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When he has finished a pot, he places it on a rack to dry. These drying racks are built over a long firebox, which helps to hasten the drying process. The last step is to stack and fire the pieces in a "ground hog" kiln, built into the side of a hill to retain heat. Here the pottery is heated to 2350ºF with a wood fire. It takes about twenty-four hours to fire the kiln and another forty-eight for it to cool. During the firing the potter throws rock salt into the kiln. The sodium in the salt vaporizes and combines with the silica in the clay to form a glaze on the pottery. Most of the items made by potters in 1850 were churns, jars, pitchers, bowls, and jugs. You can see many of our potter's creations in the general store.
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Then
he kneads it like dough to remove the air pockets. After the wedging process,
he places a ball of clay on the center of his wheel. He turns the wheel
with a foot-operated treadle and shapes the clay as it turns, holding
it between his thumbs and forefingers. 