Gas City Pottery Limited

Description: William Clark opened this company within sight of Medalta Stoneware and competed with them. But we have no samples of the ware they made.

When Medalta Stoneware Limited started operations, they hired William E. Clark as their superintendent. He had been the superintendent of the Medicine Hat Pottery Company Limited from 1912 to 1914. Perhaps Medalta should not have done so, as Clark must have already been thinking about setting up his own pottery to go into direct competition with Medalta. He was barely with Medalta for eight months when he left to establish his own small factory in partnership with John Read. Soon the Gas City Pottery Limited, located just a stone’s throw from Medalta, was open for business. With one kiln, a small building and a staff of about ten, the pottery started producing stonewares (perhaps only crocks at first), later expanding its lines to include mixing and pudding bowls, jugs, teapots, custard cups, slop jars, jardinieres and even an ewer and basin set.

The pottery was never large enough to give Medalta any real competition, and so far as we know, it did not have any distinctive products, ones that Medalta was not making as well. Admittedly, though, we know very little about Clark’s products as to date no items have been found with the company’s name on them. In all likelihood, the Gas City Pottery and its successor, Canada Pottery, did not mark their items with company stamps. Perhaps we will have to wait for archaeologists to excavate the pottery’s dump to find out what they made and how they marked them. For now, we can only guess.