Collecting Blue Ridge Pottery: The History BehindThis Sought-After Collectible

Many people from the South grew up eating off Blue Ridge pottery dinnerware pieces. In the early 1900s, it was commonplace in the South to have Blue Ridge dishes in the home and use them everyday. Back then, no one ever imagined that one day Blue Ridge would be one of the most sought-after collectible pottery pieces around.

Nowsdays, you can find Blue Ridge pottery pieces in both antique shops and eBay selling from $5 to $150 per piece or complete dinnerware sets going from $150.00-$2,000. Some of the ladies still living today that worked for Southern Potteries can't believe that the pieces they painted years ago are so popular today. The history behind Blue Ridge is unique in that it was started by a railroad company. But Blue Ridge did not start out as Blue Ridge.

In 1916, the owners of the Ohio, Clinchfield and North Carolina Railroads wanted to expand their rail shipping business. With the success of other pottery companies, they decided to open a pottery factory. In looking for a location, they chose the small town of Erwin, Tennessee, with a population of 300 people, which was a railroad stop that was centrally located close to the raw materials needed to manufacture the pottery. With the help of a well-known pottery manufacturer from Ohio, by the name of E.J. Owens, they opened "Clinchfield Pottery". The original workers were hired from Ohio along with residents of Erwin. The Ohio employees trained the Erwin workers in the art of making and decorating pottery. Commercial production started in 1917 and the original dinnerware was simple and the patterns were decals. All the first markings had the words "Clinchfield, Handpainted, Erwin, Tenn." on the back side. Starting in the l920's, the Clinchfield Crown stamp was more commonly used. The name Blue Ridge came about around 1932-33 because Erwin is located in the Blue Ridge mountains.