Built c.1845 Area 8,000 m² | NRHP Reference # 78001380 Added to NRHP 24 July 1978 | |
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Location Kentucky Route 52, Bybee, Kentucky | ||
Cornelison pottery top 5 facts
Bybee Pottery, historically known also as Cornelison Pottery, is a historic industrial facility in Bybee, Kentucky, United States. Located in a vernacular structure with the appearance of a barn, Cornelison is among the oldest pottery manufacturers west of the Appalachian Mountains still in operation. The facility now uses a modern kiln.
Founded in 1809 according to local lore, the pottery's earliest years are undocumented; the earliest clear references to the facility are sales records from 1845, but even this date demonstrates that Cornelison is Madison County's oldest industry. Pottery was first thrown at Cornelison by a local farmer, James Eli Cornelison, who observed that his farm contained substantial amounts of high-quality clay that was ready for industrial purposes without any preparation.
The pottery facility was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as "Cornelison Pottery". The fifth and sixth generations of the Cornelison family in the business continue to operate the pottery on a commercial basis making their traditional products.