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{{Short description|American glass manufacturing company}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = Hartford City Glass Company
| name = Hartford City Glass Company
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|publisher=The American Oil & Gas Historical Society
|publisher=The American Oil & Gas Historical Society
|url=http://aoghs.org/technology/indiana-natural-gas-boom/
|url=http://aoghs.org/technology/indiana-natural-gas-boom/
|accessdate=2013-02-17}}</ref><ref name="Glass10">{{harvnb|Glass|Kohrman|2005|p=10}}</ref> Manufacturers were lured to the region to take advantage of the low cost fuel. Blackford County, a small rural county located close to Eaton, had only 181 people working in manufacturing in 1880. By 1901, the county had over 1,100 people employed at manufacturing plants in small communities such as [[Hartford City, Indiana]].<ref name="INinspect02">{{harvnb|Indiana Department of Inspection|1902|p=57}}</ref> Between 1880 and 1900, populations doubled in area counties such as [[Blackford County, Indiana|Blackford]], [[Delaware County, Indiana|Delaware]], and [[Grant County, Indiana|Grant]].<ref name="forstall">{{harvnb|Forstall|1996|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z12v1lrkv2IC&lpg=PA50&pg=PA51#v=twopage&q&f=false 49–53]}}</ref> The region became Indiana’s major manufacturing center.<ref name="Glass7">{{harvnb|Glass|Kohrman|2005|p=7}}</ref>
|access-date=2013-02-17}}</ref><ref name="Glass10">{{harvnb|Glass|Kohrman|2005|p=10}}</ref> Manufacturers were lured to the region to take advantage of the low cost fuel. Blackford County, a small rural county located close to Eaton, had only 181 people working in manufacturing in 1880. By 1901, the county had over 1,100 people employed at manufacturing plants in small communities such as [[Hartford City, Indiana]].<ref name="INinspect02">{{harvnb|Indiana Department of Inspection|1902|p=57}}</ref> Between 1880 and 1900, populations doubled in area counties such as [[Blackford County, Indiana|Blackford]], [[Delaware County, Indiana|Delaware]], and [[Grant County, Indiana|Grant]].<ref name="forstall">{{harvnb|Forstall|1996|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z12v1lrkv2IC&pg=PA51 49–53]}}</ref> The region became Indiana’s major manufacturing center.<ref name="Glass7">{{harvnb|Glass|Kohrman|2005|p=7}}</ref>


===Hartford City===
===Hartford City===
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Hartford City's success in attracting manufacturers can be indirectly measured by its population growth. The city's population was 2,287 in 1890, but grew to 5,912 by 1900.<ref name="AHist16">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|p=16}}</ref> In 1890, the city convinced glassmaker Richard Heagany to relocate from Kokomo, Indiana. An additional glass maker, [[Sneath Glass Company]], relocated from Tiffin, Ohio, in 1894. During 1901, Indiana state inspectors visited 15 manufacturing facilities in Hartford City. These manufacturers employed 1,077 people, and the American Window Glass plant (the former Hartford City Glass Company) plus the Sneath Glass works accounted for over half of the manufacturing employees. By 1902, Hartford City was the home of [[List of Blackford County Glass Factories|8 glass factories]].{{#tag:ref|A 1902 Hartford City directory lists 7 glass factories in Hartford City: American Window Glass Company factory number 3, American Window Glass Company factory number 32, Blackford Glass Company, Clelland Glass Company, Diamond Flint Glass Company, Johnston Glass Company, Hartford City Flint Glass Company, and Sneath Glass Company.<ref name="Dale120121">{{harvnb|Dale|1902|pp=121–122}}</ref> An eighth plant, the Sans-Pariel Bottle Company, is listed in a 1901 state inspection report.<ref name="INinspect02" /> The count of eight factories excludes predecessor companies. The Hurrle Glass Company factory, also listed in the 1901 report, became the Clelland Glass Company.<ref name="HCT19010707-1">{{cite news
Hartford City's success in attracting manufacturers can be indirectly measured by its population growth. The city's population was 2,287 in 1890, but grew to 5,912 by 1900.<ref name="AHist16">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|p=16}}</ref> In 1890, the city convinced glassmaker Richard Heagany to relocate from Kokomo, Indiana. An additional glass maker, [[Sneath Glass Company]], relocated from Tiffin, Ohio, in 1894. During 1901, Indiana state inspectors visited 15 manufacturing facilities in Hartford City. These manufacturers employed 1,077 people, and the American Window Glass plant (the former Hartford City Glass Company) plus the Sneath Glass works accounted for over half of the manufacturing employees. By 1902, Hartford City was the home of [[List of Blackford County Glass Factories|8 glass factories]].{{#tag:ref|A 1902 Hartford City directory lists 7 glass factories in Hartford City: American Window Glass Company factory number 3, American Window Glass Company factory number 32, Blackford Glass Company, Clelland Glass Company, Diamond Flint Glass Company, Johnston Glass Company, Hartford City Flint Glass Company, and Sneath Glass Company.<ref name="Dale120121">{{harvnb|Dale|1902|pp=121–122}}</ref> An eighth plant, the Sans-Pariel Bottle Company, is listed in a 1901 state inspection report.<ref name="INinspect02" /> The count of eight factories excludes predecessor companies. The Hurrle Glass Company factory, also listed in the 1901 report, became the Clelland Glass Company.<ref name="HCT19010707-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= Company is Organized To Operate the Late Hurrle Glass Factory
|title= Company is Organized To Operate the Late Hurrle Glass Factory
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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|date = 1895-01-04
|date = 1895-01-04
|quote= <!--The Clelland Glass company expects to start operations September 15. It will employ L. A. 300 workmen-->
|quote= <!--The Clelland Glass company expects to start operations September 15. It will employ L. A. 300 workmen-->
}}</ref> Hartford City Glass Company and Jones Glass Company, both listed in a state inspection report for 1898,<ref name="INinspect98-44">{{harvnb|Indiana Department of Factory Inspection|1899|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7fx6nN0QYXgC&pg=RA8-PA44&dq=Hartford+Jones+Sneath+Hurrle&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GZo2UZChNom00AG-vYDICw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Hartford%20Jones%20Sneath%20Hurrle&f=false 44]}}</ref> became American Window Glass Company factories 3 and 32, respectively.<ref name="HCT18990927-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> Hartford City Glass Company and Jones Glass Company, both listed in a state inspection report for 1898,<ref name="INinspect98-44">{{harvnb|Indiana Department of Factory Inspection|1899|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7fx6nN0QYXgC&pg=RA8-PA44 44]}}</ref> became American Window Glass Company factories 3 and 32, respectively.<ref name="HCT18990927-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Injunction Suits
|title=Injunction Suits
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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In 1878, glassmaker Richard Heagany organized a window glass plant in New York and was the factory's superintendent. That plant became the largest window glass plant in the state.<ref name="KDT19250910-1" /> In 1886, he moved to [[Kokomo, Indiana]], and opened the first window glass plant in the region to use natural gas as a fuel source. Heagany's Kokomo plant lasted three years before it was destroyed by fire. Instead of rebuilding in Kokomo, he moved to Hartford City and organized the Hartford City Glass Company. The company was organized in 1890 with the financial assistance of several capitalists. Production began in early 1891 after the plant was constructed. Heagany was the plant manager until his retirement in 1899.<ref name="KDT19250910-1">{{cite news
In 1878, glassmaker Richard Heagany organized a window glass plant in New York and was the factory's superintendent. That plant became the largest window glass plant in the state.<ref name="KDT19250910-1" /> In 1886, he moved to [[Kokomo, Indiana]], and opened the first window glass plant in the region to use natural gas as a fuel source. Heagany's Kokomo plant lasted three years before it was destroyed by fire. Instead of rebuilding in Kokomo, he moved to Hartford City and organized the Hartford City Glass Company. The company was organized in 1890 with the financial assistance of several capitalists. Production began in early 1891 after the plant was constructed. Heagany was the plant manager until his retirement in 1899.<ref name="KDT19250910-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Factory Owner of Natural Gas Days Here Dies
|title=Factory Owner of Natural Gas Days Here Dies
|newspaper=Kokomo Daily Tribune
|newspaper=Kokomo Daily Tribune
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===Capitalists===
===Capitalists===
One of the principal stockholders of the new company was multi-millionaire A. M. Barber.<ref name="BarberGPWAug1896">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World)|1896|p=10}}</ref> Barber was involved in grain and banking in [[Akron, Ohio]].<ref name="Graham684">{{harvnb|Graham|Perrin (editor)|1881|p=684}}</ref> Another important investor from Akron was Colonel Arthur Latham Conger, who was the company's first president.<ref name="CongerObitPODR">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)|1899|p=13}}</ref> Conger was a Civil War veteran who invested in companies in Ohio and Indiana (including in Kokomo).<ref name="Lane470">{{harvnb|Lane|1892|p=470}}</ref> He was also elected president of the Hartford City Land Company in 1893.<ref name="PN18930908-7">{{cite news
One of the principal stockholders of the new company was multi-millionaire A. M. Barber.<ref name="BarberGPWAug1896">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World)|1896b|p=10}}</ref> Barber was involved in grain and banking in [[Akron, Ohio]].<ref name="Graham684">{{harvnb|Graham|Perrin|1881|p=684}}</ref> Another important investor from Akron was Colonel Arthur Latham Conger, who was the company's first president.<ref name="CongerObitPODR">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)|1899|p=13}}</ref> Conger was a Civil War veteran who invested in companies in Ohio and Indiana (including in Kokomo).<ref name="Lane470">{{harvnb|Lane|1892|p=470}}</ref> He was also elected president of the Hartford City Land Company in 1893.<ref name="PN18930908-7">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Indiana State News
|title=Indiana State News
|newspaper=Parker News
|newspaper=Parker News
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|quote= <!--Col. A. L. Conger continues president. Col. Conger has also been elected president of the Hartford City Land Company.-->
|quote= <!--Col. A. L. Conger continues president. Col. Conger has also been elected president of the Hartford City Land Company.-->
}}</ref> Hartford City's Sydney W. Cantwell was secretary of the Hartford City Glass Company during its early years. He was also president of the state organization of window glass manufacturers.<ref name="GDN18910901-3">{{cite news
}}</ref> Hartford City's Sydney W. Cantwell was secretary of the Hartford City Glass Company during its early years. He was also president of the state organization of window glass manufacturers.<ref name="GDN18910901-3">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Within Our Borders - Will Make No Glass
|title=Within Our Borders - Will Make No Glass
|newspaper=Goshen Daily News
|newspaper=Goshen Daily News
|page = 3
|page = 3
|date = 1891-09-01
|date = 1891-09-01
|quote=
}}</ref> Cantwell was an attorney involved with the Blackford County Bank, Akron Oil Company, and Hartford City Land Company.<ref name="HCIllus30">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)|1896|p=30}}</ref> Another Hartford City investor, Henry "H. B." Smith, was president of Hartford City's Citizen's Bank.<ref name="HCIllus15">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)|1896|p=15}}</ref>
}}</ref> Cantwell was an attorney involved with the Blackford County Bank, Akron Oil Company, and Hartford City Land Company.<ref name="HCIllus30">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)|1896|p=30}}</ref> Another Hartford City investor, Henry "H. B." Smith, was president of Hartford City's Citizen's Bank.<ref name="HCIllus15">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)|1896|p=15}}</ref>


