Museum of Ceramics

 East Liverpool, Ohio was founded in 1798 and remained a small Ohio River town until the 1839 arrival of James Bennett, a potter from England. After emigrating to the US in 1836 he worked in potteries in other states before discovering that the yellow clay along the river banks in East Liverpool was ideal for pottery making, spurring him to open his own pottery. The success of Bennett's small factory encouraged other potters to open shop. Business boomed due to the good transportation route on the river, ample clay deposits, and a labor pool of skilled immigrants from England. 

In 1923, 17 companies with 270 kilns employed about 7000 men, women, and children. The depression in the 1930s, the lifting of tariffs on foreign pottery, and a reluctance to modernize the factories lead to many closures over the proceeding years. Today American Mug & Stein Company in East Liverpool and Fiesta Tableware Company, across the river in Newell, West Virginia, are the only companies still in the area. 

The display cases in the museum are filled with products created in the potteries. The history of East Liverpool and the pottery industry are covered in detail. The lower level has more cases of pottery plus wonderful photographs of  pottery workers and full-size dioramas portraying the steps of pottery making.

An accessible entrance with a call button is located at the rear of the museum. An elevator provides access to both floors. 

Parking is available on the street. Museum  40.61845, -80.5771

 

 

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