Red Wing Stoneware (Minnesota)

If you see a “Red Wing” emblem on your stoneware, chances are it is from “Red Wing Pottery” of Red Wing Minnesota.  Red Wing Pottery production began in the mid 1860s. Craftsmen-potters from Germany settled in Red Wing, and using local natural resources, began producing pots.

They produced ware for processing and storing food, such as crocks, jugs, and bowls, and other kitchen and farm items. They produced salt glaze pottery, characterized by a clay body of grey or tan with a surface that felt like the surface of an orange (pocked), and decorated with a simple hand-done, cobalt blue decoration of a bird or flower.

The factory is still in business today, so what you have may not be old.  Check with a specialist if in doubt.