Dave Drake was an enslaved African American potter who worked in the Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery District for forty years in the 1800s. Based off records it is believed he was born circa 1800 and lived until circa 1870. He was a master potter known for his command of the English language, and one of his greatest legacies is the poetic verses incised on a number of his works.
see poster
It is thought that Dave learned to write from one of his first owners, Dr. Abner Landrum, who was a newspaper publisher,
potter and physician; however, he could have learned to write in other ways. In 1821-1836 Dave was owned by Harvey
Drake, a co-owner of the Pottersville Stoneware Manufactory along with Abner and Amos Landrum. It is likely that Dave
trained under all three. In 1837 he was working at Lewis Miles's Stoney Bluff Pottery. From 1841 to 1856 Dave's poetic
voice was silent; the biggest gap being from 1846-48, when he did not write the date let alone his name on the vessels.
This could be due a variety of reasons, such as South Carolina's tightening of slave restrictions.
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Left: R V (Russell Vann) DELAY (signed using his maker's mark stamp) Jackson (now Barrow) County, ca. 1870
Right: Figural rooster, Edwin Meaders, White County
This ceramic bowl was excavated in 1916 by the Smithsonian Institution and the Heye Foundation
(Museum of the American Indian) from the Nacoochee Indian mound.
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The Folk Pottery Museum will participate in Museum Day by offering free admission to visitors presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket.
The ticket can be downloaded at the
One ticket is permitted per household, per email address, and provides free admission for two at participating museums for one day only.
Nestled in the Appalachian foothills of Northeast Georgia, the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association is a
non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing creativity and protecting the natural and historical resources of the Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys
and surrounding area.
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