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, including colorful dinner sets, crystal, and milk glass. By the 1950s, it was the top brand for fancy handmade tableware, employing up to 950 people and producing millions of pieces each year.

As plastic and foreign glass became more popular, sales dropped. Fostoria was sold in 1983, and the Moundsville plant closed in 1986.

Fostoria’s most famous design, the “American” pattern, was created in 1915 and is still machine-made today under the name American Whitehall.