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manufacturing activities that Upper left: artifacts on the waster midden at the Bonaparte
took place. All three levels Pottery, 13VB200.
of the factory were in use.
The basement was the place Upper right: archaeologists excavating the linear kiln at the
where clay was stored and Bonaparte Pottery, 13VB200.
prepared. Being semi-sub-
terranean it provided some Left: circular kiln exposed after excavation at the Bonaparte
humidity control to keep Pottery, 13VB200.
the clay from drying out
and would have allowed the
factory to operate during
all seasons (Prairie Archi-
tects 1995:43). Patterns of clay spatters on the walls
and ceiling, the locations where leather straps were
attached to floor joists, a metal rod driven in-between
the stones of the foundation, and a plank nailed to the
joists are associated with a horse-powered clay pug
mill that was once used to process clay (Rogers et al.
1995).
A pug mill is a cylindrical machine with rotating blades second floor the molded wares were finished on
inside. The blades kneaded the wet clay and mixed in lathes, slip glazes were applied, and, possibly, some
tempering material. Archaeological excavations re- products were thrown on potter’s wheels (Rogers
vealed that the working-floor of the basement, dat- 1999:3). The first floor has been painted over but
ing to around 1895, was still intact, preserved under on the second floor there are clay spatters, hand
layers of sediment deposited by periodic flooding. prints where the pottery workers wiped their hands on ceiling beams, and
The remains of a clay pit and traces of the path made by horses or ponies graffiti on the interior door which looked out over the circular kiln area
which powered the pug mill were identified. The clay pit was a wood lined to the east (Rogers 1999:3). A hole in the floor in the northeast corner
square in which processed clay was stored prior to being moved upstairs. was worn by a potter’s heels as he sat working at a wheel or lathe (Prairie
At the time of excavation, the pit was filled with pink clay, possibly for Architects 1995:43).
making terra-cotta flower pots and drain tiles, and gray clay for stoneware
production. This clay represents the unused material that was abandoned Archaeologists were also able to excavate the remains of two kilns used
when the factory closed. by the operation. The older of the two kilns is located on the south side
of the pottery factory building. This is a linear kiln at least 21 feet long and
The first floor was used for molding pottery and, possibly, wheel throw- 5 to 6 feet wide. This kiln was probably associated with the 1866–1875
ing, slip casting, and/or the application or mixing of slip glaze. On the
38 A River of Unrivaled Advantages—Life Along the Lower Des Moines River