Question:
Is this a crock? A water cooler? Is the spigot part of it or something that was added to it? Should it have a lid? I don’t collect, just happen to have this piece. Thank you.

Answer: Yours is a great question. There are collectors that call these large crocks with spigot holes Water Coolers and there are collectors such as myself who call them large crocks with spigot holes. Either collector is correct. To make sure the spigot hole is original, you would need to remove the spigot and see if the hole itself is glazed over. If glazed over, it is original. If it has been drilled, you will see the clay (before it is glazed) this would not be original. If this is the case, then the value will be greatly reduced. Yes, they did make lids for these 20 gallon crocks/coolers. Your crock cleaned up, with the correct lid, and polished spigot would be an eye catcher. It is a nice piece and a little uncommon (do to spigot hole and no Red Wing Stoneware oval) which would raise the value if sold. These large crocks with spigot holes were used by dairies and hardware stores to hold chemicals and any other liquids that needed to be dispensed into small containers. Al Kohlman