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Texas avoided election violence. Advocates say voters still need more protection.

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Texas avoided election violence. Advocates say voters still need more protection.


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Texas

Piecing Together the Story of Texas’s First Black-Owned Pottery 

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Piecing Together the Story of Texas’s First Black-Owned Pottery 


I chase ghosts! That is, I investigate the forgotten spirits and legacies of enslaved and free potters in Texas during and after the Civil War in the United States of America. This journey began with a 1991 conversation with my graduate advisor John Brough Miller, professor of ceramics at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, during which he shared the legend of John McKamie Wilson and enslaved potters in Seguin, Texas. Nearly a quarter century later, in 2014, an internet search led me to the website of the Wilson Pottery Foundation, created by the descendants of Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson, the founders of H. Wilson and Co. Pottery. Three years later, in 2017, I attended the annual Wilson Pottery Show at the Sebastopol House in Seguin and was surprised by the amount of Wilson antique pottery on display and the number of collectors of it. I left the show with a heightened interest in the Wilson Potters.

 In 2018, Tarrant County College District, where I was an assistant professor of Ceramics, awarded me faculty leave to research the H. Wilson & Co. Pottery, which is located in Capote, Texas, approximately 48 miles east of San Antonio and 12 miles east of Seguin. A search on Ancestry.com led me to a database of United States craftspeople ranging from 1600 to 1995, which lists Hiram Wilson as the founder of H. Wilson and Co. Pottery. Hiram was formerly an enslaved potter at the Guadalupe Pottery owned by John McKamie Wilson from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Scholars believe H. Wilson and Co. Pottery was the first business owned by an African American in Texas.

A deeper dive led to the other Wilson Potteries (designated as sites by the Texas Historical Commission, which identifies them by number) in the Capote area, including the aforementioned Guadalupe Pottery (41GU6), which was the first Wilson pottery site operated by John McKamie Wilson and his enslaved potters. H. Wilson & Co. (41GU5) was the second site, started by formerly enslaved potters from the Guadalupe site. The third Wilson pottery site (41GU4) was the Durham-Chandler Pottery, owned by Marion “MJ” Durham, a White man, and John Chandler, a formerly enslaved potter trained in the acclaimed Edgefield District of South Carolina. (These sites are often referred to as “First Site,” “Second Site,” and “Third Site” by collectors to help differentiate the pottery produced at each. Second Site pieces, for instance, are more valuable than First Site pieces.) After Hiram died in 1884, H. Wilson & Co. was believed to have merged with Durham-Chandler to become Durham-Chandler-Wilson. According to the United States Craftsperson Files database, Durham-Chandler-Wilson was founded in 1870, which may indicate that Hiram worked at the third site with James, Wallace, and other itinerant potters.

I propose that the relationship between these three sites might stretch back further than folklore holds. What if Marion “MJ” Durham and John McKamie Wilson’s families knew each other in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina? What if Durham was one of the primary investors in the Guadalupe Pottery with John McKamie Wilson? A partnership with Durham would support Wilson’s decision to build a pottery company in Capote. As a member of the Durham potting dynasty in South Carolina, the former certainly possessed the knowledge and pottery production skills to ensure a sound investment.

During my faculty development leave, I visited local historical societies, which were warm and informative. Some locations were rich in artifacts, whereas others had a wealth of documentation supporting the local community. On top of attending the 2018 pottery show at the Wilson Pottery Museum in the Sebastopol House in Seguin, I interviewed Wilson’s descendants, collectors, and others who shared various stories that led them to the show. One gentleman shared his salt-glazed one-gallon H. Wilson & Co. stamped pot he purchased at a thrift store in Austin, Texas. One notable takeaway from this interview session was how often collectors referenced San Antonio-based Texas pottery scholar and pediatrician Dr. Georgeanna Greer. She helped rediscover the Wilson potteries after the sites had been dormant for over 50 years; I discovered the depth of her research when I visited historical societies in East Texas. I was overwhelmed and excited to find letters written by her to local archivists requesting or sharing information on local pottery sites.

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In 2020, I curated a solo exhibition in the Carillon Gallery at Tarrant County College South Campus in Fort Worth, Texas, which suggested a narrative and timeline to these potters by tracing the development of certain techniques. The centerpiece of the show, however, was not the ceramic pieces inspired by the Wilson potters and created for the exhibition, but rather the research identifying those who worked at one or more pottery sites seen via posters, including James and Wallace (and possibly Hiram) Wilson. Pots attributed to the first site, Guadalupe Pottery, suggests that Isaac and George Suttles, potters from Ohio, may have introduced the salt glazing technique found on pieces attributed to the first site’s pottery, as the practice originates from those trained in the North. The Suttles brothers later opened a pottery near Lavernia, Texas. 

The discovery of this extensive pottery community in Capote redirected my focus toward East Texas, known as the entry point of Texas westward expansion. A visit to the William J. Hill Texas Artisans and Artists Archive was crucial to helping me collect information on East Texas potters. A visit to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Bayou Bend Collections and Garden was also helpful in allowing me to examine Wilson Pottery from all three sites. Through the former, I located a “Checklist of Texas Potters ca 1840-1940,” compiled by Bob Helberg. This list provided names of formerly enslaved potters in the East Texas region, such as Milligan Frazier, A. Prothro, Elix Brown, and Joseph Cogburn. This in turn opened up another world of research possibilities. What if the pottery of the shops praised for their magnificent work such as Guadalupe Pottery were actually produced by trained enslaved laborers instead of the shop’s namesake? In other words, did the early Texas potters continue the industrial enslavement system that made the Edgefield District community in South Carolina famous?

