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R.F. Outen Pottery

R.F. Outen Pottery: Other, National Register listed 2015-04-24.

Open-sided brick kiln structure and a small rendered outbuilding on a grassy site, with an interpretive sign in the foreground.
R.F. Outen Pottery, Matthews. Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0 · source
Address430 Jefferson St., Matthews
Architectural styleOther
National Registerref 15000183, listed 2015-04-24
Research depthdossier, independently sourced

What we established, and from where

  • The pottery stands on 1.48 acres in the town of Matthews, in south-eastern Mecklenburg County, rather than in Charlotte itself.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • Rufus Outen built the kiln with the help of a mason named Long.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • The brick kiln measures roughly twenty-two feet long and seven feet tall.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • The workshop is a one-storey, front-gabled concrete block building roughly twenty-four feet long and fifty feet wide.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • Rufus Outen fired his last batch of pottery in 1976, at the age of 71, the same year his wife Louise died.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • The property carries statewide architectural significance under Criterion C for its oil-burning rectangular downdraft kiln.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • The pottery is locally significant under Criterion A in the area of industry, assessed within the context of the town of Matthews.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

  • The pottery sits at the end of a dead-end paved residential street.

    independent National Park Service / NC SHPO · checked 2026-09-18

The primary source

The National Register nomination is the fullest account of this property that exists, written by a researcher and reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office. The nomination (National Park Service).

Official record

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