John Fritz

Colonies is that for 80 years they maintained an almost completely self-sufficient local economy, importing very little from the wider, industrializing U.S. economy. The Amanians were able to achieve this independence and lifestyle by adhering to the specialized handcrafts and farming occupations which they had brought with them from Germany.”

Additionally, it is published in Mark C. Wiseman’s book, “A History of the Des Moines Potteries, with Additional Information on Boonesboro, Carlisle, Hartford, and Palmyra,” “The potters (at the Ebenezer Society in upstate New York near Buffalo) made dinnerware and cookware for the community kitchens as well as containers for daily tasks. Pottery was produced in the shop until 1855 when the society moved to its present location in Amana, Iowa. No pottery shop opened at the Amana location because all men were needed to help build the new community.”

New dinner ware or containers that were needed in Amana would be purchased from the outside. Both bone china and stoneware pottery was available through the general stores in each village.

Elizabeth Reitman Zuber, granddaughter of John Fritz, recalls: “John Fritz was my grandfather who married a daughter of Martin Shoup. He was Swiss; he originally was a silk weaver and then learned pottery as an apprentice with a master. He came over to the United States on a ship that took 45 days to cross the water. He lived in New York, where he learned of the Ebenezer Society and decided to join.

“In Ebenezer, he had a pottery shop. Children would come into the shop and get scraps of clay and pottery. A young lady by the name of Dina Shoup was told by Opa (Grandpa), You like nice dishes, I’ll make you a pitcher. He made pitchers, tea pots, crocks, milk pots and flower pots, as well as other items.

“He came to Amana in 1855 and was a builder of houses for a number of years. He was also associated with clay in the making of clay bricks. At the age of 60, Chrisian Metz (the community leader) again asked Opa to be a pottery maker. He was living in Middle Amana. He had a pottery wheel, I think in the washhouse, where he made pottery. The local clay was not to good for pottery as it seemed to warp a great deal. However, it worked well for the making of flower pots. He made many of them. The clay came out of the backyard where he lived. I think he had an oven at this home that was heated by wood. He may have fired some of the pottery in the clay brick kilns.”

Interestingly, there is also a John Fritz documented as a potter in Philadelphia in the late 19th century, whereas this may be the same Fritz. For instance, one of Fritz’s business cards recently surfaced that indicates he operated a “Fancy Terra Cotta Works, No. 836 St. John