===Management change===
===Management change===
Top management changed during 1895 after the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Colonel A. L. Conger, who had been president since the company's beginning, lost his position to another colonel from Akron, George T. Perkins. Conger had fallen into disfavor with many of the local citizens.<ref name="HCT18941212-1">{{cite news
Top management changed during 1895 after the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Colonel A. L. Conger, who had been president since the company's beginning, lost his position to another colonel from Akron, George T. Perkins. Conger had fallen into disfavor with many of the local citizens.<ref name="HCT18941212-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= Dont Bet on the Colonel.
|title= Dont Bet on the Colonel.
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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place for having been taken in.-->
place for having been taken in.-->
}}</ref> He immediately expressed his unhappiness with the election by selling his company stock and leaving town. Conger's stock was purchased by Kokomo banker John A. Jay.<ref name="FWG18950905-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> He immediately expressed his unhappiness with the election by selling his company stock and leaving town. Conger's stock was purchased by Kokomo banker John A. Jay.<ref name="FWG18950905-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Col. Conger Beaten
|title=Col. Conger Beaten
|newspaper=Fort Wayne Weekly Gazette
|newspaper=Fort Wayne Weekly Gazette
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}}</ref> Officers of Hartford City Glass in 1896 were George T. Perkins, President; John A. Jay, Vice President; H.B. Smith, Treasurer; Richard Heagany, General Manager; and John Rodgers Johnston, Secretary.<ref name="HCI18">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)|1896|p=18}}</ref>
}}</ref> Officers of Hartford City Glass in 1896 were George T. Perkins, President; John A. Jay, Vice President; H.B. Smith, Treasurer; Richard Heagany, General Manager; and John Rodgers Johnston, Secretary.<ref name="HCI18">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)|1896|p=18}}</ref>


Colonel George Tod Perkins was a [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veteran and president of the [[Goodrich Corporation|B. F. Goodrich Company]].<!--Source spells middle name Tod, not Todd.--> He was also involved in banking and had been president of the Bank of Akron.<ref name="Lane157">{{harvnb|Lane|1892|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nyAWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA157&dq=Col.+George+Tod+Perkins&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NtvwUOalPKTO0QHT0IA4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Col.%20George%20Tod%20Perkins&f=false 157]}}</ref> John R. Johnston began working at the Hartford City plant in 1890 as a bookkeeper. He was elected secretary after 4 years. Johnston lived in Hartford City and helped Heagany run the business. Heagany submitted his resignation at the August 1899 board meeting, retiring after 42 years in the glass business. Johnston became plant manager at that time.<ref name="HCT18990830-1">{{cite news
Colonel George Tod Perkins was a [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veteran and president of the [[Goodrich Corporation|B. F. Goodrich Company]].<!--Source spells middle name Tod, not Todd.--> He was also involved in banking and had been president of the Bank of Akron.<ref name="Lane157">{{harvnb|Lane|1892|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nyAWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA157 157]}}</ref> John R. Johnston began working at the Hartford City plant in 1890 as a bookkeeper. He was elected secretary after 4 years. Johnston lived in Hartford City and helped Heagany run the business. Heagany submitted his resignation at the August 1899 board meeting, retiring after 42 years in the glass business. Johnston became plant manager at that time.<ref name="HCT18990830-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= Annual Meetings. Manufacturers Directors of the Hartford City Glass Company and Hartford City Land Company Meet.
|title= Annual Meetings. Manufacturers Directors of the Hartford City Glass Company and Hartford City Land Company Meet.
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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During its peak years, Hartford City Glass Company employed 500 to 600 people. In 1894, it employed 100 glass blowers as part of a total workforce of 540 people. The wages for that workforce were said to be equivalent to "about
During its peak years, Hartford City Glass Company employed 500 to 600 people. In 1894, it employed 100 glass blowers as part of a total workforce of 540 people. The wages for that workforce were said to be equivalent to "about
1500 men in any other industry."<ref name="HCT18941205-1">{{cite news
1500 men in any other industry."<ref name="HCT18941205-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= A Big Industry.
|title= A Big Industry.
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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During the late 19th century, glass blowers were difficult to find. [[Belgium]] was the largest exporter of window glass to the United States, and plant manager Heagany previously used the skills of glass blowers from that country in his Kokomo glass works.<ref name="KDT19250910-1" /> In Hartford City, Heagany again relied upon Belgian workers for the skilled positions in his glass works.<ref name="Strangers11">{{harvnb|Clamme|Castelo|2011|p=11}}</ref>
During the late 19th century, glass blowers were difficult to find. [[Belgium]] was the largest exporter of window glass to the United States, and plant manager Heagany previously used the skills of glass blowers from that country in his Kokomo glass works.<ref name="KDT19250910-1" /> In Hartford City, Heagany again relied upon Belgian workers for the skilled positions in his glass works.<ref name="Strangers11">{{harvnb|Clamme|Castelo|2011|p=11}}</ref>


The city's influx of French-speaking Belgians affected the town. The south side (south of Lick Creek) became known as Belgium Town.<ref name="AHist4849">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|pp=48–49}}</ref> Most Belgians were Catholic, and they built the city's Catholic church near their homes on the city's south side.<ref name="AHist68">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|p=68}}</ref> The church's Father Dhe was a native of France and was also involved with glass making.<ref name="Strangers23">{{harvnb|Clamme|Castelo|2011|p=23}}</ref> During the early 1900s, the local ''Blackford County Gazette'' claimed to be the "only newspaper in State that prints French and circulates among the window glass and iron workers, the highest paid skilled mechanics in the world."<ref name="NewsDir1903">{{harvnb|Blackford County Gazette (advertisement)|1903|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FINHAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA269&lpg=RA1-PA269&dq=%22Blackford+County+Gazette%22&source=bl&ots=aquN1AU-Vi&sig=8uaqOFEijlWiZtSeCSxDc9OR3NU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6TXiULWcAuTC0QHBiIGoCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Blackford%20County%20Gazette%22&f=false 269]}}</ref>
The city's influx of French-speaking Belgians affected the town. The south side (south of Lick Creek) became known as Belgium Town.<ref name="AHist4849">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|pp=48–49}}</ref> Most Belgians were Catholic, and they built the city's Catholic church near their homes on the city's south side.<ref name="AHist68">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|p=68}}</ref> The church's Father Dhe was a native of France and was also involved with glass making.<ref name="Strangers23">{{harvnb|Clamme|Castelo|2011|p=23}}</ref> During the early 1900s, the local ''Blackford County Gazette'' claimed to be the "only newspaper in State that prints French and circulates among the window glass and iron workers, the highest paid skilled mechanics in the world."<ref name="NewsDir1903">{{harvnb|Blackford County Gazette (advertisement)|1903|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FINHAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA269 269]}}</ref>


