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The History of the JW McCoy & Brush-McCoy Potteries
By Dewayne Imsand

J.W. McCoy Pottery in 1899

J.W. McCoy was born in Zanesville in 1848, and was married in 1870. In 1871, J.W. and his wife, Sarah (Sade) Elizabeth Brown, moved ten miles to the south to the community of Roseville, Ohio. He then entered into about a five-year partnership with his father-in-law. They produced stoneware under the name, The Brown & McCoy Pottery Company.

In 1876, J.W. opened a General Merchandise store. In 1886, he entered into a partnership and established the Williams and (J.W.) McCoy Pottery Co. After about four years of operation a new partner was taken and the pottery was renamed the Kildow, Williams and McCoy Pottery Co. According to, The Business Review of Muskingum County, “This plant was one of the most extensive in the valley and produced all kinds of common stoneware and a variety of culinary utensils.”

Then in 1890, after about two more years of operation, the KW&M pottery was renamed again, and was called the Midland Pottery Co. By 1892, J.W. was not only involved in pottery manufacturing, and retail pottery sales, but he had become a pottery jobber, selling bulk wares to wholesale dealers.

In 1898, following about six years of operation under the name the Midland Pottery Co., the pottery was sold to the Roseville Pottery Co. This ended the partnerships J.W. had in the pottery business.

Based on the fact that no pieces from these potteries have been found it is most likely that none of the pieces were marked.

As discussed in, The History of the W. Nelson McCoy Pottery, Wilber F., the cousin of J.W., was a partner in the Zanesville Hardware Company. The date that Wilber’s part-ownership in the store was established is uncertain, but it was probably between 1870 and 1875. During this period, J.W. was a partner in the Brown & McCoy Pottery Co. and along with other sales, it is likely that he supplied stoneware to his cousin Wilber at jobber prices.

In 1899, J.W. formed a pottery solely under his name, the J.W. McCoy Pottery Co. He must have devoted much of his time to his new pottery, for in 1901, he turned the management of his general store over to his son Arthur.

For several years the J.W. McCoy Pottery Co. concentrated on the production of the more simple, utilitarian stoneware pieces. However, around late 1902, or early 1903, the pottery branched out and began to include the production of art pottery. The art pottery production consisted of elaborately designed, decorative items such as jardinières and pedestals, various other flower containers, umbrella stands, and sand jars. The production of these attractively glazed pieces proved to be a very successful undertaking.

In 1909, George Brush joined the pottery. Prior to that time he had established a pottery under his own name. However, the pottery only operated about one year before a fire destroyed the entire plant. By 1911, George Brush had become the General Manager

of the J.W. McCoy Pottery Co. During that year he and the other directors decided to expand the pottery by the purchase of the Globe Stoneware Co. (1901-1911). Additionally, at George Brush’s suggestion, he and the officers also decided to purchase the old J.B. Owens Pottery (1883-1909) building, along with the equipment and molds. George Brush owned this property and when his suggestion was adopted, he acquired a controlling interest in the J.W. McCoy Pottery Co. As a consequence, the directors changed the name of the pottery to the Brush-McCoy Pottery Co.

In 1918, the McCoy family sold their interest in the pottery; however, it was not until late 1925 that the directors of the pottery dropped the McCoy name. The new name of the pottery was the Brush Pottery Co., and it operated under that name until it closed in 1982.