Terra Cotta, California
Coal, along with clay deposits, was found on the site by John D. Huff in the late 1880s, and the Southern California Coal and Clay Company was formed to mine them. The town site of Terra Cotta was laid out and was given a post office on October 26, 1887. In May 1893 its post office was closed and moved to Lake Elsinore. A plant for the manufacture of sewer and water pipes was built using the coal to fire ceramic pipes in the four kilns. The finished product had to be shipped by wagon six miles through Lake Elsinore to the La Laguna rail station at the mouth of Railroad Canyon until 1896 when a spur line was built through Lake Elsinore and Terra Cotta to the new clay deposits in Alberhill. The coal mined was also used locally as fuel for the stamping mill at the Good Hope Mine and was shipped elsewhere in the state.
Pottery
There are several materials that are referred to as clay. The properties which make them different include:
Plasticity, the malleability of the body; the extent to which they will absorb water after firing; and shrinkage, the extent of reduction in size of a body as water is removed. Different clay bodies also differ in the way in which they respond when fired in the kiln. A clay body can be decorated before or after firing. Prior to some shaping processes, clay must be prepared. Each of these different clays are composed of different types and amounts of minerals that determine the characteristics of resulting pottery. There can be regional variations in the properties of raw materials used for the production of pottery, and this can lead to wares that are unique in character to a locality. It is common for clays and other materials to be mixed to produce clay bodies suited to specific purposes. A common component of clay bodies is the mineral kaolinite. Other mineral compounds in the clay may act as fluxes which lower the vitrification temperature of bodies. Following is a list of different types of clay used for pottery.