The Belgian workforce also affected the city's north side. Hartford City's [[First Presbyterian Church (Hartford City, Indiana)|Presbyterian Church]], which is now part of the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Blackford County, Indiana|National Register of Historical Places]], was built one block north of the courthouse in 1894—and features large stained glass windows imported from Belgium.<ref name="AHist67">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|p=67}}</ref> For over 50 years, the bigger of two huge windows was considered the largest single-frame window in the state of Indiana.<ref name="Amstutz7">{{harvnb|Amstutz|Historical Committee|1943|p=7}}</ref> These stained-glass windows, plus at least four smaller ones, were installed by the local (and mostly Catholic) Belgian glass workers.<ref name="AHist67" />
The Belgian workforce also affected the city's north side. Hartford City's [[First Presbyterian Church (Hartford City, Indiana)|Presbyterian Church]], which is now part of the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Blackford County, Indiana|National Register of Historical Places]], was built one block north of the courthouse in 1894—and features large stained glass windows imported from Belgium.<ref name="AHist67">{{harvnb|Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)|1986|p=67}}</ref> For over 50 years, the bigger of two huge windows was considered the largest single-frame window in the state of Indiana.<ref name="Amstutz7">{{harvnb|Amstutz|Historical Committee|1943|p=7}}</ref> These stained-glass windows, plus at least four smaller ones, were installed by the local (and mostly Catholic) Belgian glass workers.<ref name="AHist67" />
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==Infrastructure==
==Infrastructure==
[[File:Hartford City Glass Company plant.jpg|thumb|right|350px|alt=old drawing of a glass factory|Drawing of the Hartford City Glass Company plant in 1896]]Construction of Hartford City's new glass works was completed in early January 1891, and production started shortly thereafter.<ref name="RT18910102-1">{{cite news
[[File:Hartford City Glass Company plant.jpg|thumb|right|350px|alt=old drawing of a glass factory|Drawing of the Hartford City Glass Company plant in 1896]]Construction of Hartford City's new glass works was completed in early January 1891, and production started shortly thereafter.<ref name="RT18910102-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=(Untitled column on far left near bottom of page)
|title=(Untitled column on far left near bottom of page)
|newspaper=Rochester Tribune
|newspaper=Rochester Tribune
Line 199: Line 179:


In the United States, two systems were used during the 1890s to create molten glass. The older system used a pot furnace, where ceramic pots were heated inside the furnace to melt the batch of ingredients needed to make the molten glass. The newer system used a large brick tank that could be operated continuously or by the batch.<ref name="DOC1917-41">{{harvnb|United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce)|1917|p=41}}</ref> The Hartford City plant used the tank system, and it was originally the "largest tank window glass factory in the world".<ref name="ODH18910427-2">{{cite news
In the United States, two systems were used during the 1890s to create molten glass. The older system used a pot furnace, where ceramic pots were heated inside the furnace to melt the batch of ingredients needed to make the molten glass. The newer system used a large brick tank that could be operated continuously or by the batch.<ref name="DOC1917-41">{{harvnb|United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce)|1917|p=41}}</ref> The Hartford City plant used the tank system, and it was originally the "largest tank window glass factory in the world".<ref name="ODH18910427-2">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= In the Gas Fields..
|title= In the Gas Fields..
|newspaper= Oskaloosa Daily Herald
|newspaper= Oskaloosa Daily Herald
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|quote= <!-- Gas is peculiarly adapted for glass making, and Elwood has the largest plate glass factory in the world, while Hartford City has the largest "tank" window glass factory in the world -->
|quote= <!-- Gas is peculiarly adapted for glass making, and Elwood has the largest plate glass factory in the world, while Hartford City has the largest "tank" window glass factory in the world -->
}}</ref> The tank had a capacity equivalent to 30 pots,<ref name="HCT18930302-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> The tank had a capacity equivalent to 30 pots,<ref name="HCT18930302-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= (untitled third column from left)
|title= (untitled third column from left)
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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}}</ref> giving the Hartford City plant more than double the capacity of some of the window glass plants built a few years earlier in Ohio.{{#tag:ref|The first window glass plant built in Fostoria, Ohio, (Mambourg Glass Company built in 1887) had a capacity of 13 pots.<ref name="Paquette176">{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=176}}</ref> In Toledo, Ohio, the Toledo Window Glass Company plant was built with a 10 pot capacity in 1888.<ref name="Paquette333-334">{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=333–334}}</ref>|group=Note}}
}}</ref> giving the Hartford City plant more than double the capacity of some of the window glass plants built a few years earlier in Ohio.{{#tag:ref|The first window glass plant built in Fostoria, Ohio, (Mambourg Glass Company built in 1887) had a capacity of 13 pots.<ref name="Paquette176">{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=176}}</ref> In Toledo, Ohio, the Toledo Window Glass Company plant was built with a 10 pot capacity in 1888.<ref name="Paquette333-334">{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=333–334}}</ref>|group=Note}}


With its size, newest technology, and newly built facilities, the plant was "said to be the largest and best arranged window glass works in the world."<ref name="RT18910102-1"/> During its existence, the plant was always one of the largest window glass works in the United States.{{#tag:ref|When constructed, the Hartford City Glass Company plant was considered the largest window glass works in the world.<ref name="RT18910102-1" /> For many years, it was one of the three largest window glass plants in the United States—competing with two plants in Pennsylvania. In congressional hearings, the plant was listed as third-largest in the United States (behind the two Pennsylvania plants) in 1898.<ref name="House1913410-411">{{harvnb|United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means|1913|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=61crAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA411&dq=Window-glass+factories+in+operation+in+1898+Hartford+City&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7UPHUeiDPMi_0QG3kIGABQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Window-glass%20factories%20in%20operation%20in%201898%20Hartford%20City&f=false 410–411]}}</ref> The same hearings show the Hartford City plant as largest in 1913.<ref name="House1913412-413">{{harvnb|United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means|1913|pp=412–413}}</ref>|group=Note}}
With its size, newest technology, and newly built facilities, the plant was "said to be the largest and best arranged window glass works in the world."<ref name="RT18910102-1"/> During its existence, the plant was always one of the largest window glass works in the United States.{{#tag:ref|When constructed, the Hartford City Glass Company plant was considered the largest window glass works in the world.<ref name="RT18910102-1" /> For many years, it was one of the three largest window glass plants in the United States—competing with two plants in Pennsylvania. In congressional hearings, the plant was listed as third-largest in the United States (behind the two Pennsylvania plants) in 1898.<ref name="House1913410-411">{{harvnb|United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means|1913|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=61crAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA411 410–411]}}</ref> The same hearings show the Hartford City plant as largest in 1913.<ref name="House1913412-413">{{harvnb|United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means|1913|pp=412–413}}</ref>|group=Note}}


Initial production at the Hartford City plant continued until June, when the works was shut down to decrease inventories.<ref name="GDN18910602-5">{{cite news
Initial production at the Hartford City plant continued until June, when the works was shut down to decrease inventories.<ref name="GDN18910602-5">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=State News - Glass Works Shut Down
|title=State News - Glass Works Shut Down
|newspaper=Goshen Daily News
|newspaper=Goshen Daily News
|page = 5
|page = 5
|date = 1891-06-03
|date = 1891-06-03
|quote=
}}</ref> Summer shutdowns were normal in the glass industry at that time. The heat from the furnaces combined with summer weather made extremely uncomfortable working conditions, justifying the summer months as the best time to shut down for maintenance (or for manipulation of inventories). In the case of the first year's shutdown for the Hartford City Glass works, production was restarted in October.<ref name="LJ18911007-3">{{cite news
}}</ref> Summer shutdowns were normal in the glass industry at that time. The heat from the furnaces combined with summer weather made extremely uncomfortable working conditions, justifying the summer months as the best time to shut down for maintenance (or for manipulation of inventories). In the case of the first year's shutdown for the Hartford City Glass works, production was restarted in October.<ref name="LJ18911007-3">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Over the State
|title=Over the State
|newspaper=Logansport Journal
|newspaper=Logansport Journal
Line 238: Line 209:
===Expansion===
===Expansion===
In 1892, management decided to expand the factory's capacity by adding a second tank. The new tank would add approximately 50 pots of capacity.<ref name="SD18920407-6">{{cite news
In 1892, management decided to expand the factory's capacity by adding a second tank. The new tank would add approximately 50 pots of capacity.<ref name="SD18920407-6">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Indiana State News
|title=Indiana State News
|newspaper=Spencer Democrat
|newspaper=Spencer Democrat
|page = 6
|page = 6
|date = 1892-04-07
|date = 1892-04-07
|quote=
}}</ref> In early April, construction of the facilities for the new tank began. "Modern and improved methods in all departments of the works" were used, improving the efficiency in manufacturing and shipping.<ref name="HCT18920407-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> In early April, construction of the facilities for the new tank began. "Modern and improved methods in all departments of the works" were used, improving the efficiency in manufacturing and shipping.<ref name="HCT18920407-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= WINDOW GLASS NOTES.
|title= WINDOW GLASS NOTES.
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|page = 1
|page = 1
|date = 1892-04-07
|date = 1892-04-07
|quote=
}}</ref> The new buildings were made fire-resistant by using stone, brick, and iron for construction materials. They were also well ventilated, which made the work environment more comfortable for the glass workers.<ref name="HCT18920407-1" /> The expansion increased total capacity to about 90 pots.{{#tag:ref|Capacity "expansion" was difficult to measure precisely. The pot-equivalency of a tank varied, depending on the tank size and way the tank was equipped.<ref name="Census12">{{harvnb|Merriam|Hunt|King, William Alexander; Powers, Le Grand; North, Simon Newton Dexter|United States Census Office|1901|p=390}}</ref>|group=Note}} This made the works the second-largest glass factory in the United States. Expenditures necessary to finance the expansion were $100,000 (over $2.5 million in 2012 dollars).<ref name="CDE18920331-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> The new buildings were made fire-resistant by using stone, brick, and iron for construction materials. They were also well ventilated, which made the work environment more comfortable for the glass workers.<ref name="HCT18920407-1" /> The expansion increased total capacity to about 90 pots.{{#tag:ref|Capacity "expansion" was difficult to measure precisely. The pot-equivalency of a tank varied, depending on the tank size and way the tank was equipped.<ref name="Census12">{{harvnb|Merriam|Hunt|King, William Alexander; Powers, Le Grand; North, Simon Newton Dexter|United States Census Office|1901|p=390}}</ref>|group=Note}} This made the works the second-largest glass factory in the United States. Expenditures necessary to finance the expansion were $100,000 (over $2.5 million in 2012 dollars).<ref name="CDE18920331-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Glass Works for Hartford City
|title=Glass Works for Hartford City
|newspaper=Connersville Daily Examiner
|newspaper=Connersville Daily Examiner
|page = 1
|page = 1
|date = 1892-03-31
|date = 1892-03-31
|quote=
}}</ref><!--Current dollars estimated using Wikipedia's inflation template {{Inflation|US|100,000|1892|2012}} -->
}}</ref><!--Current dollars estimated using Wikipedia's inflation template {{Inflation|US|100,000|1892|2012}} -->


