Pottery was located two miles east of Tesla, midway between Tesla and Carnegie, in
Alameda County, California. The Carnegie Brick and Pottery Company built the plant in
1903 for the manufacture of sewer pipe.
This was the result of the burning of the Stockton Art Pottery plant in 1902, once located
on Sacramento and Taylor streets in Stockton, which the Carnegie firm owned. The Stockton
Art Pottery was and still is famous for its line of fancy vase and pottery known as Rekston
ware. At the time the plant burned, it was successfully producing tile and sewer pipe under
the name of the Stockton Brick and Pottery Company. The plant was rebuilt at Pottery so that
it would be closer to its source of clay at Tesla.
The Pottery plant consisted of eight beehive kilns ranging from 26 feet to 30 feet in diameter,
feeding three tall square stacks. The sewer-pipe presses produced pipes of three sizes.
The plant also made figurines, cornice tiles, and porcelains. These products were shipped
throughout the state.
The plant employed 45 to 60 workers, under the management of James Hislop. They lived in the
Tesla community known as Harrietville. The commute to work was a two mile ride on a flat car
pulled by a white horse.
All came to an end when the 1911 flooding of Corral Hollow Creek severely damaged the
plant and the railroad line. The Carnegie Brick and Pottery Company ordered the plant
closed and the workers were laid off. The Pottery plant was razed in 1917. Over the
years, the property was used for ranching. Today, the California State Vehicular Recreation
Area owns the property.