Bennington Pottery History

Prominent Companies

• The principal Bennington pottery companies were The Norton Stoneware Company and the United States Pottery Company. Bennington Potters is the most prominent company operating as of 2010.

First Pottery

• Capt. John Norton established the first pottery in Bennington in 1785. The pottery became The Norton Stoneware Company after it began to make stoneware in 1815. Pieces painted by John Hilfinger are considered among the best.

The United States Pottery Company

• Julius Norton, grandson of John Norton, entered into partnership with Christopher Webber Fenton in the early 1840s. The company became Lyman and Fenton in 1848 and the United States Pottery Company in 1849. In 1852, British potter Daniel Greatbach joined the company and modeled some of its best pieces.

Achievements

• The two companies represented the United States Pottery industry at the 1853 Crystal Palace Exposition in New York.

Continuing Tradition

• David Gil, a graduate of the ceramics program at Alfred University, founded Bennington Potters in 1948. Gil began making ceramics as part of an artists' collective. The company does not mass produce; instead, its artisans use traditional craft techniques to make unique stoneware bakeware, dinnerware and serving pieces.