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Medalta Potteries Staff, 1928
20th Century, Circa 1928
Medalta Potteries Limited, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Friends of Medalta Society Archives

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There are those who lived ordinary lives, who went to work each day to jobs which would provide them with an income and who could never have conceived that what they did would be of significance in the future.
There are those who have an appreciation of the past, who have worked diligently to maintain it in the present and wish to preserve it for the future.
The following stories, but a few of so many to be told and so many lost, are dedicated to all these men and women.

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Inspire Studio & Gallery
20th Century, Circa 2009
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Joyce Yamamoto

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Introduction

It's a hot August afternoon, so hot that even the mosquitoes and sand flies seem to have taken to the shade somewhere. The large expanse of sky above the city is blue and clear. The downtown core, comprised of a few city blocks, is relatively quiet. Although the Arts and Heritage Centre, a few new eateries and a couple of recently opened small art galleries have helped to attract more people to the area, most of the traffic is out by the one major mall and its neighbouring cluster of Wal-Mart, Home Depot and franchised fast food outlets. This is Medicine Hat, located in the Badlands of South Eastern Alberta, on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. It is a green, friendly community of about 60,000 residents with a reputation for being one of the sunniest places in Canada.

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Medicine Hat 1883
19th Century, Circa 1883
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Esplanade Archives, Medicine Hat

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It's hard to imagine that a hundred years ago, not unlike many of the towns that were situated along the main railroad line, this city had "great expectations" of becoming a major North American industrial centre. Medicine Hat was going to be the "Pittsburgh of the West".

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Medicine Hat 1906
20th Century, Circa 1906
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Esplanade Archived, Medicine Hat

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Natural Gas Reserve Discovery
16 June 1904
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Medicine Hat News
Medicine Hat Public Library

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The discovery of abundant natural gas by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883 and 1904 while digging for water, added another enticement to the already cheap land, low taxes and excellent rail access to major cities. Entrepreneurs from across Canada, the United States and Europe were drawn to the area.

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One of the primary industries created, at that time, was in clay. Brick plants sprang up by the banks of the river, utilizing the excellent clay found there. Given the other incentives, the fact that clay suitable for pottery was not to be found close by, was not a deterrent to those interested in starting up a ceramics factory.

Medalta Potteries began as Medicine Hat Pottery Company Ltd. in 1912, as an offshoot of Western Porcelain Manufacturing Company of Spokane, Washiington. It only lasted for a couple of years. The reason for closing is left to speculation. It could have been because fo the onset of WWI, or it could have been the expense of importing the clay from the States.

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Medalta Stoneware Limited Exhibit
20th Century, Circa 1915 - 1923
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Friends of Medalta Society Archives

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The site did not sit idle for long. A year later, the pottery was purchased by three local businessmen, Charles Pratt, William Creer and Ulysses Sherman Grant, and the name was changed to Medalta Stoneware Limited. The clay was excavated from the Eastend, Ravenscrag region of the Cypress Hills in Saskatchewan and shipped via the C.P.R. rail line to Medicine Hat. As the name implied, the product was made of stoneware, ranging from crocks and butter churns to mixing bowls and bean pots. In the 1920's, Medalta supplied 75% of the country's stoneware.

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Inside Kilns at the Medalta Potteries Factory
20th Century, Circa 1930's
Medalta Potteries Limited, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Friends of Medalta Society Archives

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By 1924, the owners decided it was time to expand their product line and Medalta Stoneware became Medalta Potteries. Jesse William Wyatt, an experienced English potter who had originally immigrated to Ontario, was hired as plant superintendent.