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Hadley Pottery had its inception early in 1940. At that time, M.A. (Mary Alice) Hadley applied her artistic talents to the making of a custom set of dishes for a cruiser that the Hadleys had on the Ohio River. The pottery for the boat caused much favorable comment from all that saw it and led to many requests for similar pieces. The supplying of those early orders apparently gave wide circulation to the ware, because orders soon began to come in from all parts of the country. Prior to 1939, Mrs. Hadley's talents had been devoted entirely to the field of painting, in both watercolor and oil as well as a mural or two, for which she had received numerous awards and recognition. However, her work in pottery developed into a much more fertile field for her creative talents. To the best of our knowledge, there was nothing of its kind on the market when Hadley ware was first brought out.

		All of our designs were created or suggested by Mary Alice Hadley and are painted completely free hand on each piece. The reverse side of each piece bears the signature "M.A. Hadley". Her pottery originals and paintings in watercolor and oil have been exhibited in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and other cities. The Hadley designs are unique in their originality and have been so well received as to be simulated by other pottery makers.
	The Hadley Pottery building was purchased by the Hadleys in October of 1944 as a birthday present for Mrs. Hadley.  The building, which was built in 1848, has been home to a candle factory, a wool mill and a cordage mill.  It was one of the first commercial buildings in Louisville to have electricty and fire sprinklers.  Mrs. Hadley painted all of the murals on the walls in the building, and her original artwork is on display in the front windows of the sales room.

Mrs. Hadley worked at the pottery intil her death in 1965.  Mr. Hadley continued to run the pottery until 1979 when it was sold to the current owners.  Mr. Hadley died in 1991.  Mrs. Hadley's creative inspiration continues to influence the pottery today.  Very little has changed at the pottery including a few employees who knew Mrs. Hadley, and the tradition continues of signing each piece with the signature "M. A. Hadley".  All of the designs used today were created or suggested by Mary Alice Hadley and are painted completely freehand on each piece.