During 1893, the company considered adding a third tank, which would add another 60 pots of capacity. The expansion cost estimate was $150,000 (over $3.8 million in 2012 dollars),<!--Current dollars estimated using Wikipedia's inflation template {{Inflation|US|150,000|1893|2012}} --> and was said to "give employment to 350 men."<ref name="SMCT18930324-2">{{cite news
During 1893, the company considered adding a third tank, which would add another 60 pots of capacity. The expansion cost estimate was $150,000 (over $3.8 million in 2012 dollars),<!--Current dollars estimated using Wikipedia's inflation template {{Inflation|US|150,000|1893|2012}} --> and was said to "give employment to 350 men."<ref name="SMCT18930324-2">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=State News Summary
|title=State News Summary
|newspaper=Shoals Martin County Tribune
|newspaper=Shoals Martin County Tribune
|page = 2
|page = 2
|date = 1893-03-24
|date = 1893-03-24
|quote=
}}</ref> Two major concerns voiced by management to community leaders were adequate fire protection and housing for the workers.<ref name="HCT18930420-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> Two major concerns voiced by management to community leaders were adequate fire protection and housing for the workers.<ref name="HCT18930420-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= Meeting of the Glass Company.
|title= Meeting of the Glass Company.
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
Line 280: Line 237:
|quote=<!-- The company asks that the people of Hartford City build a hundred houses for rent to the glass factory employees.-->
|quote=<!-- The company asks that the people of Hartford City build a hundred houses for rent to the glass factory employees.-->
}}</ref> Community leaders did not respond soon enough, and the expansion was postponed.<ref name="HCT18930601-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> Community leaders did not respond soon enough, and the expansion was postponed.<ref name="HCT18930601-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=(untitled third column from right)
|title=(untitled third column from right)
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
Line 288: Line 243:
|quote= <!--What turn the glass company has taken is uncertain, but it is pretty well settled that it will do nothing for Hartford City this year. The new tank will not be built, and no factories are likely to be located on the company's
|quote= <!--What turn the glass company has taken is uncertain, but it is pretty well settled that it will do nothing for Hartford City this year. The new tank will not be built, and no factories are likely to be located on the company's
land north of town. -->
land north of town. -->
}}</ref> However, it is no coincidence that Hartford City's waterworks began operations in 1894, and the plant was built on the city's south side.<ref name="ISBH1907-250">{{harvnb|Indiana State Board of Health|1907||p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-1JNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA250&dq=%22Blackford+County%22+%22Hartford+City%22+public+supply+1894&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TKy0UdCwErbe4AOGo4HgDA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Blackford%20County%22%20%22Hartford%20City%22%20public%20supply%201894&f=false 250]}}</ref> The city also acquired a chemical fire engine from the Chicago Fire Extinguisher Company, which was delivered in February 1894.<ref name="Castelo23">{{harvnb|Castelo|Clamme|Dodds, Dealie; Clamme, David; Marshall, Mary Lou|Storms|2012|p=23}}</ref>
}}</ref> However, it is no coincidence that Hartford City's waterworks began operations in 1894, and the plant was built on the city's south side.<ref name="ISBH1907-250">{{harvnb|Indiana State Board of Health|1907||p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-1JNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA250 250]}}</ref> The city also acquired a chemical fire engine from the Chicago Fire Extinguisher Company, which was delivered in February 1894.<ref name="Castelo23">{{harvnb|Castelo|Clamme|Dodds, Dealie; Clamme, David; Marshall, Mary Lou|Storms|2012|p=23}}</ref>


Although the third tank was not added in 1893, a new ware room was built. The room was {{Convert|60|ft|m|1}} long by {{Convert|120|ft|m|1}} wide, and could hold 20,000 boxes. The roof and walls were covered in iron.<ref name="HCT18930406-1">{{cite news
Although the third tank was not added in 1893, a new ware room was built. The room was {{Convert|60|ft|m|1}} long by {{Convert|120|ft|m|1}} wide, and could hold 20,000 boxes. The roof and walls were covered in iron.<ref name="HCT18930406-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=(untitled third column from left)
|title=(untitled third column from left)
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|page = 1
|page = 1
|date = 1893-04-06
|date = 1893-04-06
|quote=
}}</ref> By September (without the capacity expansion), the plant had a payroll of $45,000 (over $1.1 million in 2012 dollars) per month,<!--Current dollars estimated using Wikipedia's inflation template {{Inflation|US|45,000|1901|2012}} --> and employed 500 glass workers.<ref name="LR18930920-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> By September (without the capacity expansion), the plant had a payroll of $45,000 (over $1.1 million in 2012 dollars) per month,<!--Current dollars estimated using Wikipedia's inflation template {{Inflation|US|45,000|1901|2012}} --> and employed 500 glass workers.<ref name="LR18930920-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=From Hoosierdom - Glass Works to Start
|title=From Hoosierdom - Glass Works to Start
|newspaper=Logansport Reporter
|newspaper=Logansport Reporter
|page = 1
|page = 1
|date = 1893-09-20
|date = 1893-09-20
|quote=
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


Line 311: Line 260:


Plans for the addition of another tank began again in late 1896. A third tank would make the Hartford City plant the largest in the country.<ref name="CDE18961228-1">{{cite news
Plans for the addition of another tank began again in late 1896. A third tank would make the Hartford City plant the largest in the country.<ref name="CDE18961228-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Indiana News - Enlarging a Glass Plant
|title=Indiana News - Enlarging a Glass Plant
|newspaper=Connersville Daily Examiner
|newspaper=Connersville Daily Examiner
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==Acquisition==
==Acquisition==
[[File:American Window Glass Company advertisement from 1913.JPG|thumb|right|300px|alt=old advertisement showing American Indian|Advertisement for American Window Glass in 1913]]In 1898, a group of men led by James A. Chambers organized a glass [[Trust (monopoly)|trust]] called American Window Glass Company. The company was formed from the American Glass Company, but did not incorporate until 1899. The trust planned to acquire 70 glass plants, "some of which it will close to bring the production down to the demand."<ref name="HCT18990517-1">{{cite news
[[File:American Window Glass Company advertisement from 1913.JPG|thumb|right|300px|alt=old advertisement showing American Indian|Advertisement for American Window Glass in 1913]]In 1898, a group of men led by James A. Chambers organized a glass [[Trust (monopoly)|trust]] called American Window Glass Company. The company was formed from the American Glass Company, but did not incorporate until 1899. The trust planned to acquire 70 glass plants, "some of which it will close to bring the production down to the demand."<ref name="HCT18990517-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= The Big Trust. The New Window Glass Combine Certain.
|title= The Big Trust. The New Window Glass Combine Certain.
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
Line 330: Line 275:
|quote= <!--It is announced that the $30,000,000 window glass trust is a certainty. The work of organization is now in progress and the new concern will be ready to take the place of the window glass combine known as the American Glass company on the last day of this month, when the fires go out of all the factories for this season. It is said that the trust will control 93 percent of the productive capacity of the country. The trust will be called the American Window Glass company.-->
|quote= <!--It is announced that the $30,000,000 window glass trust is a certainty. The work of organization is now in progress and the new concern will be ready to take the place of the window glass combine known as the American Glass company on the last day of this month, when the fires go out of all the factories for this season. It is said that the trust will control 93 percent of the productive capacity of the country. The trust will be called the American Window Glass company.-->
}}</ref> The prices offered for the glass plants were very generous. Owners of the glass plants could sell their plant for either cash or a combination of cash and stock in the new company. Many owners chose to receive stock.<ref name="HCT18990712-1">{{cite news
}}</ref> The prices offered for the glass plants were very generous. Owners of the glass plants could sell their plant for either cash or a combination of cash and stock in the new company. Many owners chose to receive stock.<ref name="HCT18990712-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= The Glass Trust. Manufacturers Believe It Is a Sure Go
|title= The Glass Trust. Manufacturers Believe It Is a Sure Go
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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}}</ref>
}}</ref>


