Saline County ArArchives Biographies.....Hyten, Charles D. 
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Author: S. J. Clarke (Publisher, 1922)

CHARLES D. HYTEN.
    Charles D. Hyten, originator and manufacturer of the Niloak pottery, has
thus developed in Benton one of the important manufacturing interests of
Arkansas. He has entered upon a unique field and his labors have found
recognition in many of the leading art centers of America and among the
connoisseurs of ceramic art. Mr. Hyten, who is at the head of this enterprise,
was born in Benton on the 14th of March, 1877, and is a son of John F. and
Hattie E. (Brown) Hyten, the former a native of Indiana, while the latter was
born in Iowa. The father acquired a college education in Greencastle, Indiana,
and when a youth of but sixteen years enlisted in an Indiana regiment for
service in the Union army during the Civil war, remaining at the front
throughout the entire period of hostilities between the north and the south. He
returned to the Hoosier state when the war was ended but subsequently removed to
Boone, Iowa, where he learned the potter's trade. While there residing he was
married to Hattie E. Brown, with whom he traveled life's journey for many years.
Some time later they made their way to Callaway county, Missouri, where Mr.
Hyten engaged in the pottery business, manufacturing jars, churns and a general
line of stoneware. It was about 1875 or 1876 that he came to Benton, Arkansas,
for the benefit of his health and while here he noticed the splendid clay
deposits in the neighborhood and again took up the manufacture of stoneware. He
continued the business with a considerable measure of success for several years,
but it was not until some time after that the business was developed into one of
the important productive industries of this section of the state. His service as
a soldier of the Civil war left him in impaired health and after a few years'
residence in Arkansas he died, in the fall of 1881. His widow afterward became
the wife of Frank Woosley and they now reside in Springfield, Ohio.

    Charles D. Hyten, whose name introduces this review, acquired his education
in the Benton public schools and after his father's death he worked in
connection with the pottery business, which was carried on under the management
of Mr. Woosley, who afterward married Mrs. Hyten. In 1896 the business was
acquired by Charles D. Hyten and his two brothers, Paul and Lee Hyten, and
conducted by them for about two years. At the end of that time the brothers
withdrew, after which Mr. Hyten carried on the business alone. Up to this time
the manufacture of pottery had been conducted in but a desultory fashion.
Charles D. Hyten, rather too young to manage the business and with little
capital, rented the plant where stoneware was made and worked as a journeyman
potter. It was not until 1902 that he took over the business, which still was
that of manufacturing stoneware, and for seven years that continued to be the
output of the plant. It was in 1909 that Mr. Hyten began experimenting in the
manufacture of pottery. He combined the clays of different colors, mixing them
on the potter's wheel almost at random, and thus the first piece of Niloak
pottery came into existence, although the name was not adopted until a year
later. The citizens of Arkansas paid little attention to this new product that
was placed upon the market, but travelers in the state, especially those on
their way to and from Hot Springs, saw the pieces of pottery which had been
placed on exhibit in a jeweler's window in Benton and a real market for the
beautiful ware began to develop. In 1911 Mr. Hyten recognized that the demand
would soon far outrun the output and his financial resources. He therefore
organized a stock company known as the Niloak Pottery Company and this was
immediately followed by a notable expansion in the business. In January, 1918,
Mr. Hyten became the sole owner of the plant and its fields of clay and has
continued so to the present time. By 1912 the sale of the pottery had become
quite extensive. This resulted from the fact that a connoisseur in pottery
visited the plant and saw the product. He was so enthusiastic over it that he
formed a connection with the company and for two years acted as sales manager
throughout the United States. The coloring is perhaps the greatest charm of the
Niloak pottery. From the very nature of the manufacturing process, in which
clays of different colors are mixed, no two pieces ever are the same as to color
pattern. Many useful and handsome designs are produced, including bowls, vases,
candlesticks and wine and water sets. There is no artificial clay put upon the
pottery and the beautiful finish of the first piece ever turned out is still
retained. Mr. Hyten personally superintends every piece of pottery turned out
and the output is now about seventy-five thousand pieces annually. All articles
are formed and perfected by the hand and the eye. In order for a man to be
skilled in the art of turning this ware by hand, he has to start when a youth
and continue for many years. The first step is weighing and kneading the clay
into round shape (commonly called ball) for the potter. Each article requires a
certain amount of clay in weight. All colors are kneaded thoroughly before
mixing, for should the different colors be kneaded together they would gradually
mix to the extent of a solid color. All machinery is run by electricity. When
the pottery goes to the kiln it is fired for from thirty-six to forty-eight
hours and the temperature finally is brought up to twenty-one hundred degrees
Fahrenheit, the heat being supplied through natural gas. The business of the
company is constantly growing. There is today a large eastern trade and the
California trade has been said to rival if not surpass the sales in the east.
Extensive shipments have also been made to Canada and to Cuba. Mr. Hyten owns
thirty-five acres of clay banks about two miles from Benton and his plant in the
city consists of a main building forty by one hundred and forty feet, but he
expects soon to erect another of equal size. There are three kilns and there are
storage sheds covering a space of one hundred and fifty feet long by fifty feet
wide. The company employs from fifteen to twenty-five men.

    On the 5th of February, 1901, Mr. Hyten was married to Mis Cora Caldwell, a
daughter of Charles and Laura (Crawford) Caldwell of Benton. Her father was a
merchant and traveling man but is now deceased. The mother survives and still
makes her home in Benton. Mr. and Mrs. Hyten have become parents of four
children, but only two are living, Norma Pauline and Mabel Arlene.

    Both Mr. and Mrs. Hyten are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Hyten
is superintendent of the Sunday school, while in all branches of the church work
they take active and helpful part. Mr. Hyten is a member of Benton Lodge, A. F.
& A. M., has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and is a
loyal follower of the teachings of the craft. Aside from his pottery business he
is a stockholder in the Bank of Benton, also the secretary and treasurer of the
Southern Bauxite Compauy and is regarded as one of the leading and
representative citizens here. He still owns the clay deposits which his father
located when the son was hut a year old and in addition he has three other
tracts of clay deposits in this county, the only bodies of such clay known to
exist in the entire county. Mr. Hyten is making steady advance in his chosen
vocation, constantly progressing to higher standards in workmanship and design,
and today the Niloak pottery is known from coast to coast.


Additional Comments:
Citation:
Centennial History of Arkansas
Volume II
Chicago-Little Rock: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1922


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