Prospect Hill Pottery

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The Database is organized by location, but you can find a pottery initially by searching for its name, which is at the top of the of the page with dates of operation below. Alternate names and the names of other potteries on the same site are noted at the top of the right-hand column, just above the pottery’s location.

The types of wares made appear below the pottery name in the left-hand column, followed by the references that informed these classifications.

Sample images of maker’s marks may be enlarged by clicking on the image.

Notes include a variety of information compiled from many standard sources and are presented as miscellaneous tidbits.

In the Gallery and Map Gallery in the right-hand column you will see historic images and insurance maps of the pottery’s facilities if available as well as historic advertisements and images of the wares made.

You can download more detailed information in all of these categories by choosing a PDF of the pottery’s full listing, which also includes the documentary sources. The PDF is text only and does not contain any images.  Data from the 1860, 1870 and 1880 industrial censuses area also included in the PDF if they exist for a given pottery. This data gives you a picture of the size of the pottery operation and the age and gender makeup of its work force.

You can help expand the database by contributing pictures and information. Contact POTS by the email address at the bottom of the page.

In operation    1903-1932

Wares

ElectricalTableware

Pottery ware (Industrial Directory 1909)

Dinner ware and electrical porcelain (Industrial Directory 1912, 1918)

Electrical porcelain (Industrial Directory 1927)

Electric porcelain refractory tubes for resistance (Industrial Directory 1931)

Notes

In 1903 the plant was sold to the Cook Pottery Co. and became known as Cook’s Prospect Hill Pottery. In 1932 the Cook Ceramic Co., a recent incorporation of the Cook Pottery Co. and the Ceramic Allied Products, Inc. purchased the New Brunswick Manufacturing Division of the Circle F Manufacturing Co. and moved to the Prospect Hill site and manufactured Circle F’s porcelain requirements.

— Abramson, D.V. and T. Karschner. 1978.  An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites, Trenton, New Jersey.  On file, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJDEP), Trenton, New Jersey.

Selected References

Harney, W.J. 1929. “Trenton’s First Potteries.” Sunday Times Advertiser, July 7, 14, 21 and 28, 1929.

Abramson, D.V. and T. Karschner. 1978.  An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites, Trenton, New Jersey.  On file, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJDEP), Trenton, New Jersey.

Lehner, Lois. 1980.  Complete Book of American Kitchen and Dinner Wares.  Wallace-Homestead Book Company, Des Moines, Iowa.

Goldberg, David J. 1998.  Preliminary Notes on the Pioneer Potters and Potteries of Trenton, N.J.: The First Thirty Years – 1852 – 1882 (And Beyond).  Privately published, Trenton, New Jersey.

Other firms at this site:

Other Names

Cook Pottery Company; Cook's Prospect Hill Pottery

Block and Lot:
28C-3A/6

Historic Street Address:
Prospect Avenue and Pennsylvania Railroad; Prospect Avenue near Pennsylvania and Bound Brook Railroad; 401 Prospect

Municipality:
City of Trenton

Map Gallery

Prospect Hill Pottery, 1905 Lathrop
Prospect Hill Pottery, 1908 Sanborn
Prospect Hill Pottery, 1927 Sanborn Map
Map References

Lathrop, J. M. 1905.   Atlas of the City of Trenton and Borough of Princeton. A.H. Mueller & Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Plate 17: shown as “Cook Pottery Co.”)

Sanborn Map Company.  1908.  Insurance Maps of the City of Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, Volume 1. Sanborn Map Company, New York, New York.  (Vol.1, plate 70: shown as “The Cook Pottery Co. Prospect Hill Pottery”)

Sanborn Map Company.  1927.  Insurance Maps of the City of Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Sanborn Map Company, New York, New York.  (Vol. 3, plate 329: shown as “The Cook Pottery Co.”)

Franklin Survey Co.  1930.  Real Estate Plat‑Book of the City of Trenton and Borough of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Franklin Survey Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Plate 42: shown as “Cook Pottery Co.”)