Stoneware Crock

Q:I know old stoneware crocks are popular, but I’ve never seen one like mine. It’s marked “E.H. Merrill & Co., Akron, O.” Have you ever heard of this maker?

A:Hundreds of stoneware companies were operating across the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Edwin H. Merrill immigrated to northeastern Ohio from England in the 1820s and started making stoneware jugs and crocks in Mogadore, Ohio, in the 1830s. He moved to Akron in 1847 and continued making stoneware, first with Calvin Merrill, then with Henry Merrill. Edwin and Henry were in business together under the name Akron Pottery Co. from 1861 to 1888. The company’s name changed in 1888 to E.H. Merrill & Co. So your crock was made after 1888 but before 1900, when Merrill was sold and became the Robinson Clay Products Co.