trenton teapot museum

This is the world's largest collection of antique porcelain veilleuses-theieres or night light teapots. All in fantastic condition! We had heard about the Trenton Tea Pot Museum since we moved to Jackson, TN a few years back, so today was the day we decided to visit it. Parking is no problem on this small town's streets. We parked right in front. In the lobby of City Hall we found a few tourist brochures about the area and about the teapot collection. We were able to walk right into the museum, to view the 525 beautiful teapots that are in glass enclosed cases.Dr Frederick Freed collected and later donated the teapots from his travels through Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. The teapots were used from the mid 1700s through the mid 1800s in sick rooms and nurseries.

Located in Trenton, TN about 30 minutes north of Jackson (about a 3 hour drive from Nashville, depending on traffic) this unique free museum was a delight. It's located in the same building as the police and fire department, so the museum is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day (I wonder if people show up at 3 am wanting to see the teapots?) If you go to the back entrance, they'll let you in.A small museum, it's devoted to late 18th-early 19th century teapots. Many don't look much like teapots. Back before electricity, they would use these "night light teapots" which consist of a porcelain stand that holds a candle or some nut or vegetable oil in a vessel with a wick, and a teapot that sits on top. They'd use them for light as well as warming tea. Some were in the form of people, others little houses, and others more traditional with flowers or scenes painted on the sides. There are over 500 teapots to look at. Each one is numbered, and you can look up more information in the guidebook in the room. The teapots were collected by a doctor who lived in Trenton as he travelled over Europe and Asia.While there, you might want to take a quick drive around the town square less than a mile up the main road. There isn't much to do there, but the courthouse is beautiful, and the town itself is charming.

I had heard of the Teapot Festival in Trenton, TN for many years and finally had the opportunity to visit. We were there on the Saturday of the Grand Parade. Parade lasted about 2 hours. Had a lot of bands and of course politicians. Some of the floats were very pretty, just not many in it. Mostly the floats held pageant winners from different pageants. I think it would be great if the businesses got involved and had floats entered also. The Teapot collection was enormous, which is housed in City Hall. I think it would be better if you had some type of list or brochure that told about the teapots as you are viewing them. The teapots were gorgeous! The rest of the festival was not much of a festival at all. There was nothing going on that Sat. afternoon. I was expecting some arts and craft vendors along with food vendors to be set up. We looked for the City Park for quite awhile thinking this was where the activities would be, but could never find. Went back to City Hall to ask about what else was going on that afternoon and found out there was nothing. There was a tractor and truck pull that night that we attended.

Trenton Tennessee is home to the World's Largest Collection of Veilleuses-Theieres. These are rare porcelain antique night-light teapots. Most were collected from Europe and were made between 1750 and 1860. They were the gift of Dr. Frederick C. Freed who grew up in Trenton and practiced medicine mostly in New York City. A patient brought Dr. Freed his first teapot, and he became interested because initially they were used in the sick room to warm medicine or broth, or in the nursery (before our modern conveniences). He had an enormous collection and gifted the City of Trenton with 525 of them, beginning the transfer in the 1960's. The collection is housed in the Trenton City Hall, in mirrored glass cases which Dr. Freed provided and are viewable to the public 24/7 (due to the presence of the on site Fire Department with a key available at all times). Admission is FREE, but this is the wish of the donor, and is not reflective of the worth of the teapots. Many tour groups come to view the teapots and local docents can be scheduled to give truly informative talks on the teapots. They are a beautiful gift from a time before hospitals and electricity made our lives easier, but not lovlier. In 1981 the annual Trenton Teapot Festival was started to promote this city treasure. It is held during the April/May time. If you're near Trenton call the City Hall at 731-855-2013 or just follow Hwy 45 to it for a peek at one of life's little treasures.

Happened in on this spot while in Trenton and really became fascinated with this collection of teapots from everywhere, everytime and every purpose. If you love china pots, this is for you!

The place is not as exciting as it sounds. (Sarcasm) You may love it if you have a fetish for teapots.

Granted, teapots don't rank high on my list of collectibles; however, if it is high on your list, you might enjoy it. I just think there should be more inforamtion on the teapots and the purpose of the display. I would be more interested in the history of each teapot, it's significance to the display and who donated it to the city.

Big treasures can be found in small towns, and Trenton, TN is proof of that. Located in the city court room are over 500 porcelain veilleuses, or night-light teapots, dating from 1650 to 1860. They were collected mainly between the two world wars by the now-deceased Dr. Fredrick C. Freed, who was originally from Trenton. At one point Freed had 650 of the veilleuses, and donated 525 to Trenton, with the rest going to other museums.The artwork on these pieces is incredible, being very finely detailed in some cases. The works come from all over the globe, and the museum has them numbered. Just use the handbook in the museum on the self-guiding tour, and you'll find out where most of them came from. The purpose of the pieces was two-fold. First, they each served as a night-light in the bottom portion, with the use of a candle. The candle would then keep things like tea, food, medicine, or other liquids warm in the top part. All of the pieces come apart, but for some it is nearly impossible to see how by just looking. The museum features all of these teapots in mirrored cases. This way you see the back side, including seeing the area where the candle was placed. Each year Trenton holds a teapot festival, in May, to celebrate this collection. Visiting the museum is also interesting. It sits directly around the edge of the city court room, inside of Trenton City Hall. There is no admission fee, but dontations are accepted. You need to call ahead to City Hall to see if a court session is underway. It's even possible to see them WHILE court is underway, if you're not noisy! Plus, you can also see these pieces when City Hall is not open. Just go around to the Trenton City Police station, in the same building, but on the back side of City Hall, and they'll give you the key to the room. Trenton's City Hall is located on College Street, in Trenton, about two blocks south of the Gibson County Courthouse. Just follow the Tenn. 367 South (old U.S. 45) signs, away from the courthouse, and you'll pass it on the left. The directional signs will point you toward Jackson, so just follow the Jackson signs, if you forget. One more note, if you take photos, do so at an angle, otherwise the flash will be reflected by the rear case mirrors, and will ruin your photos. This is a small town treasure certainly worth stopping to see. The collection is amazing, and won't take half an hour to see. Groups must call ahead.

Visitare Trento e' una bella esperienza,citta' pulita e multirazziale,bei negozi e un centro attraente ed ordinato. Quello che colpisce e' la spontaneita' e la gentilezza delle persone,dal poliziotto che si affanna a spiegarti una via,pur poi sbagliandone la direzione,al negoziante che si fa' in quattro per spiegarti la sua merce con consigli non solo per venderti a tutti i costi,anzi,paziente e disponibile piu' del dovuto anche se ha capito che sei forestiero e capisce benissimo che non ritornerai per comprare. La piazza del Duomo e del castello cosi' vicini racchiudono un senso di calore anche se l'architettura contrasta. Una bella cioccolata calda in un bar carino vicino alla stazione (di solito evitati nelle grandi citta') e la barista che ti chiede se e' buona,sono attenzioni che colpiscono chi di solito non si saluta neanche con il vicino di casa. Trento,una piacevole scoperta,la sua gente educata. Merita un giorno per scoprirla,anche un ritorno.