Rio Grande Ware Dallas, Texas

Anyone familiar with Rio Grande Ware? Lazy Susans, plates, bowels and casserole dishes. Usually bright colors of pink, green, yellow and blue. Most likely manufactured in the fifties and sixties in Dallas. On the bottom of the pottery it would say Rio Grande, Dallas, Texas, USA. On the wooden bowels it would say hand painted. Anybody know about the history of the company and where the factory was?

This is from a 51 year memory, but I will do my best. In 1968 I was a rookie cop and my Field Training Officer assigned me to ride several nights with an accident investigator.

One of the first accidents we were assigned was an overturned eighteen wheeler at the intersection of South Industrial Boulevard and the exit ramp off of northbound South R.L. Thornton Freeway (IH 35E) near the old Sportatorium.

The truck operator had turned left off of the ramp onto Industrial Boulevard at too great a speed and experienced a load shift, resulting in overturning.

I recall it was decided the trailer must be unloaded, as the trailer side would not support the weight as it was uprighted. The truck driver provided a Bill of Laden so we could determine the total load weight and I remember it was described as cookware and food service assigned to Rio Grande Dallas and the load initiated in McAllen, Texas and was en route to a receiver on a roadway located off of Irving Boulevard in Dallas.

This would make me believe these were products from Mexico. The truck driver spoke very little English and a Hispanic Dallas Firefighter at the scene translated for us.

The driver contacted the truck owner by telephone and he arranged for a cartage company to provide a truck and trailer, to off load the shipment and provide storage. I wondered then how much of the shipment survived and if any was salvageable. I guess wood items would remain somewhat undamaged, but pottery may have not survived so well.

I am not completely useless, I can always be used as a bad example.

I suppose that the original poster might own some of this material. If so, and contemplating using it for food service, please don't. Pottery and ceramics from that time in Mexico (and later for that matter) often have lead containing pigments in the glaze. Use for foods and beverages can result in lead poisoning.

So far as the location of the importer and any further information about it, I don't know anything.

Dave McNeely