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| The Revolutionary Randolph logo, featuring a representation of a stove tile made by Moravian potter Jacob Meyer in his Mount Shepherd pottery in the 1780s |
ASHEBORO – Learn about the history of pottery stove tiles – and the symbolism behind the “Revolutionary Randolph” America 250 logo – with master potter Tara Logue in “The Story Behind a Logo: Tile Stoves and the Mount Shepherd Potter,” 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, at the Asheboro Public Library.
Randolph County has used clay stove tile designs found at the 1780s Mount Shepherd pottery site of Moravian potter Jacob Meyer for both the 200th and 250th anniversary logos for the county. In 1976, the design was a soldier standing at attention.
In 2026, a representation of a tile featuring a dragoon (cavalry soldier) on horseback is incorporated in the Revolutionary Randolph logo.
Both tiles were discovered during the 1970s, when an archaeological dig found numerous artifacts from the pottery operated by Meyer during the Revolutionary War era. Logue, a former educator and lead potter at Old Salem, will talk about the history of tile stoves, their design and construction, and how Meyer might have used his tile designs to market to new, patriotic buyers.
“What does the concept of patriotism mean to a pacifist Moravian in the North Carolina back country in the aftermath of the Revolution? As the new American Idea began to take form, the impacts reached into every facet of identity,” Logues says.
“Through the pottery excavations at Mount Shepherd, we can get an intimate window into the ways that religious identity, cultural heritage, and craftsmanship were complicated as the local potters defined for themselves what it meant to become an American.”
Through her pottery work reproducing Moravian earthenware, Logue developed a specialty in tile stoves, known as “kachelofen.” She has presented at the international conference of the Masonry Heater Association, been featured on the “Things” podcast of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and worked alongside master potter Ron Probst to restore a historic tile stove in the Single Brothers’ House at Old Salem.
Logue lives in Kernersville. Her current ceramic work includes both historic reproductions as well as original designs that draw from historical influences.
Coinciding with Logue’s talk is a display of Mount Shepherd pottery artifacts, documents and photographs in the upstairs Asheboro library display case. The display features the soldier-at-attention tile used for Randolph County’s bicentennial in 1976.
The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For more information, call 336-318-6815.
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