By Cody Berry 

Another frequently asked question I get from our patrons is “What is Niloak Pottery?” Well, Niloak is the name given to a popular line of art pottery made from locally sourced clays in Benton. Its creation is often credited to Benton’s own Charles Dean “Bullet” Hyten and Ohio potter Arthur Dovey but there may be more to that story. Hyten named his pottery “Niloak” because it was made from kaolin clay. “Niloak” is kaolin spelled backwards.¹ 

The Niloak Pottery line was made by the Benton based Eagle Pottery Company run by the Hyten family from 1909 until 1946. Charles Hyten was born in Benton on March 14, 1877, to John F. Hyten and Hattie E. Brown Hyten. Hyten’s father died in 1881, and his mother married Frank Woosley, who had worked for John Hyten before that. Hattie and Frank had two children before moving to Ohio leaving Charles and his brothers to take over the family business in 1896.² 

Charles and his brothers Paul and Lee worked together until 1901 when they left the business. Hyten renamed his company Eagle Pottery in 1902 and in 1909, he enlisted the help of Ohio potter Arthur Dovey to develop what became the Niloak Pottery. Hyten’s company moved to the end of Pearl Street in Benton and continued to get their clay from the rich deposits found along Military Road where Hyten owned 35 acres of land at one time. In 1929, the Spanish-style Niloak showroom was built on Military Road near where the historic marker is now.³ 

The story of Niloak Pottery ended in tragedy both for its owner and the company itself. Hyten sold the company during the Great Depression in 1934. It dissolved in 1947. Hyten’s tragic death occurred during a church picnic on September 6, 1944, when he drowned in the Saline River near Camp Gordon Gray four miles west of Little Rock. While wading in the water with two children, Hyten stepped into a deep hole. One of the children clung to a tree while the other went to find help. Hyten went under and his body was found about an hour later.⁴ 

After Hyten’s death his former factory and showroom were torn down. His home on Main Street in Benton was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.⁵ His Niloak Pottery is still popular and valuable with some pieces worth thousands of dollars each. The Hytens and the Ganns were great friends so over time the Gann has amassed a large collection of Niloak as well as some of their personal possessions as well. In our exhibit on Hyten’s former home, we have Niloak brochures and two small notebooks in which Hyten kept his secret formulas. 

Pictured below: Charles Hyten’s patent for Niloak Pottery, which had a unique (and patent-able) formula.

Citations:

¹ Cindy Grisham, “Niloak Pottery,” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 

² Cody Lynn Berry, “Charles Dean Hyten (1877-1944),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 

³ Cody Lynn Berry, “Charles Dean Hyten (1877-1944),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 

⁴ Cody Lynn Berry, “Charles Dean Hyten (1877-1944),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 

⁵ Cody Lynn Berry, “Charles Dean Hyten (1877-1944),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas.