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Although glass was made here much earlier, West Virginia became an important glass manufacturing state at the end of the 1800s. In certain communities, glassmaking was far more important than any other industry. Our state's first glass plant was built at Wellsburg in 1813. Numerous towns along the Ohio River produced glass tableware; glass bottles and window glass plants shaped the landscapes of Clarksburg, Morgantown, Charleston, and South Charleston. Most of the old factories are gone now, with a few exceptions.
Commercial glassmaking first developed in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle because of good sand, cheap natural gas, and better railroads. Towns worked to attract factories, and skilled glass workers came for jobs from nearby states like Pennsylva...
By the mid-1800s, glassmaking had split into different types: tableware, flat glass primarily for windows, and bottles. Each type used its own tools, methods, and workers. Different unions represented each group: tableware makers joined the Americ...
The glass tableware industry grew as hotels and restaurants needed more dishes and glasses. New machines, like presses and molds, made it easier to produce table glasses, bowls, and cups without requiring highly skilled workers. Major companies su...
German glassworkers founded the Seneca Glass Company in 1891 in Ohio. In 1896, it moved to Morgantown, becoming the first of over 20 glass factories in that area. Seneca was known for its high-quality, hand-blown lead glass and use of many decorat...
The Fostoria Glass Company started in Ohio in 1887 but moved to Moundsville (Marshall County) four years later due to a lack of natural gas. There, it hired skilled glassworkers and quickly became successful.Fostoria made many styles of glass, inc...
Fenton Art Glass was started in Ohio in 1905 as a company that decorated glass made by others. In 1906, it built its own factory in Williamstown (Wood County).Fenton became famous for its colorful, shiny products known as “carnival glass,” which l...
The Louie Glass Company was started in Weston by Austrian immigrant Louie Wohinc and others to make hand-blown glass items such as stemware, tumblers, and vases. The company became well-known for quality products and sold hundreds of thousands of ...
In the early 1900s, new technology changed how window glass had been made for centuries. Skilled workers—many from France and Belgium—started small, family-owned glass plants in Clarksburg and South Charleston. French and Flemish were spoken in ne...
In the early 1900s, towns such as South Charleston, Clarksburg, and Salem (Harrison County) were filled with French or Flemish speakers. They were Belgian immigrants, mainly from the Charleroi region, who came to work in the window-glass industry....
Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass of Toledo built a major glass factory in Kanawha City (Charleston) in 1916, and it opened the following year. After additions, it became the world’s largest sheet glass plant in 1923. After a 1930 merger, it became known a...
In 1941, seven Jehovah’s Witnesses were fired from the Pittsburgh Plate Glass plant in Clarksburg for refusing to join union-led flag-salute ceremonies based on religious grounds. This led to a major case that expanded religious freedom.With help ...
West Virginia played a big role in changes to bottle making, thanks to Point Pleasant native Michael Owens. In the early 1900s, he invented a machine that could make bottles automatically. He started his own company, Owens Bottle, in 1909, and lat...
The Owens-Illinois Glass Company, based in Ohio, ran three major glass factories in West Virginia: Fairmont, Huntington, the Kanawha City section of Charleston--opposite the Libbey-Owens-Ford plant--and Clarksburg. These factories all used a bottl...
The Hazel Atlas Glass Company was formed in 1902 and was the biggest glassmaker in the U.S. from the 1930s to the 1950s. It was known for making colorful "Depression Glass" and glass items given away with food products.In West Virginia, Hazel Atla...
In the early 1900s, the West Virginia glass industry attracted skilled workers, including many recent European immigrants. By the 1930s, most glass jobs had been unionized. Glassworkers played an important role in our state's labor movement and po...
West Virginia has also been home to many specialty glass manufacturers. The best known is Blenko Glass.William John Blenko, born in England, opened his first glass factory in Milton (Cabell County) in 1921 to make stained glass. After several fail...
Vitrolite was a type of colored glass made in Vienna starting in 1908. It became popular for building use, especially for storefronts and interior panels. The Vitrolite Company was bought by Libbey-Owens-Ford in 1935 and continued production until...
Alfred Knobler founded the Pilgrim Glass Corporation in 1949 in Huntington before moving it to Ceredo (Wayne County). The company began by making colorful hand-blown crackle glass and later added glass animal figures created by skilled Italian gla...
The Paul Wissmach Glass Company in Paden City is one of the oldest and few remaining commercial glassmakers in West Virginia. It produces over 13,000 square feet of colorful art glass daily in more than 3,000 shades. Its glass has been used around...
West Virginia is a major center for glass marble making, with most North American factories located in our state. While a few marbles are made for play, most now have industrial uses—in items like aerosol cans, water filters, and coal scrubbers. F...
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