Mary Chase Perry Stratton:

Pewabic Pottery was founded in 1903 by Mary Chase Perry (later Mary Chase Perry Stratton) and her partner, Horace Caulkins (developer of the Revelation Kiln), at the height of the Arts & Crafts movement in America. The Pottery's first home was a stable on Alfred Street in Detroit. Four years later, Pewabic Pottery moved to a new facility on East Jefferson designed by architect William Buck Stratton in the Tudor Revival style. In 1991, the building (which still houses the Pottery) and its contents were designated a National Historic Landmark and today is Michigan's only historic pottery.

Under the direction of Mary Chase Perry Stratton, Pewabic Pottery produced nationally renowned vessels, tiles, and architectural ornamentation for public and private installations and later, when the Depression reduced the demand for costlier wares, ceramic jewelry featuring Pewabic's unique iridescent glazes. Works fabricated by Pewabic Pottery can be seen throughout the United States in such places as the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the Nebraska State Capitol, the Science Building at Rice University in Houston, and the Herald Square installation commissioned by the New York Metro Transit Authority. Stratton is a member of the Michigan's Women Hall of Fame.

Stratton died in 1961, but the pottery continued to operate for another five years under the direction of her former assistant. In 1966, ownership was transferred to Michigan State University, which operated the Pottery as part of its continuing education program. In 1979, the private nonprofit Pewabic Society was established to administer the Pottery's operation, and in 1981 Pottery ownership was transferred to the Society, whose board of trustees continues to serve as the Pottery's governing body. The Society soon began work to restore the building and revitalize the Pottery's design and fabrication program.

Today Pewabic Pottery is a multifaceted institution with active and growing education, exhibition, museum and design and fabrication programs. The Pottery fabricates heirloom quality architectural tiles for public and private installations, gift and commemorative tiles, vessels, gardenware, ornaments and both reproductions and adaptations of its historic designs.

Pewabic Pottery was recently recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a "Historic Artists' Homes & Studios" site.

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