Wiley Christopher Meaders

Wiley Christopher Meaders was the second child and oldest son of John Milton Meaders. He was born in 1875 and was 17 years old when the original pottery shop was established in 1892. As the eldest son, Wiley helped keep the family together after the death of his mother, Molly Justice Meaders. He didn’t marry until he was in his forties, but he and his wife, Ruth Kincaid had five children, Christopher, Ray, Lenore, Wirtha and Barbara.    Wiley worked at the original shop for years before establishing his own shop just across the creek from the original kiln about 1920. He produced ware there until the 1940’s when he retired from the business. Wiley had exceptionally long arms and being a strong man, turned large pieces that were known for being thin and light weight. His younger brother, Cheever once said that Wiley could get more pieces made from the same amount of clay than any potter he’d ever seen.    Wiley Meaders died on Februrary 1st, 1965 and is buried at Mossy Creek.