This research is just a start. As I journey from central Texas back to Edgefield, South Carolina, searching for pottery families who migrated west before 1860 with their enslaved labor, bits and pieces of sherds are coming together to recreate the life stories of these potters. A beautiful mosaic is beginning to emerge.



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Texas football 2025 offensive line preview: Besides guard DJ Campbell who else returns?

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Texas football 2025 offensive line preview: Besides guard DJ Campbell who else returns?


With Texas football now in the offseason, the American-Statesman is breaking down each position group.

Who’s gone from the 2024 squad that went 13-3 and fell a win short a national title-game appearance? Who’s back? And what portal arrivals and freshmen from the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class have joined the team?

The Longhorns are coming off an impressive season that include a record 16-game schedule, a spot in the SEC championship game, a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals for the second consecutive season, and a final ranking of No. 3 in the US LBM Coaches Poll for the past season. The ranking marks the best showing for the Longhorns in the final coaches poll since 2009. The 53 coaches who vote in the coaches poll listed Texas behind just national champion Ohio State and national runner-up Notre Dame.

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Can Texas make another push for a CFP spot in 2025? The roster has a few holes but also boasts loads of potential, as evident by the program’s high ranking in way-too-early preseason polls.

This week, the Statesman will have a daily position-by-position breakdown of the 2025 Texas roster entering the offseason. Earlier this week, we looked at quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. Today, we look at the Longhorns’ offensive line.

Texas football OL: Who’s gone?

Center Jake Majors (eligibility); guard Hayden Conner (eligibility); tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. (early NFL entry); tackle Cameron Williams (early NFL entry).

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Texas football OL: Who’s back?

Rising senior guard DJ Campbell; rising senior guard Cole Hutson; rising redshirt junior center Connor Roberston; rising redshirt junior guard Malik Ogbo; rising redshirt junior guard Neto Umeozulu; rising redshirt sophomore tackle Trevor Goosby; rising redshirt sophomore tackle Jaydon Chatman; rising redshirt sophomore tackle Andre Cojoe; rising redshirt sophomore guard Connor Stroh; rising redshirt freshman tackle Brandon Baker; rising redshirt freshman tackle Nate Kibble; rising redshirt freshman guard Daniel Cruz.

Texas football OL: Who’s new?

Freshman Nick Brooks, a four-star recruit from Loganville, Georgia; Jackson Christian, a three-star recruit from Port Neches-Groves; Jordan Coleman, a three-star recruit from Cedar Hill; Devin Coleman, a three-star recruit from Cedar Hill.

Texas football OL: Overview

Four players depart after starting multiple seasons, but the Texas coaches are quietly optimistic about welding together another formidable front. Campbell returns as one starter at guard, and fellow guard Hutson also has plenty of starting experience. The versatile Hutson could also start at center, which would free up a guard spot for Umeozulu, who has impressed the coaches. Goosby will enter the season as a presumed starter at one tackle spot after getting one-game starts on both ends in 2024, and former five-star recruit Brandon Baker has the look of a prototypical left tackle. Plenty of young talent will battle for the remaining snaps.

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Reach Texas beat reporter Thomas Jones via email at tjones@statesman.com.

Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer.





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Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson Reprise 'True Detective' Roles, Push for Texas-Based Productions

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Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson Reprise 'True Detective' Roles, Push for Texas-Based Productions


McConaughey calls for more Hollywood productions filmed in Texas, following the state senate’s $498 million proposal to revamp the Texas Film Incentive

Texas-born actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson reprised their True Detective roles in a video on Wednesday as they urged the state legislature to bring more Hollywood productions to the Lone Star state.

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The four minute clip, True to Texas, follows McConaughey and Harrelson down a desolate two-way road, and it feels reminiscent of their True Detective personas Detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart from the franchise’s first season. With Dennis Quaid handcuffed in the backseat, the trio make proposals to create Hollywood films, TV shows, music videos, and commercials on Texas soil. Calling Hollywood a tuneless, “flat circle of wood,” McConaughey calls for a film and TV production shift.

“This industry is like somebody’s memory of an industry, and the memory’s fading,” McConaughey says. “I’m talking about a whole new hub for film and television. A renaissance. A rebirth.”

The Texas senate announced last week that it would direct $498 million to revamp the Texas Film Incentive, with the aim of making the state the “movie capital of the world.” Small films and TV commercials will received $48 million in grants, and the state will receive $450 million in new tax credits, which will include a Texas residency requirement for workers. Texas gets $4 back for every $1 invested as the state creates new jobs, the state senate said.

Other Hollywood performers and directors have pushed for Texas-bound productions. During a legislative hearing last year — in which Quaid shared a testimonial — Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan said that his “love Story to Texas” Hell or High Water should’ve been filmed in the state.

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The new promo video also recruits Billy Bob Thornton and and Renée Zellweger, who support the action.

“I’ve been hotel hopping in all these other states for way too long,” Zellweger adds. “And I get it, I mean making a production is hard and if all these other states are going to offer an incentive, then that’s where we’re going to keep going. I just wish we could bring some of these production home to Texas.”



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