Standing in this neighborhood in 1850, you hear the thudding of horses along the unpaved and rutted streets, passing grocery stores and homes. Perhaps it is the wagon you’ve been waiting for to deliver a cord of wood so that you can fire this kiln loaded with your new merchandise. As a potter in the middle of the 1800s you would be faced with a number of challenges. Competition from English potters was increasing and you would have to decide how to respond. What could you produce to compete with the fine English wares?

Enoch Burnett took over Richard Butt’s successful pottery here in 1843 and made American salt-glazed stoneware crocks, jugs, and beer bottles until 1862. Such items were used and reused for preserving and storing food and their broken remains are found on sites throughout the city.

Archaeologists were thrilled to excavate this craft site, recovering thousands of pieces of Burnett’s wares from a "waster pit," where the potter had discarded unusable items. Just as interesting were the thousands of pieces of kiln furniture used to stack pots during firing. Such finds offer rare clues to craft and industry in the middle of the century.