Kimik Kiln

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Kimik Kiln, out here in Limestone County. Now, before we get to Lee Kimik himself, you've got to understand the ground beneath your boots. Limestone County sits on top of the Wilcox geologic formation — and tucked inside that formation are outcroppings of kaolin, which is potter's clay.

Turns out, the county historically supported numerous pottery producing kilns. The clay was right there. The industry followed.

The first county pottery goes back to 1859, when a man named Alberry Johnson started things up near Dooley Creek. Johnson's operation was what they called a groundhog kiln — a subterranean design with a doorway leading to a long underground passage lined with brick or rock. At the end of that corridor, a chimney rose out of the ground, drawing heat from a firebox outside the door, which baked the pottery within the passageway.

Picture it: fire at one end, finished pottery at the other, all of it happening underground like some slow, earthy magic. Later on, a man named William Curtis Knox moved Johnson's operation and established the town of Pottersville, eight miles northeast of here. That pottery grew into one of the largest in Texas, and it kept right on firing until 1912.

Today, Pottershop Cemetery marks the site. The town is gone, but the ground remembers. Several other kilns scattered across the area gave local folks work and income to round out what the farming life couldn't always provide.

It was that kind of industry — quiet, steady, necessary. And that brings us to Lee Kimik. Kimik was a German immigrant who built his kiln near this very site.

He was active through the 1870s and 1880s, and records indicated the business ran in fulltime operation eight months out of every year. His kiln was of the groundhog variety like the others, but it had longer and deeper sidewalls — possibly indicating European design influences that crossed the Atlantic right along with him. Here's where Kimik starts to stand apart from the crowd.

Most area potters marketed their work collectively. Not Kimik. He sold his wares directly to the community of Headsville, a mile and a half south of here.

And he marked his pottery — stamped his identity right into the clay — which was a rare feature among his Texas peers. In a trade where most work was anonymous, Lee Kimik put his name on what he made. That's a statement.

For a long time, his story sat quiet in the soil. Then in 1984, archeologists documented the Kimik Kiln site — catalogued as 41LT98 — reviving the story of Lee Kimik through archival research and archeological investigation. What they found has made significant contributions to understanding the industry and artistry of nineteenth-century Texas.

A German immigrant, a groundhog kiln, and pottery stamped with his own mark. Lee Kimik wasn't just making pots. He was leaving a record.

And long after the fires went cold, the ground gave it back.

What the marker says

Limestone County historically supported numerous pottery producing kilns. This industry succeeded near area outcroppings of kaolin, or potter's clay, within the Wilcox geologic formation. Alberry Johnson began the first county pottery in 1859 near Dooley Creek. Like most other regional potteries, Johnson's kiln was of the groundhog variety, a subterranean design with a doorway leading to a long underground passage lined with brick or rock. At the end of the corridor, a chimney rose out of the round, drawing heat from a firebox outside the door which baked pottery within the passageway. William Curtis Knox later moved Johnson's operation and established the town of Pottersville (8 mi. NE). The pottery was one of the largest in Texas, remaining active until 1912; today, Pottershop Cemetery markes the site. Several other kilns in the area provided work and income to supplement residents' farming efforts. Near this site, German immigrant Lee Kimik built a kiln active in the 1870s and 1880s. Records indicated that the business remained in fulltime operation eight months of the year. The kiln, similar to other groundhog examples, had longer and deeper sidewalls, possibly indicating European design influences. Unlike other area potters who marketed their work collectively, Kimik sold his wares directly to the community of Headsville (1.5 mi. S). He also marked his pottery, a rare feature among his Texas peers. In 1984, archeologists documented the Kimik Kiln site (41LT98), reviving the story of Lee Kimik through archival research and archeological investigation. The historic site has made significant contributions to understanding the industry and artistry of 19th-century Texas. (2007)