ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605300019
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
McCoy Pottery began in a crudely built log cabin at PutNAM, Ohio, in 1848. W. Nelson McCoy started using the clay from nearby hills, making rough unfinished stoneware bowls and crocks. They were sold to farmers and country stores in the area from a "pot wagon" pulled by a team of horses.
J.W. McCoy, son of W. Nelson McCoy, opened the S.W. McCoy Pottery company in the late 1890s at Roseville, Ohio. By the early 1900s, they were making some decorative artware in bright colors. A black line of black pottery named "Mont Pelee Ware" was introduced. It featured bright lustrous, splotches of color on a black finish.
A fire in 1903 destroyed McCoy Pottery. It was rebuilt and named J.W. McCoy. That's when the Loy-Nel-Art line was introduced. This was a new color of green with a matte finish; it was hand-decorated with some embossed designs. The name Loy-Nel-Art was named after McCoy's sons - Lloyd, Nelson and Arthur.
In the 1930s, planters, became the rage, and McCoy was right there to fill the bill. With new circular ovens and vertical dryers, production was up and going. The company employed 425 people, and the output could reach 40,000 pieces a day. It became the nation's largest pottery producers and held that title up through the 1950s. It was said that a piece of McCoy pottery could be found in every house in the United States.
Nelson McCoy died in 1945. His nephew Nelson Melick continued the business.
In 1954, Nelson McCoy Jr. became president, making the fourth generation. In 1967, the company became affiliated with Mount Clements Pottery Co. of Mount Clements, Mich. Pieces were marked with ``MCP,'' which stands for Mount Clements Pottery, not McCoy.
McCoy Pottery is easy to collect and very reasonably priced because of the long-term output of this pottery.
You can probably go to your parents' or grandparents' house , and scout out some McCoy pieces. Look for planters.
Check it out and see if it is the real McCoy.
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL L. NEWBY II/Staff. In the 1930s, planters becameby CNBthe rage, and McCoy Pottery produced 40,000 pieces a day. color.