals living there used alkaline-glazed stoneware, sherds of the vessels were found during archaeological projects there. These individuals were enslaved, and then tenant farmers. 

The main place where the product was being produced was in various potteries in Edgefield, South Carolina however, pottery was being made in Columbia as early as the 1830s, which has been proved using primary source research. My goal is to map all of these potteries, along with the locations with artifacts of the stoneware, to see if certain potteries really do seem more advantageous than others. 

My main research question is, did the individuals at Sesquicentennial State Park get their alkaline-glazed stoneware from the local pottery in Columbia, or from the pottery hub in Edgefield? How can this narrative be imagined visually?

I have found some maps that have some of the potteries on them, and I hope to identify more soon. I will also compare this with census data, since my project has so much to do with African American history, looking at the enslaved potters, and users of the pottery, connected with demographics, could be important in revealing a lost voice in the history of the pottery.

Edgefield District, South Carolina - South Caroliniana Library Map Collection - UofSC Digital Collections

Here is an example of one of the maps I have found!


Comments

  1. Savannah BNovember 29, 2024 at 7:40 PM

    Super interesting project, so archaeology of you! Understanding where pottery is coming from is HUGE in archaeology right now and is so important for understanding trade, I see this primarily with Indigenous pottery so I love that you are doing it for 19th century pottery related to African Americans. I am excited to see what you can learn.

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