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South Carolina, with its rich clay deposits, is the home to two different, but very important ceramic traditions - Catawba earthenware and alkaline-glazed stoneware. Before European contact in the 16th century, the Catawba Nation controlled much of what is now South Carolina and most of the North Carolina Piedmont. This tradition has continued through elder potters sharing their knowledge and skills with younger generations. While their techniques remain ancient, they have adapted their forms to changing markets. Kinship and community were also important in the development and diffusion of the alkaline-glazed stoneware tradition during the nineteenth century. Using European and African forms and labor the Edgefield, South Carolina, potteries produced containers used primarily for food preservation and preparation. As some potters migrated west and to other areas in the southeast, they spread the alkaline-glazed tradition into Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.

Content is provided by McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina.

For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to hallagan@mailbox.sc.edu.

Resource Type
Collin Rhodes Photos | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Collin Rhodes Photos | Digital Traditions
Collin Rhodes (1811-1881) owned or co-owned a number of pottery factories including Pottersville, Phoenix Factory, and finally the Collin Rhodes Factory (ca. 1843) in Edgefield during the early to mid...
Phoenix Factory Photos | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Phoenix Factory Photos | Digital Traditions
The Phoenix Stone Ware Factory was established ca. 1840 by Collin Rhodes and his partner Robert Mathis. Mathis and Rhodes were the former co-owners of the Pottersville factory when they opened the...
Thomas Chandler Photos | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Thomas Chandler Photos | Digital Traditions
Thomas Chandler (1810-1854) was perhaps the most skillful potter to work in Edgefield. Born in Drummondtown, Virginia, he is believed to have been a descendant of John Chandler of Fulham, England, who...
Hattie Mae Stewart Brown: Horace Brown | Digital Traditions

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  • Higher Education
Hattie Mae Stewart Brown: Horace Brown | Digital Traditions
Episode 2
"A story of whiskey jugs and watermelons told by Horace Brown." The daughter of Mississippi potter Homer Wade Stewart, Hattie Mae married journeyman potter Horace “Jug” Brown. She met Brown when he...
Horace Brown: Face Jug | Digital Traditions

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  • Higher Education
Horace Brown: Face Jug | Digital Traditions
Episode 3
"Horace Brown makes a face jug as remembered by his son." The daughter of Mississippi potter Homer Wade Stewart, Hattie Mae married journeyman potter Horace “Jug” Brown. She met Brown when he worked...
Hattie Mae Stewart Brown Photos | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Hattie Mae Stewart Brown Photos | Digital Traditions
Episode 4
The daughter of Mississippi potter Homer Wade Stewart, Hattie Mae married journeyman potter Horace “Jug” Brown. She met Brown when he worked in her family’s Louisville, Mississippi pottery in the...
Brown's Pottery Photos | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Brown's Pottery Photos | Digital Traditions
Episode 2
A fifth-generation potter, Otto Brown (1899-1980) was a true journeyman potter. The son of Georgia potter James Osborne Brown, Otto turned pots in Alabama, Georgia, and both Carolinas, often with his...
Horatio Marion Boggs: Three Things About a Potter | Digital Traditions - Episode 1 Horatio Marion Boggs: Ralph Miller | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Horatio Marion Boggs: Ralph Miller | Digital Traditions
Episode 2
"Ralph P Miller tells of potting heritage and Yankee origins" Horatio Boggs is descended from a long line of family potters with roots in Alamance County, North Carolina. Like many other potters in...
Horatio Marion Boggs Photos | Digital Traditions

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  • Higher Education
Horatio Marion Boggs Photos | Digital Traditions
Episode 3
Horatio Boggs is descended from a long line of family potters with roots in Alamance County, North Carolina. Like many other potters in the 19th century, the Boggs family migrated southwestward in the...
Sara Ayers Photos | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Sara Ayers Photos | Digital Traditions
Episode 7
Sara Ayers was a highly accomplished Catawba potter who exemplified the major artistic tradition of South Carolina's earliest residents. Daughter of David A. Harris, chief of the Catawba Nation from...
Sara Ayers: Grandfather | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Sara Ayers: Grandfather | Digital Traditions
Episode 4
Ayers discusses the role of her grandfather in her pottery making. Sara Ayers was a highly accomplished Catawba potter who exemplified the major artistic tradition of South Carolina's earliest...
Sara Ayers: Firing | Digital Traditions

Audio

Grades

  • Higher Education
Sara Ayers: Firing | Digital Traditions
Episode 5
Ayers tells Cinda Baldwin about the firing process. Sara Ayers was a highly accomplished Catawba potter who exemplified the major artistic tradition of South Carolina's earliest residents. Daughter of...
Sara Ayers: Uniqueness | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Sara Ayers: Uniqueness | Digital Traditions
Episode 6
Ayers discusses how no two of her pieces are ever exactly alike. Sara Ayers was a highly accomplished Catawba potter who exemplified the major artistic tradition of South Carolina's earliest residents...
Sara Ayers: Animal Figures | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Sara Ayers: Animal Figures | Digital Traditions
Episode 1
Sara Ayers talks with Cinda Baldwin about animal figures in her pottery. Sara Ayers was a highly accomplished Catawba potter who exemplified the major artistic tradition of South Carolina's earliest...
Sara Ayers: Tools | Digital Traditions

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Sara Ayers: Tools | Digital Traditions
Episode 3
Ayers tells Cinda Baldwin about the tools she uses to make pottery. Sara Ayers was a highly accomplished Catawba potter who exemplified the major artistic tradition of South Carolina's earliest...
Steps in Shaping a Pot, Part 1 | Digital Traditions 1

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  • Higher Education
Steps in Shaping a Pot, Part 1 | Digital Traditions
Episode 1
Footage from Folklife Resource Center documentation in the late 1980s. Filmed in Nola Harris Campbell's home. Related Links Catawba Cultural Preservation Catawba Cultural Center
Steps in Shaping a Pot, Part 3 | Digital Traditions 3

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Grades

  • Higher Education
Steps in Shaping a Pot, Part 3 | Digital Traditions
Episode 3
Nola Harris Campbell finishes the outside of the pot by rubbing it with a corn cob. This "blends" the coils together and the pot is ready to cure or dry. Harris also demonstrates "scraping" a dried...
Steps in Shaping a Pot, Part 2 | Digital Traditions 2

Video

Grades

  • Higher Education
Steps in Shaping a Pot, Part 2 | Digital Traditions
Episode 2
Nora Harris Campbell builds up the sides of the pot with "coils" and uses the lid of a tin can to scrape the inside of the pot smooth - blending the individual coils together. Footage from Folklife...
Lanier Meaders & His Roots | Digital Traditions 1

Video

Grades

  • Higher Education
Lanier Meaders & His Roots | Digital Traditions
Episode 1
Meaders discussing his roots in traditional pottery. From the program "Venture: Southern Stoneware" co-produced by the SC State Museum and McKissick Museum. 1987.