The Co-op of Seagrove Potters

Seagrove, NC has a long history of pottery which goes back several generations.  Today I'd like to share the Co-op of Seagrove Potters, which sells the work of eleven wonderfully different, local potteries.

The building in which the co-op is located was the original bank in Seagrove.  In March of 1920, capital stock was raised to open the bank, officers and directors were elected, and the cashier was elected at a salary of $85 per month.

The bank was opened in a small back room of a furniture store, which also housed the Seagrove P.O.  After a year, this brick building was erected on an adjacent lot.

A story is told that the bank was robbed once... almost.  In the summer of 1932, a man walked in and asked for change for a $20 bill.  After getting the change, the cashier looked up and into the barrel of a 38.  Told to raise his hands and back up, he obeyed, backing to and out an open window, and began yelling "get the robber". The startled robber fled in a getaway car, throwing tacks in the road to stop the sheriff who was in hot pursuit. The original bank vault is now a storage room for the co-op.

In Dec. of 1933, during the Great Depression, the directors met and decided it was in the best interest of all to liquidate the bank.  

All depositors were paid 100% in early 1934.  Thus ended the Bank of Seagrove.

This wonderfully historic space lives on as a beautiful pottery gallery.  It's a fantastic place to work and visit.

Lest you got the impression from the previous post that the kindness between Meredith and I only goes one way, let me assure you that is not the case.  She and her husband Mark are members of the co-op.  I fill in  there thanks to her, and work in various capacities at their pottery.  My soap made a large leap, from un-named and unwrapped to what it is now, due to her very helpful suggestions.  For a time, she arranged a monthly massage day out of her home.  All I had to do was show up for the appointments she had scheduled.  Her encouragement of my many endeavors has been huge, and the work she has sent my way since I retired from nursing has literally made the difference in paying my bills on more than one occasion.  She is a dear soul, a good friend and a very talented potter.  If you're in central NC, drop on by the Co-op to see her work, along with the many other talented folks who have their work here.