New Salem Pottery

New Salem Pottery New Salem Pottery specializes in plain and slip decorated earthenware in original designs and reproductions from the 17th -- 20th centuries.

The pottery is situated on a historical tract of land in north central Randolph County, North Carolina. The tract was settled in 1766 by the Thomas Dennis Family, who along with other Quakers had relocated from Chester County, Pennsylvania. The property sat astride the Trading Road (formerly the Indian Trading Path) which extended from Petersburg Virginia into South Carolina. The location and the

existence of large beds of earthenware clay made it ideally suited for a pottery. William Dennis (b.1769) and his son Thomas (b.1791) were the earliest documented potters working at the property. William, a Quaker opposed to slavery, apprenticed George Newby, a twelve year old African American youth, to learn the pottery trade in 1813. The Dennis Pottery not only made simple, utilitarian redware, but a variety of decorative slipware and thinly turned tableware. William moved to Indiana in 1832, selling the land where the house and pottery stood to Peter Dicks, a Quaker businessman and potter who lived in the nearby community of New Salem. James Madison Hays, a potter purchased the property for utilization of the clay beds in 1874. The Pugh family purchased the land in 1939 and the present pottery was established in 1972 by Hal and Eleanor.

Looking forward to future research and posts of this long needed organization!
09/01/2025

Looking forward to future research and posts of this long needed organization!

I recently acquired this English clay smoking pipe mould and it has been a delight trying to mold pipes and a real learn...
04/18/2025

I recently acquired this English clay smoking pipe mould and it has been a delight trying to mold pipes and a real learning experience. I contacted the archaeologist Dr. David Higgins with the National Pipe Archive in England and with his help discovered the design on the pipe is called Rose and Thistle. The pipe mould was made around the mid nineteenth century and the initials R and C on each side of the heel are for the pipe maker Robert Corney of Croydon on the southern outskirts of London. However there was more than one Robert Corney making pipes so as yet not been able to determine which one it was.

Happy World Snake Day!
07/16/2024

Happy World Snake Day!

10/31/2023
Earthenware ring bottle with applied slip. D. 8" Local wild clay from property, fired 2000 degrees f.
10/27/2023

Earthenware ring bottle with applied slip. D. 8" Local wild clay from property, fired 2000 degrees f.

Address

789 New Salem Road
Randleman, NC
27317

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+13364982178

Website

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