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 glassworkers.

In 1968, Pilgrim became the world’s largest maker of cranberry glass and later produced beautiful cameo glass. The company operated for over 50 years before closing in 2002 when Knobler could not find a buyer.