THE HISTORY of OUACHITA POTTERY
The Ouachita Pottery Company was an attempt at capitalizing on Arkansas’ rich clay deposits by using ceramists to produce art pottery. The clay deposits, located eight miles north of Hot Springs near Mountain Vallley were discovered by Ohioan, Lee Worthington, an experienced mineralogist and resident of Arkansas since the 1870s. As early as mid-1904, out-of-state capitalists Robert Bradford and John Brown created the Mountain Valley Mining and Development Company of St. Louis and Chicago and laid claim to these clay deposits. In March, 1905, the American Pottery Gazette reported that these capitalists were establishing “a new art pottery” in Hot Springs, and on June 30, the Arkansas Gazette reported that “capitalists” had inquired about locating a plant in central Arkansas and the “company proposes to manufacture tiling, glazed brick and the finest potteryware.”
In July, 1905 the Arkansas Gazette noted that this “valuable property, which has recently been purchased, it is understood, by Messrs. Bradford, Martin, and associates, of St. Louis, was located by Col. Lee Worthington...” These associates, organizing the Mountain Valley Pottery Company, were Robert Bradford (President), W. W. Martin (Vice President), and Guy R. Alexander (secretary-treasurer). Further financial assistance came from John Brown, a retired Chicago capitalist who helped “develop the property to the extent of being able to determine the supply of clay,” and together they wanted to “locate a factory at either Little Rock. Hot Springs, or Mountain Valley” (they settled on Hot Springs).
Information, full of hyperbole, on Arkansas’s clay resources spread quickly as state publications announced the supposed findings of not only quantity, but also quality clay beds in central and south Arkansas. In Arkansas, the claims of the exceptional properties of the clays came when the Arkansas Gazette reported that the “product of the clay mine recently discovered near here combines within itself, without any intermixture whatever, all of the ingredients necessary for the manufacture of pottery.”
To sell these claims about the clays, Bradford found a ceramist to help with the “mysteries of the potter’s art” in St. Louis sculptor, R. P. Bringhurst. Bringhurst supposedly ran experiments and claimed that: “Your clay is the only one that I have found, that is ready for use after it is mixed or dissolved in water for the use of art goods.” Yet, when Bradford sought other expert advice on the characteristics of his clays, one important opinion ran counter to all the previous claims.
Bringhurst’s analysis began a friendly disagreement between Bradford and Charles F. Bìnns as to the quality of the clay. Bradford sent several different analyses to Binns but contention resulted because of Mountain Valley Pottery Company’s claim that they had a “noncraze” clay. In promotional or prospect literature, the company proclaimed: “that exhaustive tests [have] proven conclusively that [its] ‘noncraze’ clay requires but one firing. Glazes can be applied [to greenware] and these glazes will positively not craze.” Binns did not accept these claims and told Bradford that he was “ill advised.”
Robert Bradford intended to launch an art pottery operation to rival those In Ohio, especially Rookwood Pottery. Bradford knew about the art pottery industry and made many inquiries to similar concerns, including the Rookwood Pottery. Bradford revealed his intentions when he stated: “My idea is to have a high class pottery plant and employ only the very best talent obtainable.” Toward this end, Bradford had asked Binns for help in securing ceramists, and Binns secured for Bradford a trained ceramist, Paul E. Cox.
Paul Cox was a student of Binns, and the second ceramist to graduate from the New York State School of Clayworkings and Ceramics. Paul Cox responsibilities were to create the glazes, with a salary of “$60 per month.” As an unofficial duty, he assisted in locating other possible employees for the company. Writing to Binns, Cox said: “Their desires at present is (sic) to secure some talented person who is looking for a start to decorate in the Rookwood style. At the same time they desire the person to be able to model and design shapes.”
When Cox arrived In Hot Springs in December, 1905, the plant was not yet equipped, and he was pessimistic about his future. In a letter to Binns, he wrote: “Things here are fair only and I am not any too confident that it will be a great success…. So I would be glad if you keep me still in mind for a good stoneware location as no doubt you are so doing.” At the beginning of 1906, the “temporary plant [was] going and [they had] made a few articles for burning.” Since no marked Mountain Valley Pottery examples have surfaced, it is unclear as to what was produced under this name, if anything.
