# Ashery

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An **ashery** is a [factory](/source/Factory) that converts [hardwood](/source/Hardwood) ashes into [lye](/source/Lye), [potash](/source/Potash), or [pearlash](/source/Pearlash). Asheries were common in newly settled areas of [North America](/source/North_America) during the late 18th century and much of the 19th century, when excess wood was available as [settlers](/source/Settler) cleared their land for farming. Hardwood ashes contain abundant levels of [potassium carbonate](/source/Potassium_carbonate) and [potassium hydroxide](/source/Potassium_hydroxide), the principal components of the products being produced.

*Lye* was produced by soaking ashes in hot water, filtering out the ashes, and repeating with fresh ashes as necessary to obtain the desired [alkalinity](/source/Alkalinity) in the resulting [liquid](/source/Liquid). This liquid, commonly called *lye* could then be mixed with [fats](/source/Fat) to produce soft [soap](/source/Soap), or it could be [evaporated](/source/Evaporate) (often by boiling) to produce *pot ash* or *black salts* which still contained dark [carbon](/source/Carbon) impurities. The potash could then be baked in a [kiln](/source/Kiln) to further refine the substance into a pearly white material called *pearl ash*, *pearl-ash* or *pearlash*.

The *lye* and *potash* stages were commonly performed on site by the settlers themselves, and the asheries only performed the final step and most difficult step of converting the *black salts* to *pearlash*.

The product was often shipped to [Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain) where it was used in the production of [glass](/source/Glass) and [ceramic](/source/Ceramic) wares.

The ashery at [Historic Kirtland Village](/source/Historic_Kirtland_Village) is thought to be the only example of a reconstructed ashery in North America.[1]

## References

1. ["Ashery"](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/locations/ashery?lang=eng). *Locations*. Retrieved 2026-01-02.

- [\[1\]](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94304093/a-walk-through-town/)
- [\[2\]](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94304183/john-ferris-and-chas-crow/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ashery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashery) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashery?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.