Buckeye Pottery

The Buckeye Pottery was started by Joseph Pech and his sons. Joseph Pech had learned the pottery craft in Austria, the home of his birth. After moving to the U.S. and settling in Ohio, he continued to work at that craft. It is no surprise that his sons also grew up working in a pottery. According to the 1880 Federal Census, Joseph’s oldest son, Washington, had moved to Illinois, married and found employment working at the A.W. Eddy & Co. pottery. Having learned of the good quality clay and abundance of coal in McDonough County, it made sense to settle here and find work doing what he knew best, working as a potter. Washington then encouraged his father and family to follow him to Macomb, and start a family business. In 1882, Joseph Pech and his son, Frank, and their family had joined Washington in Macomb and opened the Buckeye Pottery, naming it in honor of the state from which they had relocated.

The Pottery was located on West Carroll Street adjacent to the railroad tracks. The two story brick building was, according to the Macomb Journal, equipped with “all the latest improved machinery and appurtenances,” which included a handsome 20 horse-power engine and a clay crusher which was “without a doubt, the best in the town.” The drying department, instead of utilizing steam-pipes, was warmed by fires from which the warm air was drawn by brick flues.