The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia showcases the handcraft skills of one of the South’s premier grassroots art forms, and explores the historical importance and changing role of folk pottery in southern life.

Northeast Georgia’s pottery tradition is nationally known. The Meaders family of White County was featured in Allen Eaton’s 1937 book, Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands, and was honored with a special event at the Library of Congress in 1978, when the Smithsonian Institution’s documentary film on the Meaders Pottery was released.

In the year 2000, northeast Georgia received a Library of Congress "Local Legacies" designation for its pottery heritage. The tradition also has been featured in magazines, books, videos, exhibits, and festivals such as the Southern Crossroads Marketplace at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Until now there’s been no institution devoted to Northeast Georgia folk pottery, not even in its home area. Dean and Kay Swanson, former owners of the Standard Telephone Company, have committed to erect this museum as their way of giving back to the people of the area. Collector and folk potter Michael Crocker helped them assemble the core collection on which this exhibition is based.

Folk Pottery Museum Brochure Download our new brochure: Folk Pottery Museum.pdf (8.4MB)

From the Permanent Collection NACOOCHEE MOUND NATIVE AMERICAN BOWL   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 at the junction of Georgia Highways 17 and 75, just 2 miles from the Folk Pottery Museum, and housed in New York and Washington with other Smithsonian collections. The Nacoochee mound site dates from the 1400s, late in the mound-building culture of the Mississipians, making the bowl more than 600 years old. The bowl is now on special loan for display at the new Folk Pottery Museum. The upper portion of the design is incised, while the lower design pattern was pressed into wet clay with a carved wooden paddle. Figural rooster, Edwin Meaders, White County R V (Russell Vann) DELAY (signed using his maker’s mark stamp) Jackson (now Barrow) County, ca. 1870 Pictured at the top of the page:   Top Left: Decorated syrup jug, Cleater Meaders, Sr., White County, circa 1920s   Left Below: Face jug, (rock tooth), Lanier Meaders, his first production style, 1969

Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia
Sautee Nacoochee Center
P.O. Box 460
Sautee Nacoochee, GA 30571
Georgia Hwy 255 N
Four miles southeast of Alpine Helen
706-878-3300 ext 307
Folk Pottery Museum Director, Chris Brooks
cbrooks@snca.org

NOTE: Please address all mail to our P.O. Box.
Our street address is provided for the purpose of driving directions only.

HOURS
Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday, 1 – 5 pm
Check opening hours on major public holidays by calling (706) 878-3300 ext 307

ADMISSION
$4 for adults, $2 for children and seniors.

For a Visit to Sautee Nacoochee Center Click Here

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. The SNCA maintains Sautee Nacoochee Center, a thriving cultural and community center housed in a restored rural schoolhouse, offering a Folk Pottery Museum, Theatre, Gallery, Art Studio, History Museum, Heritage Site, Nature Preserve, Environmental Studies Room, and Conference Facilities. The Association has established Sautee Nacoochee as an official Historic District and one of "The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America."