A major success for the company was securing the employment of pottery thrower Arthur Dovey. Dovey brought a wealth of knowledge concerning popular shapes and glazes. Dovey had spent most of his career as a potter at Rookwood Pottery, his employer since at least 1890. After Dovey’s arrival in Hot Springs, Cox reported to Bínns that Dovey’s employment “seems to have brought down the wrath of Rookwood.” Furthermore, Bradford wanted to attract other Rookwood artists: “A number of Rookwood people including Valentien and his wife [were] willing to come,” if the price was right. Valentien evidently declined the Arkansas job offer. Frederick E Walrath was contacted as well, but, Cox stated, “Walrath won’t go.”
During 1906 the Ouachita Pottery Company was established. Bradford soon thereafter resigned after failing to secure much needed capital. Regardless, Ouachita Pottery participated in an event that brought its first extensive exposure to both Arkansas and the rest of the United States. In the fall of 1906, Ouachita Pottery exhibited in the Exposition Palace at the Arkansas State Fair in Hot Springs with promotion full of hyperbole. For its efforts, Ouachlta Pottery received first prize awards for best display of pottery and most artistic display of pottery. Paul Cox departed somewhere during this time, as a period of transition occurred. Another reorganization was apparently achieved by Worthington in early 1907 with the establishment of the Hot Springs Pottery.
The company’s advertisements at this tune invited all to visit the plant to see the process of “high art pottery manufacture.” The Hot Springs Pottery, like its two predecessors, continued extraordinary claims about its clays. During 1907, remarks about the company’s clay deposits were made, such as: “Noted experts say that this is the finest pottery clay in all the world.” The promotion of this industry, however, never seemed to help in securing the financial backing, and on May 7, 1908, an incorporation meeting was held for the Hot Springs Clay Products Company.
The Hot Springs Clay Products Company filed for incorporation on June 3, 1908 “to enhance pottery manufacture....” The corporation sought to “erect a large plant at once… for the manufacture of pottery of a high grade,” but the plant was never built. Meanwhile, Dovey had departed for St. Louis as manager of the Ouachita Coal and Clay Products Company (Bradford’s sister operation) that produced the wares marked “Ouachita Pottery, Saint Louis.” By 1909, after spending considerable time and effort, Worthington seemingly disassociated himself from the firm to develop copper mining. With Worthington out of the ceramic business, the operation fades from the historical record and thus ends the known story.
Ouachita Pottery’s short years in existence paralleled the peak era of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Potteries across the nation answered the public call for decorative ceramics with simple designs and glazes. Ouachita’s pottery production mirrored those of Rookwood and others. Shapes, designs, and glazes used at Ouachita are not unique and some are similar, if not identical, to Rookwood Pottery and others. For artists, there were at least three. To date, initials found on Ouachita Pottery include C. F., M. D., and S. E. S. The initials M. D. are probably Mariah Dovey (Dovey’s mother) while Sarah Elizabeth Smith is S. E. S. One unidentified artist made sculptured vases resembling designs by Fritz Albert at Teco Pottery of Illinois.
Ouachita Pottery made “almost 30 different shades and colors,” yet most were matte green glazes. With the hiring of Paul Cox and Arthur Dovey, who obviously knew the trends, Ouachita Pottery reproduced popular items, a theme echoed later by other Arkansas potteries. Ouachita Pottery’s production included primarily molded pottery with added decoration such as incised geometric or molded designs. Slip painted pieces, a technique popularized by Rookwood Pottery with its line called Standard glaze, are seen in company photographs, and one piece has surfaced, resembling the medium of painting on canvas.
The existence of Ouachita Pottery Company established that a “modern” ceramic operation could be undertaken using Arkansas clays. With skilled personnel, Ouachita Pottery produced a range of artistic pottery, but it could not sustain a successful commercial operation beyond a few years. Arthur Dovey, an itinerant potter, returned to Arkansas in 1909 as one of the incorporators of the Niloak Pottery Company with Charles Hyten and others. Cox went on to head up the glaze department for Newcomb College in 1910.
With respect to the later developments of art pottery manufacture in Arkansas, the most important aspect of Ouachita’s production was the manufacture of swirl pottery. It was not known until the eminent American pottery historian Paul Evans, author of Art Pottery of the United States, revealed photographic evidence that clearly showed several pieces of swirl pottery. Attributed to Dovey’s efforts, this photograph is evidence of an early foundation for work at the Niloak Pottery a few years later. Yet this attribution to Dovey is under review as new, yet unconfirmed, information insists that an Arkansas potter, Fred Johnson (of Bauer fame), was responsible for the swirl concept.
