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Product Gallery
Meet the Brand
1840s
The pottery industry in East Liverpool begins with manufacturing yellow ware from the rich deposits of local clay, utilizing the Ohio River to transport products throughout the region.
1870-1879
Public preference shifts to a more sophisticated white ware imported from England. East Liverpool City Council offered $5,000 in seed money to someone who would build and operate a pottery for production of white ware.
1871
The Laughlin Brothers (Homer and Shakespeare) form a partnership to sell pottery with the support of the East Liverpool city council. They build a two-kiln plant on the banks of the Ohio River to produce white ware as the alternative to yellow.
1877
Shakespeare pursues other interests; the business continues under Homer’s direction and becomes The Homer Laughlin China Works.
1880-1889
Homer Laughlin becomes one of the better-known manufacturers of ceramic dinnerware and toilet ware in the country. In 1889 a young bookkeeper from Steubenville, OH, William Edwin Wells, is hired to manage the books and eventually, the business.
1897-1899
Homer Laughlin retires and sells the business to Wells and a financial partner, Louis I. Aaron of Pittsburgh. Two more plants are built to support operations. Key customers contributing to the company's rapid growth are the F.W. Woolworth Company, the country's fastest growing variety (5 & 10 cent) store chain and the American Cereal Company of Chicago, who was packing oatmeal bowls in Mother's Oats boxes.
1902-1909
A tract of land on the opposite side of the Ohio River is purchased from the Newell family. A subsidiary company, the North American Manufacturing Company, is formed to develop the tract into the town of Newell. Lots are laid out, water and sewer systems are installed and electric power is secured. Just as vital is the suspension bridge built across the Ohio River, connecting the new community with East Liverpool. Plus, a trolley line is built to transport workers across the river. The largest pottery plant in the world at the time, plant 4, opens in 1906. Production hits 300,000 pieces per day, as the Homer Laughlin China Company represents 10% of the U. S. production capacity. The company officially moves its headquarters and operations to the Newell location.
1910-1914
Louis Aaron retires and is succeeded as president by his son, Marcus Aaron, as rapid growth continues. Plant No. 5 opens with 16 additionalkilns;totalling 78 for ware and 60 for decorating.
1917
W.E. Wells writes to the Woolworth Company “…this is the first time in history that the purchases of any one concern from any one pottery firm have reached the million mark in one year.”
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