BEFORE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Maybe I should say BEFORE THE CLAY MEETS THE WHEEL.
Georgia is famed for its bountiful clay but not the red clay. The more localized KAOLIN clay, which is so important to Georgia folk pottery and stoneware. The pottery is made from this fine grained pure clay that is tough enough to withstand rough usage.

Deposits of Kaolin occurred in Georgia about 100 million to 45 million years ago along a band extending from Augusta to Macon to Columbus, called The fall line. Georgia is by far the leading clay producing state in America and Kaolin is Georgia's largest natural resource

Pioneer potters, including the Merritt's forefathers, settled along along the Fall line in what now is Crawford County where the relative pure clay is concentrated.The potters established 8 pottery centers which became known as "Jugtowns". Each Jugtown developed its own styles and passes the style and shapes on to the next generation.

In the 1800's salt was thrown in the kiln to glaze the pottery. About 1815  alkaline glazes were developed by Dr. Abner Landrum. These glazes depend on an alkaline substance such as lime or wood ashes to help melt the other ingredients of clay and sand to form the glaze. The glaze turns either green or brown when its iron content reacts to the Kiln.

 

Jeanie holding her origional signed Mark R. Merritt Crawford County Jug

  

Mark Merritt's plant... thats a full size tractor setting on that pile of clay

More of the mixing and batching plant.

  

Mark R. Merritt 6th generation Jug maker and Jeanie

Crawford county Jugs

 I think a couple of the 10's I woke up with back in my drinking days posed for the jugs below.

  I will have one more surprise for you from Crawford County GA tomorrow before we move on to Tuskegee.AL