Monday, June 21, 2010

"Relocated" churn

While on a recent trip to Kingsport, Tennessee to visit kinfolk, Mike and I had an hour or two to kill and decided to visit a local antique mall. We always keep an eye out for churns that were made locally in our little area of the world, but still we were surprised when we came upon this Davis & Son Number 3 churn in northeastern Tennessee. After forking over the $85 asking price, the churn has now made it "back home" to Mississippi. The Davis & Son pottery operation turned out churns and other crockery and stoneware during the 1930s. Although the mark indicates Smithville, Miss. I believe the actual pottery site may have been in Itawamba County, or at least close to the county line. Smithville would have been the nearest post office.



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the "other side" of the churn looks as good as the side you photographed, it would appear that crockery has been well cared for! bettye

James Cormany said...

As you mention, the actual Davis shop was in Itawamba County, just north of the county line.Today, there is nothing left of the site. A grandson of the Davis Pottery founder still lives in Smithville. It is common to find Davis pottery in Tennessee and Virginia. Apparently they shipped large quantities there by railroad from Amory. James Cormant

Mona Robinson Mills said...

Thank you, James, for the information. If I had my copy handy of your booklet The Potteries of Itawamba and Monroe Counties, Mississippi, then I would have been able to provide additional information when I posted the story about the churn. Unfortunately, I was away from home at the time. I appreciate so much the information you compiled about these pottery shops.

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine has 2 churns with smithville, ms stamped on them. one has davis and suggs, and the other has suggs.... can you give me any information on them... i have searched unsuccessfully trying to find some history on them and a possible value.... my e-mail is tharpeone@aol.com. thanks.

Anonymous said...

Found a number 2 in Tennessee. Does yours have the lid and dasher? You can email an answer at debintn@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I bought a 2 gallon butter churn at an auction today identical to this one. I can't find a single 2 gallon anywhere online so I'm assuming it's rare. There are no chips or cracks at all on this. It looks well used. It's nice! Email if you'd like pics. elifritz2000@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

http://assets4.pinimg.com/upload/33425222205106503_7AxCPwfm.jpg
Picture of the churn.