John Pott or Putt was born in Berks County, Pa., in 1759, the son of Wilhelm Pott, who had emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1734. Around 1799, Pott acquired the second or "New" District Forge in District Township, Berks County, between Reading and Allentown. The District Forge had been built by Jacob Lesher in 1795.
Pott purchased several tracts of land near the headwaters of the Schuylkill River around 1806. The tract included the small Greenwood Furnace, built by Lewis Reese and Isaac Thomas in 1796. Pott replaced it with a new Greenwood Forge and Furnace (also called the Greenwood Iron Works) in 1807. Apparently the works were forced to close during the War of 1812 and again in the Panic of 1819. Pott laid out the town of Pottsville on his land around 1816-1817. It later became the seat of Schuylkill County and the center of the Schuylkill anthracite coal trade.
From the description of Business records, 1799-1828. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122393420