Ouachita Pottery’s formation, to say the least, brought state and national attention to the possibilities of Arkansas ceramic resources. Moreover, Ouachita Pottery established that an art pottery operation was possible using Arkansas clays. As operations were slowly coming to an end in Hot Springs, new activities were beginning a few miles away that eventually put Arkansas on the map within the national ceramic industry.
In July, 1905 the Arkansas Gazette noted that this “valuable property, which has recently been purchased, it is understood, by Messrs. Bradford, Martin, and associates, of St. Louis, was located by Col. Lee Worthington...” These associates, organizing the Mountain Valley Pottery Company, were Robert Bradford (President), W. W. Martin (Vice President), and Guy R. Alexander (secretary-treasurer). Further financial assistance came from John Brown, a retired Chicago capitalist who helped “develop the property to the extent of being able to determine the supply of clay,” and together they wanted to “locate a factory at either Little Rock. Hot Springs, or Mountain Valley” (they settled on Hot Springs).
Information, full of hyperbole, on Arkansas’s clay resources spread quickly as state publications announced the supposed findings of not only quantity, but also quality clay beds in central and south Arkansas. In Arkansas, the claims of the exceptional properties of the clays came when the Arkansas Gazette reported that the “product of the clay mine recently discovered near here combines within itself, without any intermixture whatever, all of the ingredients necessary for the manufacture of pottery.”
To sell these claims about the clays, Bradford found a ceramist to help with the “mysteries of the potter’s art” in St. Louis sculptor, R. P. Bringhurst. Bringhurst supposedly ran experiments and claimed that: “Your clay is the only one that I have found, that is ready for use after it is mixed or dissolved in water for the use of art goods.” Yet, when Bradford sought other expert advice on the characteristics of his clays, one important opinion ran counter to all the previous claims.
Bringhurst’s analysis began a friendly disagreement between Bradford and Charles F. Bìnns as to the quality of the clay. Bradford sent several different analyses to Binns but contention resulted because of Mountain Valley Pottery Company’s claim that they had a “noncraze” clay. In promotional or prospect literature, the company proclaimed: “that exhaustive tests [have] proven conclusively that [its] ‘noncraze’ clay requires but one firing. Glazes can be applied [to greenware] and these glazes will positively not craze.” Binns did not accept these claims and told Bradford that he was “ill advised.”
Robert Bradford intended to launch an art pottery operation to rival those In Ohio, especially Rookwood Pottery. Bradford knew about the art pottery industry and made many inquiries to similar concerns, including the Rookwood Pottery. Bradford revealed his intentions when he stated: “My idea is to have a high class pottery plant and employ only the very best talent obtainable.” Toward this end, Bradford had asked Binns for help in securing ceramists, and Binns secured for Bradford a trained ceramist, Paul E. Cox.
Paul Cox was a student of Binns, and the second ceramist to graduate from the New York State School of Clayworkings and Ceramics. Paul Cox responsibilities were to create the glazes, with a salary of “$60 per month.” As an unofficial duty, he assisted in locating other possible employees for the company. Writing to Binns, Cox said: “Their desires at present is (sic) to secure some talented person who is looking for a start to decorate in the Rookwood style. At the same time they desire the person to be able to model and design shapes.”
When Cox arrived In Hot Springs in December, 1905, the plant was not yet equipped, and he was pessimistic about his future. In a letter to Binns, he wrote: “Things here are fair only and I am not any too confident that it will be a great success…. So I would be glad if you keep me still in mind for a good stoneware location as no doubt you are so doing.” At the beginning of 1906, the “temporary plant [was] going and [they had] made a few articles for burning.” Since no marked Mountain Valley Pottery examples have surfaced, it is unclear as to what was produced under this name, if anything.
A major success for the company was securing the employment of pottery thrower Arthur Dovey. Dovey brought a wealth of knowledge concerning popular shapes and glazes. Dovey had spent most of his career as a potter at Rookwood Pottery, his employer since at least 1890. After Dovey’s arrival in Hot Springs, Cox reported to Bínns that Dovey’s employment “seems to have brought down the wrath of Rookwood.” Furthermore, Bradford wanted to attract other Rookwood artists: “A number of Rookwood people including Valentien and his wife [were] willing to come,” if the price was right. Valentien evidently declined the Arkansas job offer. Frederick E Walrath was contacted as well, but, Cox stated, “Walrath won’t go.”
