The Rare Civil War-Era Pottery Beneath Rocketts

Monday, June 01, 2009

A team led by Robert Hunter from the Center for Archeological Research at William and Mary University recently excavated hundreds of American Stoneware pieces at Rocketts Landing. The stoneware is believed to be the product of David Parr Jr., a prominent post-Civil War potter from Richmond.

Parr established a pottery in Richmond around the 1850’s somewhere near Rocketts Landing, but no one knows exactly where.  His American stoneware is highly sought after by collectors, and Hunter feels he might be on to something, given the abundance of “wasters” or broken pieces of stoneware found during the recent excavation at Rocketts.

“The area has huge potential to be the location of Parr’s kiln or maybe even one of his storage facilities,” Hunter said.  “During a dig, we have never before encountered so much of his stoneware.”

The term stoneware refers to the predominant house ware of nineteenth century North America –pottery usually covered in a salt glaze and often decorated using bright blue cobalt oxide. The vernacular term “crocks” is often used to describe the pottery, and it is thought to have originated in Germany during the 1400’s.

No one has ever found a stoneware factory belonging to David Parr Jr.  For this reason, his work is extremely rare and sells for thousands of dollars.  One of the most significant vessel he has produced is the twenty-gallon salt-glazed stoneware cooler decorated with an incised American eagle and on display at the Virginia Historical Society.

No fully intact Parr pieces were found during the recent dig at Rocketts.

“Collectors, of course, want whole pieces to display in their houses,” said Hunter. “For us though a fragment is just as good. We’re more interested in the historic value of Parr’s work.”

The dig was funded in part by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and Hunter is currently in the process of raising more money for a second visit.  Dan Boyer, a sales associate at Rocketts Landing, volunteered during the excavation and would like to see the search for the Parr kiln continue.

“With permission from the Rocketts community we would like to dig as much as possible in order to preserve and promote the rich legacy of the area and the city,” he said. “We have even discussed the installment of a small museum on site to display all our findings and maintain that legacy.”

 Editor’s Note:  Robert Hunter asked that the Captain’s Blog encourage people not to encroach upon the areas excavated for fear of damage that could be imposed upon the historic stoneware potentially located there.

Photos / Robert Hunter