John Potts (c. 1710 – 6 June 1768) was the founder of

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts (Pennsylvanian), John Potts. The old name was abando ...

.History of Pottstown from Pottstown Official Website
(accessed March 30, 2011) He was also an

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

, merchant, and English Quaker.

Early life

Potts was born about 1710, probably in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the oldest son of Thomas and Martha (Keurlis) Potts.

Career

Like his father, Potts was an enterprising businessman, and for many years was the largest and most successful iron-master in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

, operating mines, furnaces and forges in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He served as Justice of the Peace, and was also a judge of the

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas In Pennsylvania, the courts of common pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (the state court system). The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. The name derives fr ...

. In 1752, he purchased two tracts of land at the confluence of

Manatawny Creek Manatawny Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone C ...

and

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

, aggregating nearly 1,000 acres. There he laid out the town that became

Pottsgrove Manor

In 1752, Potts built a Georgian style home, Pottsgrove Manor, in Pottstown. In 1974, the house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The house has been restored and is now an 18th-century

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

owned by Montgomery County.

Personal life

Potts married Ruth Savage, daughter of Samuel and Ann (Rutter) Savage, on April 11, 1734. They had 13 children together: Thomas (b. 1735), Samuel (b. 1736), John (b. 1738), Martha (b. 1739 or 1740), David (b. 1741) Joseph (b. 1742), Jonathan (b. 1745), Anna (b. 1747), Isaac (b. 1750), James (b. 1752), Rebeccah (b. 1755), Jesse (b. circa 1757), and Ruth (b. 1759).

References

External links

"Pottsgrove historical marker"
at Explore PA History
"Pottsgrove Manor"
at

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, John 1710s births 1768 deaths 18th-century ironmasters 18th-century Quakers Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American merchants American ironmasters