Mr. Potter's father, Earl C. Potter, was a noted builder of his day. Nathaniel learned the trade from him and at the age of 19 his first contract was the building of the Groton Monument which was considered a great undertaking for a mere lad. Subsequent to the great fire in Charleston, South Carolina, in the year 1844, he and his brothers went to that city and did an extensive business, building the Charleston Hotel and several of the finest blocks. When the Providence & Worcester Railroad was about to be built, he was entrusted with the important agency of securing the right of way. In 1847 he conceived the idea of utilizing the clay deposits near Nayatt and vigorously prosecuted the undertaking of the Narragansett Brick Company.
Source: Potter Profiles, Vol. 8, June 1986 citing the "Transactions of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, 1874 (Providence, 1875)." And Bicknell's History of Barrington.
