John Vickers

John Vickers (1780 – 1860) was an accomplished, fifth-generation potter in Uwchlan (now Downingtown), in the center of Chester County. He produced arguably some of the finest examples of Chester County redware, often blending the Quaker and PA Dutch styles, creating a distinctive Chester County “fancy pottery” style (Griffith). His father, Thomas Vickers of Caln Township, was a founding member of the PA Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. John settled his farmstead and pottery in 1823, choosing the location for the quality of clay and abundant forest (Oberholtzer).

He was famed not only for his technical ceramic knowledge and craftsmanship but also was “legendary in the Underground Railroad circuit…his home a destination from numerous routes from all over Chester County” (Switala). Secret locations in his house, kiln, the kiln’s woodpile, and pottery wagons hid people from bounty hunters (James; Smedley). William Still, the “Father of the Underground Railroad,” mentioned John Vickers’ contributions and wrote that “Chester County was a hotbed of abolitionists.”

To maintain secrecy, people had developed railroad terms for this escape network where Black and white men and women worked together in collective action. While their efforts were a pursuit of justice, mainstream society viewed such integration as radical and deeply threatening. Retaliatory violence was a constant risk. In 1838, an angry mob burned down Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia, only four days after its opening.

The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 drove the network even further underground, as bounty hunters could now arrest freedom seekers in free states. “Conductors,” like Harriet Tubman, moved people between safe houses, or “stations.” To protect identities, records were never kept, and as such, physical artifacts documenting the UGRR are very rare. Those leaving the Vickers station reportedly carried only a simple, encoded note signed, “Thy friend pot.”

It is thought that John Vickers made this extremely rare piece of American Abolitionist pottery between 1850 and 1860. It is on permanent display at the Chester County History Center. Now in fragile condition because it was used for flowers as it was intended, but still legible, it asks the following questions:

Is this a Christian world
Are we a human race?
And can man from his brother’s soul
God’s imprint dare efface?