Reinhardt-Craig House, Kiln and Pottery Shop
Why it's listed
Near Vale in western Lincoln County, North Carolina, this small complex preserves a working pottery site from the Catawba Valley folk tradition. Harvey Reinhardt built a one-story gabled frame house, a brick groundhog kiln and a clapboard pottery shop between about 1933 and 1936, on land that had belonged to his family. The kiln is a wood-fired, cross-draft design with a firebox, brick arch and chimney, made from more than 125,000 bricks fired by Harvey and his brother Enoch. After Reinhardt left pottery in the 1940s, Burlon Craig bought the property in 1945 and worked there for decades as a farmer and then full-time potter. He built the surviving pug mill in 1949 from salvaged metal parts and a tractor drive. Until his death in 2002 the kiln was the state's oldest continually operated groundhog kiln. Its association with the Reinhardt family and Craig, who carried the alkaline-glaze tradition forward, is the basis for its listing.
Significance in brief: The property represents the Catawba Valley alkaline-glaze pottery tradition, which potters have practiced in western Lincoln County for over two hundred years. It preserves Harvey Reinhardt's 1930s pottery operation and the work of folk potter Burlon Craig, who kept the tradition going. Its kiln was North Carolina's oldest continually operated groundhog kiln until Craig's death in 2002.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 07001376, listed January 9, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 3171 Cat Square Rd., Vale |
|---|---|
| County | Lincoln County |
| Listed | January 9, 2008 |
| Reference number | 07001376 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Harvey Reinhardt (house, kiln, pottery shop); Burlon Craig (pug mill, 1949) |
| Architectural style | Other/gable front house; Other/Groundhog Kiln |
| Areas of significance | Art, Architecture, Industry |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Historic resources remain in their original layout. The kiln operated until Burlon Craig's death in 2002, the shop is used for storage, and the site hosts an annual pottery festival begun in 2004. |
| Acreage | 2.7 |
| Coordinates | 35.56308, -81.42927 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 07001376.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19987777
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.