The Pottery Industry in Ford City

The Pottery Industry in Ford City. . , The Ford China Company was the first pottery to make its home here. John B. Ford, who had severed his ties with PPG in Ford City several years before, joined forces with John Wick of Kittanning to establish the Ford China Company in 1898. During its existence, it was one of the largest, if not the largest pottery in the United States. The facility gave employment to 300 to 500 workers to start. It was later expanded to employ one thousand workers. The Ford China Company was set up for the manufacture and sale of china, porcelain, white granite, and yellow ware., In the years between Ford China and Eljer, the plant was owned by the Cook China Company and the Pennsylvania China Company. Both continued the manufacture of semi porcelain, hotel ware, white granite, and dinner sets., American Standard Brands was formed in 2008. From the merger of three companies: American Standard Americas, Crane Plumbing, and Eljer Manufacturing, operations were moved overseas and the Ford City plant was shut down that year., Eljer Pottery was started by Raymond Elmer Crane and Oscar Jerome Backus, from whose middle names "Eljer" was coined. In 1918, they purchased the dinner ware plant in Ford City and converted it to a vitreous china operation, and made fixtures for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional use. Eljer employed in excess of 500 workers. In 1956, a second plant was built adjacent to the original facility, greatly increasing the capacity of vitreous china products., (Captions):, The Ford China Company, The Cook China Company, Eljer Pottery, Eljer Pottery with over-the-railroad tracks bridge, Cook China Firemarks, Cook China Pitcher , Bill Oleksak Collection, Eljer Workers, Cook China Bowl and Pitcher , Bill Oleksak Collection, Ford China Firemark, Ford China Dinner Set , Drs. William and Michele Oleksak Collection, Photos are courtesy of Bill Oleksak and Larry Vorpe