During 1906 the Ouachita Pottery Company was established. Bradford soon thereafter resigned after failing to secure much needed capital. Regardless, Ouachita Pottery participated in an event that brought its first extensive exposure to both Arkansas and the rest of the United States. In the fall of 1906, Ouachita Pottery exhibited in the Exposition Palace at the Arkansas State Fair in Hot Springs with promotion full of hyperbole. For its efforts, Ouachlta Pottery received first prize awards for best display of pottery and most artistic display of pottery. Paul Cox departed somewhere during this time, as a period of transition occurred. Another reorganization was apparently achieved by Worthington in early 1907 with the establishment of the Hot Springs Pottery.
The company’s advertisements at this tune invited all to visit the plant to see the process of “high art pottery manufacture.” The Hot Springs Pottery, like its two predecessors, continued extraordinary claims about its clays. During 1907, remarks about the company’s clay deposits were made, such as: “Noted experts say that this is the finest pottery clay in all the world.” The promotion of this industry, however, never seemed to help in securing the financial backing, and on May 7, 1908, an incorporation meeting was held for the Hot Springs Clay Products Company.
The Hot Springs Clay Products Company filed for incorporation on June 3, 1908 “to enhance pottery manufacture....” The corporation sought to “erect a large plant at once… for the manufacture of pottery of a high grade,” but the plant was never built. Meanwhile, Dovey had departed for St. Louis as manager of the Ouachita Coal and Clay Products Company (Bradford’s sister operation) that produced the wares marked “Ouachita Pottery, Saint Louis.” By 1909, after spending considerable time and effort, Worthington seemingly disassociated himself from the firm to develop copper mining. With Worthington out of the ceramic business, the operation fades from the historical record and thus ends the known story.
Ouachita Pottery’s short years in existence paralleled the peak era of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Potteries across the nation answered the public call for decorative ceramics with simple designs and glazes. Ouachita’s pottery production mirrored those of Rookwood and others. Shapes, designs, and glazes used at Ouachita are not unique and some are similar, if not identical, to Rookwood Pottery and others. For artists, there were at least three. To date, initials found on Ouachita Pottery include C. F., M. D., and S. E. S. The initials M. D. are probably Mariah Dovey (Dovey’s mother) while Sarah Elizabeth Smith is S. E. S. One unidentified artist made sculptured vases resembling designs by Fritz Albert at Teco Pottery of Illinois.
Ouachita Pottery made “almost 30 different shades and colors,” yet most were matte green glazes. With the hiring of Paul Cox and Arthur Dovey, who obviously knew the trends, Ouachita Pottery reproduced popular items, a theme echoed later by other Arkansas potteries. Ouachita Pottery’s production included primarily molded pottery with added decoration such as incised geometric or molded designs. Slip painted pieces, a technique popularized by Rookwood Pottery with its line called Standard glaze, are seen in company photographs, and one piece has surfaced, resembling the medium of painting on canvas.
The existence of Ouachita Pottery Company established that a “modern” ceramic operation could be undertaken using Arkansas clays. With skilled personnel, Ouachita Pottery produced a range of artistic pottery, but it could not sustain a successful commercial operation beyond a few years. Arthur Dovey, an itinerant potter, returned to Arkansas in 1909 as one of the incorporators of the Niloak Pottery Company with Charles Hyten and others. Cox went on to head up the glaze department for Newcomb College in 1910.
With respect to the later developments of art pottery manufacture in Arkansas, the most important aspect of Ouachita’s production was the manufacture of swirl pottery. It was not known until the eminent American pottery historian Paul Evans, author of Art Pottery of the United States, revealed photographic evidence that clearly showed several pieces of swirl pottery. Attributed to Dovey’s efforts, this photograph is evidence of an early foundation for work at the Niloak Pottery a few years later. Yet this attribution to Dovey is under review as new, yet unconfirmed, information insists that an Arkansas potter, Fred Johnson (of Bauer fame), was responsible for the swirl concept.
Ouachita Pottery’s formation, to say the least, brought state and national attention to the possibilities of Arkansas ceramic resources. Moreover, Ouachita Pottery established that an art pottery operation was possible using Arkansas clays. As operations were slowly coming to an end in Hot Springs, new activities were beginning a few miles away that eventually put Arkansas on the map within the national ceramic industry.
