J. B. Owens Pottery Company

[3] All told, it produced some four dozen different lines of art pottery, with types ranging from vases, bowls, and pitchers to umbrella stands and lamps.

[3] A fire destroyed most of the Zanesville factory in 1902, but Owens rebuilt on the same site and took the opportunity to double in size to 11 kilns.

[2] Around 1907 Owens sold most of his stake in both companies, only to buy them back by 1909 after other investors pushed the tile business into receivership.

[2] Owens also had stakes in other ceramic companies in Ohio and New Jersey, and he was awarded over 20 patents, most of them related to the design for a tunnel kiln.

[2] The Empire factory burned in 1928 and Owens effectively went out of business the following year, though his companies were involved in lawsuits for several more decades.