Site of William Rogers’ pottery factory in the Yorktown unit of Colonial National Historical Park

See the Historical Buildings of Yorktown web page for a map of the historical area.

Poor Potter is the site of an early pottery factory set up by William Rogers in the early 1700s. By law, colonists were supposed to purchase goods imported from England, not make their own, so the factory is an early example of a break from this economic umbilical cord. Though against the law, Roger’s factory was supported by the Governor of Virginia, who always referred to Rogers as the “poor potter from Yorktown” so that he would not be seen as a threat to the imported English pottery business. However, Rogers was anything but poor, as his factory made quality pottery on an industrial scale for the time. The factory operated from around 1711 until 1760, long after his death in 1739.

Rogers and his factory were eventually lost to time, only to be unearthed again in 1966 during an archaeological excavation. Today a modern building covers the factory ruins and houses a display of discarded pottery found at the site. It is located a block off of Main Street near the Nelson House. Poor Potter is no longer open to the public, but visitors can look in the window to see the exhibits.

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