The trust was incorporated effective August 2, 1899. James A. Chambers continued as president, and Hartford City’s H.B. Smith was one of the directors of the newly incorporated company.<ref name="wallace-315">{{harvnb|Wallace|1901|p=315}}</ref> Initial acquisitions included over 20 major window glass plants, including Hartford City Glass Company. Most of the original acquisitions were from Indiana and Pennsylvania. Those glass plants were important enough to enable American Window Glass to control 85 percent of the window glass production in the United States.<ref name="wallace-315" />
The trust was incorporated effective August 2, 1899. James A. Chambers continued as president, and Hartford City’s H.B. Smith was one of the directors of the newly incorporated company.<ref name="wallace-315">{{harvnb|Wallace|Goodsell|1901|p=315}}</ref> Initial acquisitions included over 20 major window glass plants, including Hartford City Glass Company. Most of the original acquisitions were from Indiana and Pennsylvania. Those glass plants were important enough to enable American Window Glass to control 85 percent of the window glass production in the United States.<ref name="wallace-315" />


Many of the Indiana glass works acquired by the trust were from the East Central Indiana Gas Belt. Among those plants were the Hartford City Glass Company; and the nearby Muncie plants of Maring, Hart, and Company and [[Belmont Glass Company#Legacy|C. H. Over]]. Other plants were located in [[Anderson, Indiana|Anderson]], [[Dunkirk, Indiana|Dunkirk]], and [[Fairmount, Indiana]].<ref name="wallace-315" /> The Hartford City Glass Company became known as Plant Number 3 of the American Window Glass Company.<ref name="PODR1907-4">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)|1907|p=4}}</ref> J. R. Johnston, already manager for Hartford City Glass Company, was named manager of the American Window Glass version of the same plant in December.<ref name="HCT18991213-1">{{cite news
Many of the Indiana glass works acquired by the trust were from the East Central Indiana Gas Belt. Among those plants were the Hartford City Glass Company; and the nearby Muncie plants of Maring, Hart, and Company and [[Belmont Glass Company#Legacy|C. H. Over]]. Other plants were located in [[Anderson, Indiana|Anderson]], [[Dunkirk, Indiana|Dunkirk]], and [[Fairmount, Indiana]].<ref name="wallace-315" /> The Hartford City Glass Company became known as Plant Number 3 of the American Window Glass Company.<ref name="PODR1907-4">{{harvnb|Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)|1907|p=4}}</ref> J. R. Johnston, already manager for Hartford City Glass Company, was named manager of the American Window Glass version of the same plant in December.<ref name="HCT18991213-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= (untitled second column from right, near bottom of page)
|title= (untitled second column from right, near bottom of page)
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
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| header_align =
| header_align =
| header_background =
| header_background =
| footer = Patents of [http://www.google.com/patents/US724344?pg=PA1&dq=724344+1903&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PaV-UbaIGZKC8QT71oB4&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=724344%201903&f=false H. G. Slingluff] and [http://www.google.com/patents/US702013?pg=PA1&dq=702013+1902&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5qV-Uf-CBpHk8gT884CYBg&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=702013%201902&f=false J. H. Lubbers]
| footer = Patents of [https://patents.google.com/patent/US724344 H. G. Slingluff] and [https://patents.google.com/patent/US702013 J. H. Lubbers]
| footer_align = <!-- left/right/center -->
| footer_align = <!-- left/right/center -->
| footer_background =
| footer_background =
Line 370: Line 311:
| alt2 = old diagram of a machine from a patent
| alt2 = old diagram of a machine from a patent
}}After the acquisition, the Hartford City Glass works became known as plant number 3 of the American Window Glass Company. The plant employed 450 people in 1901.<ref name="INinspect02" /> As natural gas supplies in Indiana became depleted, many manufacturers moved or did not survive.<ref name="Glass91">{{harvnb|Glass|Kohrman|2005|p=91}}</ref> The major plants of the American Window Glass successfully changed energy sources from natural gas to gas made from coal.<ref name="HCT19050927-1">{{cite news
}}After the acquisition, the Hartford City Glass works became known as plant number 3 of the American Window Glass Company. The plant employed 450 people in 1901.<ref name="INinspect02" /> As natural gas supplies in Indiana became depleted, many manufacturers moved or did not survive.<ref name="Glass91">{{harvnb|Glass|Kohrman|2005|p=91}}</ref> The major plants of the American Window Glass successfully changed energy sources from natural gas to gas made from coal.<ref name="HCT19050927-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=American Window Glass is to Continue the Use of Coal Gas
|title=American Window Glass is to Continue the Use of Coal Gas
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
|newspaper=Hartford City Telegram
Line 378: Line 317:
|quote= <!--It is the intention to continue the use of coal gas until such time as some cheaper fuel may be evolved.-->
|quote= <!--It is the intention to continue the use of coal gas until such time as some cheaper fuel may be evolved.-->
}}</ref> The company also had a technological advantage. Instead of using a glass blower, American Window Glass plants extracted molten glass with a machine. The machine, which was not immediately utilized at all American Window Glass plants, was known as the Lubbers blowing machine. Refinements to the machine and glass-making process were made at the Hartford City works by plant manager Harry G. Slingluff. Production records for the entire company were set at the Hartford City plant in 1905 and 1907—using the Lubbers machines.<ref name="PODR1907-4"/><ref name="FWJG19050409-18">{{cite news
}}</ref> The company also had a technological advantage. Instead of using a glass blower, American Window Glass plants extracted molten glass with a machine. The machine, which was not immediately utilized at all American Window Glass plants, was known as the Lubbers blowing machine. Refinements to the machine and glass-making process were made at the Hartford City works by plant manager Harry G. Slingluff. Production records for the entire company were set at the Hartford City plant in 1905 and 1907—using the Lubbers machines.<ref name="PODR1907-4"/><ref name="FWJG19050409-18">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Indiana Company Has New Glass Making Record
|title=Indiana Company Has New Glass Making Record
|newspaper=Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
|newspaper=Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Line 389: Line 326:
===Lubbers machine===
===Lubbers machine===
The glass blowing machine used by American Window Glass factories was created by Pittsburgh resident John H. Lubbers, and he continued to contribute improvements to the machine over the next decade.<ref name="NGB19170417-01">{{harvnb|Unlisted (National Glass Budget)|1917|p=1}}</ref> By using the Lubbers machine, human glass blowers were replaced with a machine operator paid 30 percent of the glass blower wage. The machine was also five times more productive than the human blowers. It could make windows four times as large because a larger cylinder was extracted from the tank of molten glass.<ref name="PODR1907-4" /><ref name="JIEC">{{harvnb|Hamor|1913|p=81}}</ref> Thus, the highest–paid skilled workers in the United States were considered obsolete. In the case of Hartford City, machines replaced most of the human glass blowers by 1908.<ref>{{cite news
The glass blowing machine used by American Window Glass factories was created by Pittsburgh resident John H. Lubbers, and he continued to contribute improvements to the machine over the next decade.<ref name="NGB19170417-01">{{harvnb|Unlisted (National Glass Budget)|1917|p=1}}</ref> By using the Lubbers machine, human glass blowers were replaced with a machine operator paid 30 percent of the glass blower wage. The machine was also five times more productive than the human blowers. It could make windows four times as large because a larger cylinder was extracted from the tank of molten glass.<ref name="PODR1907-4" /><ref name="JIEC">{{harvnb|Hamor|1913|p=81}}</ref> Thus, the highest–paid skilled workers in the United States were considered obsolete. In the case of Hartford City, machines replaced most of the human glass blowers by 1908.<ref>{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title=Human Blowers Thing of the Past – Machines Replacing Skilled Trades and Obsolete Methods of Manufacture of Window Glass
|title=Human Blowers Thing of the Past – Machines Replacing Skilled Trades and Obsolete Methods of Manufacture of Window Glass
|newspaper=Daily Times Gazette (Hartford City, Indiana)
|newspaper=Daily Times Gazette (Hartford City, Indiana)
Line 399: Line 334:
===Consolidation===
===Consolidation===
During the spring of 1900, rumors circulated that American Window Glass planned to move production from smaller plants in nearby Dunkirk and Redkey (factories 17, 30, 34, and 41) to the large southside Hartford City plant. If the Hartford City plant would have its capacity expanded equal to the capacity of the plants to be consolidated, then Hartford City would have "become the greatest window glass town in the world."<ref name="PSWS19000522-1">{{cite news
During the spring of 1900, rumors circulated that American Window Glass planned to move production from smaller plants in nearby Dunkirk and Redkey (factories 17, 30, 34, and 41) to the large southside Hartford City plant. If the Hartford City plant would have its capacity expanded equal to the capacity of the plants to be consolidated, then Hartford City would have "become the greatest window glass town in the world."<ref name="PSWS19000522-1">{{cite news
|title=We'll Lead the World
|last=
|first=
|title=We’ll Lead the World
|newspaper=Portland Semi Weekly Sun
|newspaper=Portland Semi Weekly Sun
|page = 1
|page = 1
Line 409: Line 342:


In 1905 American Window Glass sold some of its smaller plants, including Hartford City's plant number 32.<ref name="LR19050615-7">{{cite news
In 1905 American Window Glass sold some of its smaller plants, including Hartford City's plant number 32.<ref name="LR19050615-7">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= Offers Old Plants for Sale.
|title= Offers Old Plants for Sale.
|newspaper=Logansport Reporter
|newspaper=Logansport Reporter
Line 421: Line 352:


