Pieces of the Past: Cornell Pottery

At The History Center
June 7, 2012
5.30 pm

Bits and shards of the history of Ithaca Pottery will be reviewed at a talk at The History Center on June 7, 2012, 5.30pm.

Ezra Cornell’s father, Elijah, owned a pottery works on the South side of E. Lincoln St. at the corner of Lake St. at the bottom of Gun Shop Hill. Pieces of this fascinating history have been recovered and examined by Carol Griggs and Ted Sobel. For clay required for pottery and the most convenient on would be air dry clay.

Dr. Griggs grew up in New Hampshire, was an undergrad in archaeology at Cornell and after graduating excavated the pottery site for Historic Ithaca. Her undergrad studies included tree-ring dating which became her passion and focus for graduate work; she is now a research associate at the Cornell Tree Ring Lab. Her talk will
review the excavation of the site and what she learned at her dig. Importantly, it will provide an introduction to archeological methods.

Ted’s presentation will feature a slideshow on the Ithaca Pottery and its history through Elijah Cornell and subsequent owners. In particular, his slides will review potter’s marks and designs. Ted is originally from New Jersey, did graduate work at Cornell University, and returned to Cornell to a position as a Research Associate in Agricultural Engineering. He is a long term member of the Finger Lakes Bottle Collectors Association (FLBCA).

This event is co-sponsored by the Finger Lakes Chapter of the New York State Archeological Association.