Lew Reese started Scio Pottery so that people could have affordable dinnerware. It started in 1933. It was designed and built by a Scio resident. It closed for awhile because of a fire in 1947. Very few workers got hurt but luckily there was a doctor nearby. The town of Scio helped build it again. At one point, 1,380 people worked there. It was the largest employer in Harrison county for many years.
They got clay from North Carolina. They made cups, plates, bowls, saucers and soup bowls. They put nothing on the bottoms so the prices stayed low.
One of the machines they used was a jigger. It was a large table that moved. It helped a lot. They made 24,000 dozen pieces of pottery in one day. They packed the pottery in straw and sent it to stores on a train. Some of their markets were Campbell Soups and Maxwell House Coffee, Ben Franklin, Woolworth's and Kresges.
The pottery supported many families financially. One of our teachers put herself through college with money she earned working at Scio Pottery. She worked there for ten years.
The Reese family has owned it since it first opened. Chris, Doug, and Steve Reese are the current owners.
The Scio Pottery stopped making pottery in 1985. Now it does bagging cement and custom cement blending. They also put decals on mugs for Custom Edge.