==Decline==
==Decline==
[[File:Owens Patent No. 1345629.JPG|thumb|right|300px|alt=old drawing of a machine from a patent|Drawing from 1920 [http://www.google.com/patents/US1345629?dq=1345629+1920&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WaZ-Uf2CF5S-9gTW54CQAQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA M. J. Owens patent] "Means for Making Sheet Glass"]]During the beginning of the 20th century, competitors of the American Window Glass trust used a different approach to gain a technological advantage. The machines used by American Window Glass replaced glass blowers, but still used the same blowing and cutting process used in the 1880s—although the company was constantly working to make the process more efficient. Competitors such as American inventor [[Irving Wightman Colburn|Irving W. Colburn]] began working on a machine that produced window glass using a different process. Colburn patented his work during the first decade of the 20th century. Although he filed for bankruptcy in 1912, his patents were purchased by [[Edward Libbey|Edward Drummond Libbey]] and [[Michael Joseph Owens|Michael J. Owens]]—who hired Colburn to continue work on the machine.<ref name="chandler115116">{{harvnb|Chandler|1999|pp=115–116}}</ref> Owens was the creator of the Owens Bottling Machine that revolutionized the glass bottle industry.<ref name="Owens124">{{harvnb|Skrabec|2007|p=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
[[File:Owens Patent No. 1345629.JPG|thumb|right|300px|alt=old drawing of a machine from a patent|Drawing from 1920 [https://patents.google.com/patent/US1345629 M. J. Owens patent] "Means for Making Sheet Glass"]]During the beginning of the 20th century, competitors of the American Window Glass trust used a different approach to gain a technological advantage. The machines used by American Window Glass replaced glass blowers, but still used the same blowing and cutting process used in the 1880s—although the company was constantly working to make the process more efficient. Competitors such as American inventor [[Irving Wightman Colburn|Irving W. Colburn]] began working on a machine that produced window glass using a different process. Colburn patented his work during the first decade of the 20th century. Although he filed for bankruptcy in 1912, his patents were purchased by [[Edward Libbey|Edward Drummond Libbey]] and [[Michael Joseph Owens|Michael J. Owens]]—who hired Colburn to continue work on the machine.<ref name="chandler115116">{{harvnb|Chandler|1999|pp=115–116}}</ref> Owens was the creator of the Owens Bottling Machine that revolutionized the glass bottle industry.<ref name="Owens124">{{harvnb|Skrabec|2007|p=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=The Fabulous Monster: Owens Bottle Machine
|title=The Fabulous Monster: Owens Bottle Machine
|publisher=Corning Museum of Glass
|publisher=Corning Museum of Glass
|url= http://www.cmog.org/article/fabulous-monster-owens-bottle-machine#.USjmpyqF-lM |accessdate=2013-02-23}}</ref> Working with Colburn, Owens improved the window glass machine enough that it began being used for production in 1921. By 1926, Libbey-Owens had gained a window glass market share of 29 percent, while American Window Glass's share was 59 percent. During the 1920s, Pittsburgh Plate Glass also developed a new process for making window glass, creating even more competition in the window glass industry.<ref name="chandler115116" />{{#tag:ref|In Europe, Belgian Emil Fourcault developed his own mechanized method ([[Fourcault process]]) to produce window glass. His process was adopted during the 1930s by a group of companies in the United States called Furco Glass. Market share for American Window Glass fell to 20 percent in the United States. The remainder of the market was dominated by three other manufacturers: Libbey-Owens with 30 percent, Pittsburgh Plate Glass with 25 percent, and Furco with 25 percent.<ref name="chandler115116" />|group=Note}}
|url= http://www.cmog.org/article/fabulous-monster-owens-bottle-machine#.USjmpyqF-lM |access-date=2013-02-23}}</ref> Working with Colburn, Owens improved the window glass machine enough that it began being used for production in 1921. By 1926, Libbey-Owens had gained a window glass market share of 29 percent, while American Window Glass's share was 59 percent. During the 1920s, Pittsburgh Plate Glass also developed a new process for making window glass, creating even more competition in the window glass industry.<ref name="chandler115116" />{{#tag:ref|In Europe, Belgian Emil Fourcault developed his own mechanized method ([[Fourcault process]]) to produce window glass. His process was adopted during the 1930s by a group of companies in the United States called Furco Glass. Market share for American Window Glass fell to 20 percent in the United States. The remainder of the market was dominated by three other manufacturers: Libbey-Owens with 30 percent, Pittsburgh Plate Glass with 25 percent, and Furco with 25 percent.<ref name="chandler115116" />|group=Note}}


