Salamander Works

Salamander Works, Among the earliest clay-based businesses in Woodbridge was Salamander Works, established by Gage Inslee and Rene Pardussus in 1825 on Rahway Avenue near Heard’s Brook. At its peak, the company had eight kilns on five acres manufacturing fire-brick, cupola linings, furnace blocks , bakers’ ovens and glazed sewer and water pipes., In 1835, Salamander Works received a diploma from the American Institute of the City of New York for a “fine specimen of flint stoneware”. The company achieved renown for a line of earthenware pottery pieces fashioned using Rockingham glaze, a red-and-brown glaze color used by the English pottery company of the same name. These pieces, noted by (illegible) Salamander Works price lists as “Flint and Fire Proof Ware” are highly prized among collectors seeking pitchers and jugs produced by Salamander in the early 19th century., Over the years, Salamander Works was operated by several different owners, most notably William Poillon who ran the business with his son Cornelius, from 1867 to 1896 when a fire destroyed the factory. Poillon Pottery was founded on the former factory site in 1904 by Clara L. Poillon and H.A. Poillon, creating a variety of internationally renowned consumer products. In (illegible) and other pottery sales, Clara Poillon’s work earned her acclaim as a leader of the turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts Movement. Poillon Street behind the train station is named for this site, a tribute to the vibrant clay industry that shaped the economy and society of 1800s Woodbridge., More information visit www.wthpc.org , Woodbridge Township Historic Preservation Commission , Mayor John E. McCormac Woodbridge Township 2013 ,