ART & EARTH: Produce, Pottery & Peace at Little Round Top

By Destination Gettysburg Staff, from interviews with David and Junko Young, November 2025

At the foot of Little Round Top, where history shaped the nation, David and Junko Young and their four sons have shaped something quieter: an oasis of handmade pottery, fresh produce, and peace. Their business, The Lion Potter, a Gettysburg pottery studio and farmstand, blends art and farming in a way that feels both surprising and completely natural. It’s not a gallery. It’s not a farmstand. It’s a place where beauty, nourishment, and stillness meet.

The Lion Potter is a Gettysburg pottery studio and farm stand where art, agriculture, and history come together at the foot of Little Round Top.

The Lion Potter at a Glance

• Location: 855 Taneytown Road, Gettysburg *Founded: 2003
• Owners: David and Junko Young
• Family: four sons, Irvin, Elisha, Caleb, and Kagen
• Style: Handmade master pottery, fresh local produce, artisan goods
• Season: Art year-round, produce spring though the holidays
• Why The Lion Potter: Power under restraint. A lion can be powerful, but it can also be gentle. A potter has the power to destroy clay but must use restraint to create something beautiful.

A Creative Family on Historic Ground

David, originally from Maryland, and Junko, who grew up in Tokyo, have lived and created here for more than two decades. Their land sits directly against Gettysburg National Military Park. “You walk just past our buildings,” David says, “and you’re on the battlefield.”

It’s fitting. Today, the family finds freedom and peace in a place once defined by conflict.

Inside their studio of potters’ wheels, kilns and slabs of clay, and outside, shelves overflow with mugs, platters, vases, jars, and whimsical forms shaped by master hands. David’s style is a blend of global influences he absorbed during years studying ceramics abroad. Junko’s work is quiet, minimal, and deeply purposeful. “I’m still exploring,” she says. “But I love simple, clean lines.”

Their sons, ages 18-25 years, add their own flair. Irvin, the eldest, writes and illustrates; Elisha designs and builds; Caleb handles social media and marketing; and their youngest, Kagen, plays guitar and contributes his own creativity to the studio’s online presence. All four were homeschooled, giving them space to grow as makers.

Why Food and Pottery Belong Together

The Lion Potter is known for ceramics. But it’s the combination of pottery and produce that pulls people off Route 15.

The Youngs realized early that Biglerville and Upper Adams County are overflowing with incredible growers. And David already had operated a fruitstand, one he started with his brother when he was nine.

Today, The Lion Potter sources its goods from 30 local farmers. Fresh berries, tomatoes, peaches, plums, and apples flow through their stand from May through the holidays. They also sell their own jams and jellies, along with local honey, eggs, raw goat milk, handmade soaps, and 19 varieties of cave-aged Amish cheeses coming from the family whose mother made David’s signature straw hat.

Food isn’t an add-on here. It’s part of the art.

“We realized art people will stop for pottery, and food people will stop for produce,” David says. “Then they discover both.”

David often hands a visitor a piece of fruit and says, “I dare you to bite this.” The response is almost always the same — laughter, joy, even some tears. “They haven’t tasted fruit like that since they were children,” he says. “It’s the flavor that takes them back.”

Playful Signs, NPR Humor, and a Peaceful Vibe

If you’ve ever smiled at a roadside sign that feels a bit like an NPR joke, you’ve likely passed The Lion Potter.

“My humor is shaped by 50 years of NPR,” David laughs. The banter prepares customers for what they’ll find: creativity with a wink.

They’ve used signs, bicycles, and word-of-mouth to guide travelers in. “Most people driving this road get the humor. They’re our people.”

But once visitors arrive, something deeper opens up.

“God placed us here for a reason,” he says. “We try to encourage people to live, to be kind, to enjoy what’s around them.”

Life Made, Not Just Lived

The Young family is living the life they want to share with others: creative, connected, rooted, and free. The artistry is beautiful. The fruit is unforgettable. But the feeling, that gentle, grounded sense of peace, is what people carry home.

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