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The stoneware churn, produced during the partnership of Orcutt and Wait during a nine-month period in 1816, was used in butter-making. The clay for stoneware vessels produced in Whately was transported by water from New Jersey to Massachusetts. After the vessels were formed and placed in the kiln and a high temperature reached, table salt was thrown in to create a glaze, referred to as a "salt" glaze. The glaze produced a shiny surface. The clay is non-porous, unlike earthenware. Often the potters' names are impressed into the jar and the letters rubbed with cobalt to produce a blue contrast to the gray stoneware.

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