Collecting Blue Ridge Pottery: The History BehindThis Sought-After Collectible

Many people from the South grew up eating off Blue Ridge pottery dinnerware pieces. In the early 1900s, it was commonplace in the South to have Blue Ridge dishes in the home and use them everyday. Back then, no one ever imagined that one day Blue Ridge would be one of the most sought-after collectible pottery pieces around.

Nowsdays, you can find Blue Ridge pottery pieces in both antique shops and eBay selling from $5 to $150 per piece or complete dinnerware sets going from $150.00-$2,000. Some of the ladies still living today that worked for Southern Potteries can't believe that the pieces they painted years ago are so popular today. The history behind Blue Ridge is unique in that it was started by a railroad company. But Blue Ridge did not start out as Blue Ridge.

In 1916, the owners of the Ohio, Clinchfield and North Carolina Railroads wanted to expand their rail shipping business. With the success of other pottery companies, they decided to open a pottery factory. In looking for a location, they chose the small town of Erwin, Tennessee, with a population of 300 people, which was a railroad stop that was centrally located close to the raw materials needed to manufacture the pottery. With the help of a well-known pottery manufacturer from Ohio, by the name of E.J. Owens, they opened "Clinchfield Pottery". The original workers were hired from Ohio along with residents of Erwin. The Ohio employees trained the Erwin workers in the art of making and decorating pottery. Commercial production started in 1917 and the original dinnerware was simple and the patterns were decals. All the first markings had the words "Clinchfield, Handpainted, Erwin, Tenn." on the back side. Starting in the l920's, the Clinchfield Crown stamp was more commonly used. The name Blue Ridge came about around 1932-33 because Erwin is located in the Blue Ridge mountains.

In 1920, Clinchfield Pottery was incorporated and changed its name to "Southern Potteries, Inc". In 1937, Charles Foreman purchased Southern Potteries, Inc. Charles Foreman decided that the pieces were going to be hand-painted instead of decals and the ladies were trained in hand-painting techniques. The hand-painted pieces were marked "Blue Ridge Hand-Painted Under the Glaze Dinnerware". With the new hand-painted pieces, a metallic based glaze was painted on the piece just before the last firing. This hand-painted technique made Southern Potteries famous. The pieces were considered elegant and sets consisted of plates, saucers, cups, platters, pouring pitchers and more. The pieces were painted in small groups. Stamps were used to outline the design on the piece, then the lead painter in the group would paint the main design and pass it along to the next person who might paint on the leaves, then it would be passed on to the next person who would paint another part of the pattern and so on until the entire pattern was painted. Because some painters were better than others, no two pieces were exactly alike.

By 1946, Blue Ridge pottery had grown in popularity and Southern Potteries now had 11 showrooms across the US, including New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. They worked with large department stores, such as Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Wards to carry their pieces in their stores and catalogs. Southern Potteries was one of the largest pottery manufacturers in the United States. During World War II, the pottery was in its golden years of production because imported dishes were not available.

Around 1953-1954, plastic dinnerware started to be imported from Japan and became widely available. As the popularity of the "unbreakable" dinnerware increased a decline in orders started to affect the pottery. With the decline in overall production and rising labor costs, in 1957 Southern Potteries closed its doors. By the time Southern Potteries had closed, there were over 5,000 different patterns produced. Most of these patterns were never named, so collectors started naming them. Because of this, the same pattern may be called a couple of different names in collector books.

Since the pieces were used as everyday dinnerware, they had become worn and would be thrown away by the owners. Because of this there are not many pieces left to be had. Some Southern Potteries employees still living in Erwin had saved their pieces in complete sets and are now well sought after by collectors. No knowing that one day Blue Ridge pottery would be so collectible some employees who had sets of the pottery threw them away because they were tired of them. Blue Ridge collectors are located all over the world and seek out the antique shops and shows to locate that one special pattern they are looking for. There are several collector clubs just for Blue Ridge Pottery. To find out more information about collecting Blue Ridge Pottery or about joining the pottery collectors club, you can visit their website at www.blueridgepotteryclub.com. This website will also provide you with upcoming shows and sales.