The Stoneware Museum of Monmouth, IL is a private collection of over 1200 pieces of regional pottery spanning 150 years. The collection is comprehensive and comprised of crocks, jugs, butter churns, artware and garden pottery from the Monmouth Mining & Manufacturing Company (3M), Monmouth Pottery, Weir Pottery, Western Stoneware Company and Maple City Pottery. All these potteries have a rich history in the growth of this area with Western Stoneware becoming the most widely known of the companies (1906-2006).
Pictured is Monmouth Pottery from the 1890s. It was claimed to be the world’s largest pottery, producing 6 million gallons of stoneware each year. The pottery was located at the site of the city’s south water tower.