Museum of Ceramics – East Liverpool, Ohio - Atlas Obscura

Museum of Ceramics

Housing the history of a small Ohio town that is known to some as the pottery capital of the United States. 

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Housed within the city’s former post office building, the Museum of Ceramics has been running for more than 40 years. East Liverpool, Ohio has been a staple of commercial pottery production since its first pottery opened in 1840.

More than half of all American-made ceramics were produced in and around East Liverpool by 1900 in over 200 factories. This lead to the city dubbing itself the “Pottery Capital of the Nation.” Founded in 1980, the Museum of Ceramics aims to preserve the rich history of pottery in East Liverpool and the surrounding area.

The upper floor of the museum houses hundreds of examples of ceramics developed in the area over the course of the industry’s history; ranging from dinnerware and teapots to bone china and doorknobs. The lower floor boasts wax sculpture dioramas depicting the pottery-making process as it happened at the turn of the century, which put East Liverpool ceramics on the map.

Stop by the gift shop to observe and purchase authentic specimens of locally crafted ceramics as well as jewelry crafted from shards of broken pottery.

Know Before You Go

Grab some lunch just a short walk away at the famous Hot Dog Shoppe nearbywhich sells it's own Bottle Kiln Hot Sauce for hot-heads.

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