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Town of Hanover Historian Vince Martonis has been researching and collecting pottery vessels and sherds since the 1980s. He has had a particular interest in three Chautauqua County Potteries: the Caleb Mathews Pottery of Gerry, the Fenton and Whittemore Pottery of Jamestown and Fluvanna, and the Haven and Kenyon Pottery of Sheridan.Martonis will discuss his research into these particular potteries, including the form and glaze elements the potters used, which enabled him to draw conclusions about what they produced. He also will discuss how the potters mixed local and stoneware clays to make vessels, and how to identify unmarked pieces.
Martonis is the author of two recent books about early 1800s redware pottery sites in Chautauqua County. The Haven and Kenyon Redware Pottery of Sheridan (1818) and The Caleb Mathews (1821) Redware Pottery of Gerry were both published in 2024. His research into the Haven and Kenyon Pottery is a particularly interesting story. He discovered evidence of the Pottery in an 1819 Fredonia newspaper and spent four years of research to locate its site. Since then, with the current property owners’ permission, he has been able to collect more than 3,200 sherds from the site.
Photo credit: OBSERVER newspaper
Part of Here & There – Chautauqua County History, Travelers, & Memories
Presented in Partnership with the Darwin R. Barker Historical Museum
Admission is FREE, although donations are gratefully accepted
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center, 9 Church St,Fredonia, New York, United States
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