Every morning, I reach for a blue ceramic bowl to make my morning oatmeal without much thought. Writing for this blog has allowed me to think more deeply about parts of my life that I had taken for granted or that have faded into the background. It wasn’t until I began researching pottery for this blog that the significance of my Fiestaware bowl hit me. Fiestaware is one of those brands to which I have a personal loyalty because its headquarters are in WV. It feels like a local brand even though it is admittedly a family favorite nationwide. When my mom would take my brother and me out to dinner—especially on vacations, she would always peek under the plate to check for a Homer Laughlin China Company logo. It was a game of chance. The restaurant would get brownie points if it used Homer Laughlin china, and we would feel a sense of pride that a little piece WV was in a faraway city. As I’ve gotten older and stopped checking every plate for the Homer Laughlin logo, it became a mundane aspect of my everyday life. Always present but rarely thought about, I decided to do some research into how Homer Laughlin became the most collected brand of dinnerware in history.
Although Homer Laughlin china has become the front runner, the glass and pottery industry flourished along the Ohio River during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Ohio River offered transportation, energy, and banks full of clay soil perfect for ceramics. My hometown, Wheeling, was one of the hubs of the pottery and glass industries, with Wheeling Glass Works, The Wheeling Pottery Company, and Warwick China Company. Before it found its way to Newell, WV, Homer Laughlin China Company was founded in East Liverpool, Ohio, where the Hall China Company also began in 1903.
The company was founded by brothers Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin in 1871. Six years later, Shakespeare moved on to other endeavors, leaving the company to its namesake. At the turn of the century, Homer sold the company and retired. Carrying on with his name, the Homer Laughlin China Company expanded and thrived under its new owners, the Wells and Aaron families. In 1902, Homer Laughlin purchased land in Newell and began to build up the town with the infrastructure necessary to support a successful china factory. Electric power, water, and sewer systems were installed, building lots were created, a suspension bridge was constructed across the Ohio River, and a trolley line was built to transport workers across the river. By 1907, Homer Laughlin moved its headquarters to the Newell location.
Throughout the following decades, the pottery industry underwent revolutionary changes, and Homer Laughlin was passed down through the Wells and Aaron families. After World War II, imported dinnerware hurt the market for American businesses, and Homer Laughlin pivoted from consumer dinnerware to commercial ware for restaurants and hotels. In the 1980s, Fiestaware was sold at department stores, placing Homer Laughlin in family homes across the country. Throughout its 150 year history, Homer Laughlin was able to meet the demands of both the restaurant/service industry and the domestic sphere. In March 2020, the company was acquired by Steelite International. Homer Laughlin was renamed Fiesta® Tableware Company and continues to produce retail pottery in Newell.
Homer Laughlin’s nimble shifts between the commercial and consumer markets placed the distinctive pottery on dinner tables across the country’s hotels, restaurants, and family homes. The company’s ability to serve different markets also helped it stay afloat as other Ohio Valley pottery companies went under. Homer Laughlin has had a significant impact on the economic history of the Ohio Valley, shaping the infrastructure of an entire town and leading the pottery industry. Since Homer Laughlin (now just Fiesta® Tableware Company) is focusing on its retail pottery, Homer Laughlin china will become rarer in hotels and restaurants. Even if I don’t come across it as often, I might just have to start checking the plates for the Homer Laughlin logo again to keep an eye my local brand.
There was a time that dimestores gave away a different piece of china to customers each week as a promotional move. Do you know if Homer Laughlin was the brand. They are from circa 1940 to 1950.
My Mother collected Homer Laughlin Jade Rose dinnerware from our small neighborhood grocery in Hamtramck Michigan . We used it for all our holiday dinners. My Mother always told me it would be mine when I was married.After 23 years I am going to start using it today.
What year were the “Waiter Waiter there’s a Fly in my Soup” bowl manufactured?