Gilmer Potteries

Gilmer Potteries (in Gilmer, Texas, my hometown) keeps showing up in books and online articles lately. Although I've mentioned it in passing a time or two, I thought I'd feature it today for old time's sake, in the spirit of Auld Lang Syne.

My kids gave me a copy of Lois Lehner's Encyclopedia of U.S. Marks on Pottery, Porcelain & Clay for Christmas, and my SIL was surprised to learn that Gilmer, a small town of fewer than 5,000 people, even had a pottery. In fact, when I lived there in the 1960s, the pottery was quite active and employed a number of workers.

Established in 1951 by a group of residents who purchased stock in the company and hired Carlton Rowe and Richard Potter as managers, the pottery was in its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. During that period, the pottery manufactured planters, ashtrays and cookie jars, some of which were designed by Howard Kron, who later became a principal figure at Texans Incorporated, a company best known for its TV lamps.

In the 1970s, the pottery switched its emphasis to bathroom accessories, although some decorative items were still made. Today the company employs from 20-40 people and manufactures only bathroom products.

In researching this post, I ran across a wonderful blog I hadn't found before. If you'd like to know more about Gilmer Potteries and see more of vintage pieces, check out My Life as a Collectorator.

Seafoam blue bulb bowl
ebay.com - texianpedlar

Yellow oval bulb bowl
ebay.com - texianpedlar

White to cream pedestal melon bowl
ebay.com - texianpedlar

Matte chocolate brown pedestal vase
ebay.com - appleanniephotography

Matte green melon planter
cyberattic.com

Howard Kron covered dish
tvlamps.net

Leaf dish
etsy.com - theprivateparty

Large yellow planter with saucer
collectoratortoo.blogspot.com

Texans, Inc.

While the 1950s are often regarded as an era of prosperity, the conditions in and around Bangs, Texas were dismal indeed. Experiencing what is today considered "the drought of record", the years between 1950 and 1956 saw annual rainfall drop to less than half of the average. Before the drought had subsided, all but ten Texas counties were declared disaster areas.

Survival was dependent on action, and a far-reaching plan was conceived in May of 1951. The authors of this proposition were key figures in Bangs: T.M. "Tommy" Young, a druggist, Thomas Levisay, a local grocer, Oren Bauer, hardware merchant, Raymond Morgan, banker, and Forrest Kyle, publisher of the Brown County Gazette, and in July of 1951 a new corporation, Texans Inc., was granted a charter with $100,000 of capital stock.

In March of 1952, the plant was completed and an open house celebration was held with over 3000 people in attendance. The event brought the community together, not just for a celebration, but in the knowledge that they were going to make a difference.

The fully operational factory had 25,000 square feet of workspace, two 12 ton mixing tanks, a 30 ton slip tank and an enormous 70 foot tunnel kiln, capable of producing 2,000 lamps per day. An adjacent building was already under construction to house the Mar-Lita Lamp Company, which would be the assembly and sales branch of the new company, purchasing all of Texans production. A third building for lampshade manufacture was in the planning stages, and a fourth for the manufacture of novelty tables was also being considered.

After some internal strife and the dissolution of Mar-Lita, which necessitated some personnel changes, the Texas Ceramic Studio took over duties previously performed by Mar-Lita, including shade manufacture, and Howard Kron took over design duties.

Kron began his pottery design career in California, creating various products at Haldeman Potteries during the late '30s. During the 1940s he was designer and ceramics engineer for Midwest Pottery in Tyler, Texas. Upon the closing of Midwest Pottery, Kron did some design work for nearby Gilmer Pottery, in Gilmer, Texas*, sculpting new designs and making master molds from his garage, traveling to the pottery as needed. Tyler native Richard Gunter expressed interest in learning the craft, and began to assist in Kron's mold making. For over 25 years the pair were the creative minds behind the products of Texans Inc.

*Gilmer, Texas, is my hometown.

From texansincorporated.com and tvlamps.net

Richard Gunter, Pete Eads, and Howard Kron

tvlamps.net

Texas Ceramic Studio catalog
texansincorporated.com

Three Horses lamp
tvlamps.net

Dancers lamp
tvlamps.net

Pink lamp
tvlamps.net