Historical Society Program To Examine Fairfield County Pottery

The making of pottery is one of the first achievements on mankind’s road to civilization. Nearly every location on earth has developed a pottery tradition, if not an industry, and Fairfield County is no exception.

On Monday, March 8, the Newtown Historical Society will examine the stoneware pottery of Fairfield County in a program at 7:30 in the meeting room of the Booth Library on Main Street.

Among the county towns, Norwalk gathered a reputation for its redware or stoneware at an early date. While ceramic wares are fairly durable and leave their artifactual mark for generations, little research on the local county potters has been done.

When Richard Prowse, presenter of the society’s March 8 program, first began collecting stoneware some 30 years ago, he was troubled by the lack of available information. The former Stamford police sergeant began to remedy this situation in the same way he conducted his crime investigations, starting “with the scant information available and working backwards. The information uncovered was in staggering proportions.”

The method is apparently slow but effective. After six years of actively compiling information for a monography, Mr Prowse’s book on Norwalk potters is nearly complete. The project is now growing into a second, extended work on the entire state on a county-by-county basis.

After leaving the police force, Mr Prowse established his own business as a general contractor in the Stamford area. He has spoken about his hobby of tracing the history of Norwalk pottery before several historical societies in lower Fairfield County and also does a reenactment of the life of Norwalk potter Absalom Day. Articles on his research findings have been published in several newspapers.

All Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served at the program’s conclusion. For more information, call the society at 426-5937.