Poughkeepsie Potters and the Plague

Folk art has long been a part of the cultural heritage of the Hudson River Valley.

The Hudson River school of painting traces its roots to the valley, as does a unique

decorative style of stoneware–preserve pots and jugs with scenes of birds, flowers, and

animals that were part of the potter’s life. While the Hudson River paintings, usually

commissioned by wealthy landowners, have achieved universal acclaim, the utilitarian

stoneware, owned by even the least successful merchants and farmers, has been widely

collected but little understood.

Poughkeepsie Potters and the Plague makes an important contribution toward an

understanding of the stoneware tradition of the Hudson Valley. Based on years of

research, it uncovers for the first time the significance of early stoneware production

at Poughkeepsie and outlines its one-hundred-year history. Astonishingly, its early

beginnings may be attributed to a series of yellow-fever epidemics that struck New

York City during the 1795-1805 period. These epidemics forced a migration of

people away from the beleaguered city to places such as Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie

Potters and the Plague began with a dated butter pot that was made by the first

stoneware potters of Poughkeepsie as a tribute to the epidemic victims of New York

City in 1798–a single piece of pottery transcending time and location to bring to

life the historical triumph of the enduring human spirit.