03/15/2026
๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง: ๐โ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐น๐๐๐ ๐๐ 1901
๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ โ ๐
๐ข๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ, ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐
๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ
While glass factories are often remembered as the backbone of Gas City during the natural gas boom, another important industry briefly thrived alongside them โ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ. Founded in 1895 by G.W. Cox, the pottery factory was established to take advantage of the regionโs abundant natural gas. Though relatively small in comparison to the glass factories, the plant employed about 25 workers and produced everyday stoneware used in homes across the Midwest.
๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ
In the late 1800s, long before modern kitchens and refrigerators, stoneware pottery was an essential part of daily life. Families relied on sturdy ceramic crocks, jars, and jugs to store, preserve, and transport food.
In most homes between 1895 and 1901, refrigerators as we know them today did not exist. During the late 1800s and early 1900sโthe same period when Gas City Pottery Works was operatingโiceboxes were beginning to appear in homes, but they were not yet universal, especially in smaller towns like Gas City. An icebox was essentially an insulated wooden cabinet lined with metal (usually zinc or tin) that held a large block of ice. The ice slowly cooled the interior compartment where food was stored. Some households had simple iceboxes, but they were expensive and not yet common in many Midwestern homes. Because of this, people relied heavily on large stoneware crocks and jars for food preservation.
These crocks were used for:
โข Pickling vegetables such as cucumbers, beans, and cabbage
โข Fermenting sauerkraut
โข Storing butter, lard, and rendered fats
โข Preserving meats in brine
โข Keeping milk, cream, and cider cool
โข Mixing dough and preparing large batches of food
Stoneware was ideal because it was durable, easy to clean, and resistant to acids and salts used in food preservation. For many families, a large crock sitting in the cellar or pantry was just as important as a refrigerator is in a modern kitchen today. It was during this era that Gas City Pottery Works began producing the kinds of vessels families depended on every day.
Because the company often did not stamp or mark all of its pieces, pottery from ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ is extremely difficult for collectors and historians to identify today. Fortunately, several surviving examples are preserved at the Gas City Museum, providing a rare glimpse into this short-lived industry.
๐๐ก๐ ๐
๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐
Tragedy struck in early March of 1901 when a devastating nighttime fire broke out at the pottery works. Newspaper reports from the time described a desperate effort by the townโs volunteer fire department to save the factory. Several men were injured while battling the blaze, and disaster struck when a brick wall collapsed during the firefighting efforts.
John Guern, a 25-year-old Welsh immigrant and volunteer fireman, was instantly killed when the falling wall crushed him. Al Rothinghouse, the chief of the volunteer fire department, was also struck and badly injured about the head. Rothinghouse was one of Gas Cityโs most respected citizens โ a local druggist, city council member, and community leader. He did not die immediately, and the entire city rallied around him in prayer as he lay in a semi-conscious condition for two days. Sadly, he succumbed to his injuries, leaving Gas City mourning the loss of one of its most popular and dedicated public servants. The loss of Al Rothinghouse deeply affected the entire community of Gas City. So beloved was he among the citizens that every business along Main Street closed on the day of his funeral as a mark of respect. Local merchants shut their doors and joined the procession, and nearly every businessman in the city attended the services. The widespread show of mourning reflected the high regard in which Rothinghouse was heldโnot only as the chief of the volunteer fire department, but also as a druggist, city council member, and one of Gas Cityโs most enterprising and admired citizens.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ
Newspaper reports at the time also noted that factory owner G.W. Cox was injured during the fire, and the factory itself was completely destroyed. Following the tragedy, Mr. Cox initially hoped to rebuild the pottery works in Gas City. However, as news of the disaster spread, offers came from other communities encouraging him to relocate the factory. By this time, the regionโs once-abundant natural gas supply โ the very resource that had attracted industries to Gas City during the boom years โ was already beginning to decline. Facing uncertain fuel supplies and opportunities elsewhere, Cox ultimately chose not to rebuild the plant in Gas City. With that decision, ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ came to an end, closing a brief but meaningful chapter in the industrial history of the city.
๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ
Today, the surviving crocks, jugs, and teapots preserved at the ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ remind us of a time when pottery was not just decorative โ it was an essential tool of everyday life.
๐โ๐๐ข๐โ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 1901, ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆโ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐โ๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐กโ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ โ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ก๐ฆ.
Special thanks to the Gas City Museum and Historical Society for providing valuable insights and information contributing to this story. Visit the museum when it opens for the season in May.
