This little clay jug was made in the pottery shop of Philip Firebaugh (1776-1852). He was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Botetourt, buying “Stonelea” in 1818. At the time, it was called the “Rock House” and there was a stone quarry close by. Philip used a potter’s wheel to form the symmetrical shape and added the handle. The glaze was made using “minnie balls” that his son, Philip Miller Firebaugh, brought home from the Civil War battlefields when on furloughs. The balls created a metallic glaze that has a glassy iridescence and unusual color. Philip Alfred, Betty and Clara Firebaugh were his descendants and donated this jug to the Botetourt County Historical Museum.
