Made in Cainhoy: The Legacy of Bartlam Pottery

A native of Staffordshire, England, John Bartlam is considered America’s first successful creamware potter. And he got his start right here on the Cainhoy Peninsula! A master potter, Bartlam had previously worked for Josiah Wedgwood in England, but left in 1763 to cross the Atlantic, eager to set up his own pottery manufacturing site in the emerging and promising new Carolina colony. By 1765, his operation was officially underway on the banks of the Wando River, near present-day St. Thomas Point on the Cainhoy Peninsula, where he found suitable clay for his efforts.
Join the Daniel Island Historical Society on Nov. 17 at Church of the Holy Spirit (Traditional Church) on Daniel Island at 7 pm as we welcome archaeologists Martha Zierden, former curator of historic archaeology at the Charleston Museum, and Jeff Sherard, lab director for Brockington & Associates Charleston, to learn more about Bartlam pottery - and what has recently been discovered about his historic endeavors!