Because of the improved technology and processes utilized by competitors, many of the American Window Glass patents, and much of its machinery, became obsolete. By the late 1920s, American Window Glass was forced to begin re-equipping its plants with new machinery. The company underwent a financial reorganization in 1929. Dividends on its preferred stock were lowered. Although a few plants were re-equipped, the Hartford City plant was not.<ref name="Charleroi-1">{{cite news
Because of the improved technology and processes utilized by competitors, many of the American Window Glass patents, and much of its machinery, became obsolete. By the late 1920s, American Window Glass was forced to begin re-equipping its plants with new machinery. The company underwent a financial reorganization in 1929. Dividends on its preferred stock were lowered. Although a few plants were re-equipped, the Hartford City plant was not.<ref name="Charleroi-1">{{cite news
|last=
|first=
|title= Belle Vernon and Arnold Plant Method of Window Glass Manufacture Success Certain But Business Is Still Dull
|title= Belle Vernon and Arnold Plant Method of Window Glass Manufacture Success Certain But Business Is Still Dull
|newspaper= Charleroi (PA) Mail
|newspaper= Charleroi (PA) Mail
Line 446: Line 375:
===Cited works===
===Cited works===
*{{Citation
*{{Citation
| last = Amstutz
| last1 = Amstutz
| first = Reverend A. Allison
| first1 = Reverend A. Allison
| author-link =
| last2 = Historical Committee
| last2 = Historical Committee
| first2 =
| author2-link =
| title = The First 100 Years
| title = The First 100 Years
| journal = Centennial Brochure, First Presbyterian Church of Hartford City, Indiana
| journal = Centennial Brochure, First Presbyterian Church of Hartford City, Indiana
| page =
| year = 1943
| year = 1943
| date =
| url =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{Cite journal
*{{Cite journal
|last = Blackford County Gazette (advertisement)
|last = Blackford County Gazette (advertisement)
|first =
|author-link =
|title = The Blackford County Gazette (near bottom of page)
|title = The Blackford County Gazette (near bottom of page)
|journal = National newspaper directory and gazetteer. Containing a complete classified directory of the newspapers and periodicals published in the United States ...
|journal = National Newspaper Directory and Gazetteer. Containing a Complete Classified Directory of the Newspapers and Periodicals Published in the United States ...
|volume =
|issue =
|publisher = Pettingill & Co.
|publisher = Pettingill & Co.
|year = 1903
|year = 1903
|location = Boston and New York
|location = Boston and New York
|url = <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=FINHAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA269 -->
|url =
<!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=FINHAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA269&lpg=RA1-PA269&dq=%22Blackford+County+Gazette%22&source=bl&ots=aquN1AU-Vi&sig=8uaqOFEijlWiZtSeCSxDc9OR3NU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6TXiULWcAuTC0QHBiIGoCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Blackford%20County%20Gazette%22&f=false -->
|oclc = 40211971
|oclc = 40211971
|isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)
| last = Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.)
| first =
| author-link =
| last2 =
| first2 =
| title = A History of Blackford County, Indiana : with historical accounts of the county, 1838–1986 [and] histories of families who have lived in the county.
| title = A History of Blackford County, Indiana : with historical accounts of the county, 1838–1986 [and] histories of families who have lived in the county.
| publisher = Blackford County Historical Society
| publisher = Blackford County Historical Society
| year = 1986
| year = 1986
| location = Hartford City, Indiana
| location = Hartford City, Indiana
| url =
| oclc = 15144953
| oclc = 15144953
| isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = Castelo
| last1 = Castelo
| first = Sinuard
| first1 = Sinuard
| last2 = Clamme
| last2 = Clamme
| first2 = Louise
| first2 = Louise
Line 500: Line 408:
| first3 = <!-- Unorthodox naming style is necessary to make Harvard citations link work with so many names-->
| first3 = <!-- Unorthodox naming style is necessary to make Harvard citations link work with so many names-->
| last4 = Storms
| last4 = Storms
| first4 = Ron
| first4 = Ron
| title = Dusty Bits and Pieces
| title = Dusty Bits and Pieces
| publisher = Blackford County Historical Society
| publisher = Blackford County Historical Society
Line 507: Line 415:
| page = 127
| page = 127
| url = http://www.bchs-in.org/bulletin.html
| url = http://www.bchs-in.org/bulletin.html
| oclc =
| access-date = 2013-03-17
| isbn =
| archive-date = 2013-08-12
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130812041842/http://bchs-in.org/bulletin.html
|ref=harv
| url-status = dead
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = Chandler
| last = Chandler
| first = Alfred Dupont
| first = Alfred Dupont
| author-link =
| title = Scale and scope : the dynamics of industrial capitalism
| title = Scale and scope : the dynamics of industrial capitalism
| publisher = Belknap Press
| publisher = Belknap Press
Line 521: Line 428:
| location = Cambridge, MA
| location = Cambridge, MA
| page = 765
| page = 765
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LW9tb2bGGkEC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=Libbey+Owens+Colburn&source=bl&ots=p8c6RKy0wl&sig=e5ZsIH9Xo_Hz9Brw6L6odN3zwZo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vqwnUZndIYq-9gTo9YCoCw&ved=0CGQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Libbey%20Owens%20Colburn&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LW9tb2bGGkEC&q=Libbey+Owens+Colburn&pg=PA115
| oclc = 248361514
| oclc = 248361514
| isbn =
| isbn = 9780674789951
|access-date=2013-03-17
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = Clamme
| last1 = Clamme
| first = Louise
| first1 = Louise
| author-link =
| last2 = Castelo
| last2 = Castelo
| first2 = Sinuard
| first2 = Sinuard
Line 538: Line 443:
| location = Bloomington, IN
| location = Bloomington, IN
| page = 196
| page = 196
| url =
| oclc = 754330971
| oclc = 754330971
| isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = Dale
| last = Dale
| first = George R.
| first = George R.
| author-link =
| title = Directory of Hartford City, Indiana, Together with a Complete Gazetteer of Blackford County Land Owners
| title = Directory of Hartford City, Indiana, Together with a Complete Gazetteer of Blackford County Land Owners
| publisher = George R. Dale
| publisher = George R. Dale
Line 552: Line 453:
| url = https://archive.org/stream/directoryofhartf19021903dale/directoryofhartf19021903dale_djvu.txt
| url = https://archive.org/stream/directoryofhartf19021903dale/directoryofhartf19021903dale_djvu.txt
| location = Troy, Ohio
| location = Troy, Ohio
| oclc =
| isbn = 978-1-153-46853-4
| isbn = 978-1-153-46853-4
|access-date=2013-03-17
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
Line 561: Line 460:
|first1=George Thornton
|first1=George Thornton
|last2=American Historical Society
|last2=American Historical Society
|first2=
|title=History of Pittsburgh and environs
|title=History of Pittsburgh and environs
|series=
|publisher=The American Historical Society, Inc.
|publisher=The American Historical Society, Inc.
|location=New York and Chicago
|location=New York and Chicago
|page = 349
|page = 349
|year=1922
|year=1922
|isbn=
|oclc= 1040253
|oclc= 1040253
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvkMAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA39&dq=J.+R.+Johnston+resigned+American+Window&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AikhUfyEJuq30AG3y4BA&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=J.%20R.%20Johnston%20resigned%20American%20Window&f=false
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvkMAAAAYAAJ&q=J.+R.+Johnston+resigned+American+Window&pg=RA1-PA39
|access-date=2013-03-17
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
Line 582: Line 477:
| location = Urbana, IL
| location = Urbana, IL
| page = 236
| page = 236
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DAXU3s0pqOQC&pg=PA138&dq=%22Because+of+the+high+proportion+of+immigrants%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=exAlUafeIoHo0gHU2YGwAw&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=%22Because%20of%20the%20high%20proportion%20of%20immigrants%22&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DAXU3s0pqOQC&q=%22Because+of+the+high+proportion+of+immigrants%22&pg=PA138
| oclc = 256490338
| oclc = 256490338
| isbn =
| isbn = 9780252073717
|access-date=2013-03-17
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
|first = Richard L. (editor)
|editor-first = Richard L.
|last = Forstall
|editor-last = Forstall
|year = 1996
|year = 1996
|title = Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 from the twenty-one decennial censuses
|title = Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 from the twenty-one decennial censuses
|publisher = United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division
|publisher = United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division
|page = 225
|page = 225
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z12v1lrkv2IC&pg=PA51
|quote=
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z12v1lrkv2IC&lpg=PA50&pg=PA51#v=twopage&q&f=false
|oclc = 34927951
|oclc = 34927951
|isbn = 0-934213-48-8
|isbn = 0-934213-48-8
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
Line 613: Line 505:
|year=2005
|year=2005
|isbn=978-0-7385-3963-8
|isbn=978-0-7385-3963-8
|oclc=61885891 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=C02PktLMIx8C&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=gas+boom+ghost+town+indiana#PPA91,M1
|oclc=61885891 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C02PktLMIx8C&q=gas+boom+ghost+town+indiana&pg=PA91
|access-date=2013-03-17
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
|last = Graham
|editor-last1 = Graham
|first = Albert Adams
|editor-first1 = Albert Adams
|author-link =
|editor-last2 = Perrin
|editor-first2 = William Henry
|last2 = Perrin (editor)
|first2 = William Henry
|title = History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio.
|title = History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio.
|publisher = Baskin & Battey
|publisher = Baskin & Battey
Line 631: Line 521:
|quote = A. M. Barber grain Akron.
|quote = A. M. Barber grain Akron.
|oclc = 8227777
|oclc = 8227777
|access-date=2013-03-17
|isbn =
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{Cite journal
*{{Cite journal
| last = Hamilton
| last1 = Hamilton
| first = Kristi
| first1 = Kristi
| last2 = Abraham
| last2 = Abraham
| first2 = Kent
| first2 = Kent
Line 643: Line 531:
| first3 = Susan
| first3 = Susan
| date = 2005<!--October 10-->
| date = 2005<!--October 10-->
| work = National Register of Historic Places
| journal = National Register of Historic Places
| title = National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Hartford City Courthouse Square District
| title = National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Hartford City Courthouse Square District
| publisher = National Park Service
| publisher = National Park Service
| url = http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/hartfordcity_nr.pdf
| url = http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/hartfordcity_nr.pdf
| access-date = 2013-02-24
|ref=harv
| archive-date = 2012-10-10
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121010032252/http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/files/hartfordcity_nr.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last = Hamor
| last = Hamor
| first = W. A.
| first = W. A.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Present Status of the Window Glass Industry
| title = The Present Status of the Window Glass Industry
| journal = The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
| journal = The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Line 662: Line 551:
| location = Easton, PA
| location = Easton, PA
| date = 1913 <!--January 1913 -->
| date = 1913 <!--January 1913 -->
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=9jJOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA81&dq=Hartford+City+Glass+American+Window&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pyvzUJz0OIXy0QH664DQBg&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Hartford%20City%20Glass%20American%20Window&f=false
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=9jJOAAAAYAAJ&q=Hartford+City+Glass+American+Window&pg=PA81
| doi =
| doi =10.1021/ie50049a053
| oclc = 1606890
| oclc = 1606890
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
|last = Hawkins
|last = Hawkins
|first = Jay W.
|first = Jay W.
|author-link =
|title = Glasshouses and Glass Manufacturers of the Pittsburgh Region 1795 – 1910
|title = Glasshouses and Glass Manufacturers of the Pittsburgh Region 1795 – 1910
|publisher = iUniverse
|publisher = iUniverse
|year = 2009
|year = 2009
|location = New York
|location = New York
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rSl0niAD6KUC&q=%22James+A.+Chambers%22+glass&pg=PA22
|pages =
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rSl0niAD6KUC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=%22James+A.+Chambers%22+glass&source=bl&ots=xdKUtWZ_el&sig=36We2CxZ3xDmzdCY_QhPnJd2hWc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bmBcUa2iIIm69QSVuIDgCw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22James%20A.%20Chambers%22%20glass&f=false
|oclc = 429680614
|oclc = 429680614
|isbn =
|isbn =9781440114946
|access-date=2013-04-05
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-04-05
}}
}}
*{{Cite journal
*{{Cite journal
| last = Indiana Department of Factory Inspection
| last = Indiana Department of Factory Inspection
| first =
| author-link =
| title = Exhibit A.—Factories Inspected—Continued – Hartford City, Blackford County
| title = Exhibit A.—Factories Inspected—Continued – Hartford City, Blackford County
| journal = Annual report of the Department of Factory Inspection
| journal = Annual Report of the Department of Factory Inspection
| volume = 2
| volume = 2
| issue = 1898
| issue = 1898
Line 693: Line 576:
| year = 1899
| year = 1899
| location = Indianapolis
| location = Indianapolis
| url = <!--https://books.google.com/books?id=7fx6nN0QYXgC&pg=RA8-PA44&dq=Hartford+Jones+Sneath+Hurrle&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GZo2UZChNom00AG-vYDICw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Hartford%20Jones%20Sneath%20Hurrle&f=false-->
| url = <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=7fx6nN0QYXgC&pg=RA8-PA44 -->
| oclc = 243873835
| oclc = 243873835
| isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{Cite journal
*{{Cite journal
| last = Indiana Department of Inspection
| last = Indiana Department of Inspection
| title = Annual Report of the Department of Inspection of manufacturing and mercantile establishments, laundries, bakeries, quarries, printing offices and public buildings
| first =
|journal = Annual Report of the Department of Inspection
| author-link =
| title = Annual report of the Department of Inspection of manufacturing and mercantile establishments, laundries, bakeries, quarries, printing offices and public buildings
| journal =
| volume =
| issue = 1901
| issue = 1901
| publisher = Indiana Department of Inspection
| publisher = Indiana Department of Inspection
| year = 1902
| year = 1902
| location = Indianapolis
| location = Indianapolis
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p6kXAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA18&dq=American+Window+Sneath+Willman&ei=vBHkTb7TOeLV0QHph7S2Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=American%20Window%20Sneath%20Willman&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p6kXAAAAYAAJ&q=American+Window+Sneath+Willman&pg=RA2-PA18
| oclc = 13018369
| oclc = 13018369
| isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{Cite journal
*{{Cite journal
| last = Indiana State Board of Health
| last = Indiana State Board of Health
| first =
| author-link =
| title = Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Indiana
| title = Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Indiana
| journal =
|journal = Report of the State Board of Health
| volume = 25
| volume = 25
| issue = Statistical Year Ending December 31, 1906
| issue = Statistical Year Ending December 31, 1906
Line 726: Line 600:
| location = Indianapolis
| location = Indianapolis
| oclc = 12626573
| oclc = 12626573
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vo5NAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA160&dq=%22Hartford+City%22+public+supply+built+1894&hl=en&sa=X&ei=K6m4UezgCIHD4AOW6YCQAw&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Hartford%20City%22%20public%20supply%20built%201894&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vo5NAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Hartford+City%22+public+supply+built+1894&pg=PA160
| isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{Cite book
*{{Cite book
| last = Lane
| last = Lane
| first = Samuel Alanson
| first = Samuel Alanson
| last2 =
| first2 =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc.
| title = Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County : embellished by nearly six hundred engravings--portraits of pioneer settlers, prominent citizens, business, official and professional--ancient and modern views, etc.; nine-tenth's of a century of solid local history--pioneer incidents, interesting events--industrial, commercial, financial and educational progress, biographies, etc.
| publisher = Beacon Job Department
| publisher = Beacon Job Department
Line 744: Line 612:
| url = https://archive.org/details/cu31924028848864
| url = https://archive.org/details/cu31924028848864
| quote = A. L. Conger glass Hartford.
| quote = A. L. Conger glass Hartford.
| doi =
| id =
| oclc = 20648565
| oclc = 20648565
|access-date=2013-03-17}}
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = Merriam
| last1 = Merriam
| first = William Rush
| first1 = William Rush
| last2 = Hunt
| last2 = Hunt
| first2 = William C.
| first2 = William C.
Line 757: Line 622:
| first3 = <!--Unorthodox naming style is necessary to make Harvard citations link work with so many names-->
| first3 = <!--Unorthodox naming style is necessary to make Harvard citations link work with so many names-->
| last4 = United States Census Office
| last4 = United States Census Office
| first4 =
| title = Census reports ... Twelfth census of the United States, taken in the year 1900.
| title = Census reports ... Twelfth census of the United States, taken in the year 1900.
| publisher = United States Census Office
| publisher = United States Census Office
| year = 1901
| year = 1901
| location = Washington
| location = Washington
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nJYwAQAAMAAJ&q=window+glass+manufacturing+tanks+pots&pg=PA990
| pages =
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nJYwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA990&dq=window+glass+manufacturing+tanks+pots&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qiYpUeeQAdCB0QGp-IDQCQ&ved=0CEoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=window%20glass%20manufacturing%20tanks%20pots&f=false
| oclc = 227718
| oclc = 227718
|access-date=2013-03-17
| isbn =
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}


