Moravian Pottery and Tile Works Museum preserves the art history of a Philadelphia suburb

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — The Moravian Ceramics and Tile Museum preserves Bucks County’s past while inspiring future generations in the art world.

“Basically a big puzzle,” said James Mowery.

Mowery is carefully putting together the pieces of a large mosaic, telling a story that has shaped the country. He is working on the Washington’s Crossing mosaic. It will take him weeks to complete.

“We can recreate those original designs,” Mowery said, “because we have all the maps and all the molds that Henry Mercer made.”

Henry Mercer designed the design decades ago and built the workshop in Doylestown entirely out of concrete. It is located not far from his former home, Fonthill Castlea place that is used as an exhibition space for his works.

Today the Moravian Ceramics and Tile Museum continues his mission.

“How many things can you think of today that are done the same way they were done 100 years ago?” says Katia McGuirk, the museum’s executive director. “Not too many.”

The tiles, which are still made by hand on site, are drawn from over 6,000 of Mercer’s original designs.

“We can recreate many of the tiles you see in his house, in the State Capitol in Harrisburg or in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,” McGuirk said.

From guided tours of the workshop to a long list of classes – including pottery classes – visitors can get a glimpse into the era when old becomes new again as the site preserves Bucks County’s history.

“It’s really about telling and preserving stories that have been told through ceramic artifacts in every culture and every timeline,” McGuirk said. “When you come here, you get to take a piece of Bucks County home with you. You’re literally getting clay that’s been dug out of the bottom of a lake in northern Bucks County, brought here, processed in the same 1903 Mascot brick kiln that Henry Mercer used, and then hand-pressed by people, by clay artisans.”

The team continues Mercer’s vision in this working history museum and National Historic Landmark and invites all to experience the magic firsthand.

“It’s quite unique that we can see a project through from start to finish using locally sourced clay,” said John Mellor, leader of the tile team.