NEW YORK — Walter Benjamin Stephen (1876-1961) first proved himself in the pottery industry with Nonconnah Pottery, which he and his parents opened near Memphis, Tenn., in 1904 and made fine slip-decorated vessels that typically had floral decoration on simple matte backgrounds. The pottery was named for a creek that wound around Memphis and is an Native American word meaning “long stream.” After his parents died in 1910, Stephen searched the country for a region with clay and material that would be better for pottery-making. He decided on North Carolina, near the Pisgah Forest, after meeting C.P. Ryman from Skyland, N.C., with whom he formed a partnership to set up a kiln and studio in the state. Both believed the mountain feldspar and the clays in this region, which came in a variety of colors, would make for superior pottery.
