Joseph C. D. Rushton
Five-Gallon Churn

MakerAmerican, active c. 1870–1900
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Five-Gallon Churn
Datec. 1870–1900
Made inTexas, United States
MediumAlkaline-glazed stoneware
Dimensions19 1/4 × 9 1/2 in. diameter (48.9 × 24.1 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Martha and Herbert Mills and various donors
Object numberB.2003.7
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Joseph Rushton, the son of a Randolph County, Alabama, pottery operator, came to Rusk County, Texas, sometime between 1868 and 1870. He may have worked for potter Taylor Brown before establishing his own firm, which operated between 1873 and 1900, producing both slip-glazed and alkaline-glazed wares.

This tall pot is a churn, used for processing cream into butter by agitating the cream with the up-and-down motion of a dasher, causing the fat to coalesce into lumps of butter. The liquid that remained was buttermilk. The churn’s two handles would have aided in both lifting and pouring.


Provenance[Jon St. Claire, Austin, Texas]; purchased by MFAH, 2003.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Stamped "J. R." / "5" below the rim.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Churn
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.2012.110
Pitcher
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.2012.117
Pitcher
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.2012.114
Jug
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.2012.121
Six-Gallon Churn
James W. Haden
c. 1873–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.93.9
Churn
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1870–1900
Slip-glazed stoneware
B.2012.178.A,.B
Churn
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Slip-glazed stoneware with wood
B.2012.111.A-.C
Churn
Rushton Pottery Company
c. 1873–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.2012.179
Pitcher
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Slip-glazed stoneware
B.2012.119
Pitcher
Joseph C. D. Rushton
c. 1873–1900
Slip-glazed stoneware
B.2012.120
Five-Gallon Jar
Guadalupe Pottery Company
c. 1857–1869
Alkaline-glazed stoneware with kiln drops
B.2012.53
Three-Gallon Jar or Churn
c. 1865–1900
Alkaline-glazed stoneware
B.2012.203