Medalta Stoneware Ltd.

Charles Pratt, a Scotsman came to Alberta in 1908 determined to make his fortune in Medicine Hat. After trying his hand in many businesses and finally losing it all in real estate he found himself farming in 1915. With the profits from his first crop he partnered with Ulysses Grant and William Creer and incorporated Medalta Stoneware Ltd. in December 1915 in the pottery buildings and equipment of the defunct Medicine Hat Pottery Co. Ltd., the first pottery plant to be built in the city in 1912. After renovating the factory they commenced production in May 1916.  Medicine Hat was able to offer unlimited, cheap natural gas supplies while high quality stoneware clays were readily available from quarries at nearby Eastend, Saskatchewan.  By 1921, Medalta had penetrated the eastern market, becoming the first firm in western Canada to ship manufactured goods to Ontario and points east.

In 1924 the company reorganized under new ownership as Medalta Potteries Ltd.

The new company made plain stoneware crocks, jugs, bowls and churns for  household use. By 1918 the company had $48,000 annual gross sales (the average wage was $1100). By 1924 the company was supplying households across Canada with distributors in places like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. In addition, Medalta Stoneware also supplied jugs to the liquor control boards in all three prairie provinces.