Experience Seagrove, the Potteries!
The town of Seagrove was named for Edwin G. Seagroves, a local railroad official responsible for routing the railroad through the area. According to local sources, after a unanimous decision to name the railroad station after Seagroves, the town name resulted from a sign painter running out of space and simply dropping the “s” from the end of the name. The railroad served Seagrove until December 31, 1951. The old train depot later became a pottery museum.
Seagrove’s pottery tradition dates back to the 1700s before the American Revolution. Many of the first area potters were English and German immigrants who produced primarily functional, glazed pottery. Due to the high quality of the local clay, the Plank Road passing through the town, and the railroad, Seagrove grew into a destination for pottery shoppers.
As a result of the Industrial Revolution and the advent of modern food preparation, the popularity of Seagrove pottery rapidly decreased during the mid 1800s. For a time, whiskey jugs were a successful source of income, but the beverage was outlawed and potteries continued their decline into the 1900s.
The potteries struggled until around 1920, when they became popular with Northern tourists visiting nearby Pinehurst. The new tourist industry marked a general change from utilitarian pottery to the addition of more decorative ware.
After another decline from the 1950s through 1970s a renewed interest in traditional pottery was beginning to sweep the area. In 1982, local citizens, recognizing the strength of preserving the history and heritage of their craft, began to celebrate annually the weekend before Thanksgiving by organizing the Seagrove Pottery Festival. The festival weekend has now grown to include both the Seagrove Pottery Festival and the Celebration of Seagrove Potters.
Today Seagrove is known as the self-proclaimed pottery capital of the world where artisans create handcrafted pottery made in the same tradition that began here more than 200 years ago. With nearly 100 shops and galleries scattered throughout the area, youll find everything from traditional tableware to collectible art pieces. For a complete list of shops and galleries, click here - Seagrove Pottery directory.
Other local area attractions include the Museum of North Carolina Traditional Pottery where visitors can view displays from the surrounding area potteries, as well as pick up visitor guides and area maps. The North Carolina Pottery Center features permanent exhibits of more than 800 pieces of pottery, artifacts, and photographs tracing North Carolina's pottery history from prehistoric Native Americans to the present. The nearby Pisgah Covered Bridge, one of North Carolina's two remaining covered bridges, is a great spot for photography, picnics and nature walks along the surrounding quarter-mile walking trail. Tour Seagrove Orchids, a working orchid nursery cultivating and offering nearly 220 different species. Zoo City Motor Sports Park is a one and one-quarter mile outdoor motorcross track with a spectator area and is just minutes from downtown Seagrove.
Seagrove is located just 15 minutes south of Asheboro and approximately 40 miles north of Pinehurst, North Carolina. The area is served by two lovely bed and breakfast inns, Duck Smith House and Seagrove Stoneware Inn & Pottery, both located in downtown Seagrove; and is convenient to four Asheboro hotels and two additional area bed and breakfast inns.
Town of Seagrove
Allen Hale, Mayor
Cathy McCaskill, Clerk
122 E Main St - Seagrove NC 27341
Phone: (336) 873-7307