Line 773: Line 634:
| last = Paquette
| last = Paquette
| first = Jack K.
| first = Jack K.
| last2 =
| first2 =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Blowpipes, Northwest Ohio Glassmaking in the Gas Boom of the 1880s
| title = Blowpipes, Northwest Ohio Glassmaking in the Gas Boom of the 1880s
| publisher = Xlibris Corp.
| publisher = Xlibris Corp.
| year = 2002
| year = 2002
| location =
| page = 559
| page = 559
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 1-4010-4790-4
| isbn = 1-4010-4790-4
| oclc = 50932436
| oclc = 50932436
|ref=harv}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
|last = Skrabec
|last = Skrabec
|first = Quentin R.
|first = Quentin R.
|author-link =
|last2 =
|first2 =
|title = Michael Owens and the Glass Industry
|title = Michael Owens and the Glass Industry
|publisher = Pelican Publishing
|publisher = Pelican Publishing
Line 798: Line 649:
|location = Gretna, LA
|location = Gretna, LA
|page = 320
|page = 320
|url =
|oclc = 137341537
|oclc = 137341537
|isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
| last = United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce)
| last = United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce)
| first =
| author-link =
| last2 =
| first2 =
| title =The Glass Industry. Report on the cost of production of glass in the United States
| title =The Glass Industry. Report on the cost of production of glass in the United States
| year = 1917
| year = 1917
| location = Washington
| location = Washington
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=C__t_KMD_dsC&pg=PA41&dq=%22two+types+of+furnaces%22+pot+tank&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GFTrUOupOcir0AHf5YDoBg&ved=0CGsQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22two%20types%20of%20furnaces%22%20pot%20tank&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=C__t_KMD_dsC&q=%22two+types+of+furnaces%22+pot+tank&pg=PA41
| oclc = 5705310
| oclc = 5705310
| page = 430
| page = 430
|access-date=2013-03-17
| isbn =
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{Cite book
*{{Cite book
| last = United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means
| last = United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means
| first =
| last2 =
| first2 =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Tariff schedule, no. 3-4. Hearings before the committee on Schedule B - earths, earthenware, and glassware, January, 1913
| title = Tariff schedule, no. 3-4. Hearings before the committee on Schedule B - earths, earthenware, and glassware, January, 1913
| publisher = Government Printing Office
| publisher = Government Printing Office
| year =1913
| year =1913
| location = Washington
| location = Washington
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=61crAAAAYAAJ&q=J+R+Johnston+glass&pg=PA406
| pages =
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=61crAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406&lpg=PA406&dq=J+R+Johnston+glass&source=bl&ots=iuvgVSm0fh&sig=YaajRtDCJKwllPVrn3bjWdDo9k0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8KEiUaeQJpPF0AHf3IDwDA&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=J%20R%20Johnston%20glass&f=false
| doi =
| isbn =
| oclc = 81218187
| oclc = 81218187
|access-date=2013-03-17}}
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last = Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World)
| last = Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World)
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Chipped and Ground Glass
| title = Chipped and Ground Glass
| journal = Glass & Pottery World
| journal = Glass & Pottery World
Line 849: Line 679:
| location = Chicago
| location = Chicago
| year = 1896
| year = 1896
| url =
| doi =
| oclc = 1390202
| oclc = 1390202
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last = Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World)
| last = Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World)
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Returned
| title = Returned
| journal = Glass & Pottery World
| journal = Glass & Pottery World
Line 865: Line 689:
| publisher = Trade Magazine Association
| publisher = Trade Magazine Association
| location = Chicago
| location = Chicago
| year = 1896
| year = 1896b
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=X9MxAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA10&dq=%22A.+M.+Barber%22+%22Hartford+City%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N6PgUMXRG8i80QGH54CAAw&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22A.%20M.%20Barber%22%20%22Hartford%20City%22&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=X9MxAQAAMAAJ&q=%22A.+M.+Barber%22+%22Hartford+City%22&pg=RA5-PA10
| doi =
| oclc = 1390202
| oclc = 1390202
|ref=harv
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}}
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
|last = Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)
|last = Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated)
|first =
|author-link =
|last2 =
|first2 =
|title = Hartford City illustrated : a publication devoted to the city's best interests and containing half tone engravings of prominent factories, business blocks, residences, and a selection of representative commercial and professional men and women.
|title = Hartford City illustrated : a publication devoted to the city's best interests and containing half tone engravings of prominent factories, business blocks, residences, and a selection of representative commercial and professional men and women.
|publisher = Daulton & Scott
|publisher = Daulton & Scott
|year = 1896
|year = 1896
|location =
|page = 47
|page = 47
|url = https://archive.org/details/hartfordcityillu00slda
|url = https://archive.org/details/hartfordcityillu00slda
|oclc = 11382905
|oclc = 11382905
|access-date=2013-03-17
|isbn =
|ref=harv
|accessdate=2013-03-17
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last =Unlisted (National Glass Budget)
| last =Unlisted (National Glass Budget)
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Successful Start at Hartford
| title = Successful Start at Hartford
| journal = National Glass Budget
| journal = National Glass Budget
Line 898: Line 710:
| issue = 28
| issue = 28
| page = 7
| page = 7
| publisher =
| location = Chicago
| location = Chicago
| date = 1913 <!--November 15, 1913-->
| date = 1913 <!--November 15, 1913-->
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BflYAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PT111&dq=%22Successful+Start+at+Hartford%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=P6oiUaOoNNSz0QGakIGQBQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=BflYAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Successful%20Start%20at%20Hartford%22&pg=RA27-PA7
| doi =
| oclc =750938784
| oclc =750938784
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last =Unlisted (National Glass Budget)
| last =Unlisted (National Glass Budget)
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Window Glass Machine
| title = The Window Glass Machine
| journal = National Glass Budget
| journal = National Glass Budget
Line 916: Line 722:
| issue = 49
| issue = 49
| page = 1
| page = 1
| publisher =
| location = Chicago
| location = Chicago
| date = 1917 <!--April 14, 1917-->
| date = 1917 <!--April 14, 1917-->
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nPpYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT711&lpg=PT711&dq=plant+3+american+window+glass+company+Hartford&source=bl&ots=OQyRi6pGy7&sig=HjT6RfWut_InbO_asRbtbvX9DtI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8pL5UIjNFIn-9QSI8YGYBQ&ved=0CEkQ6AEwAjgK
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nPpYAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA
| doi =
| oclc =750938784
| oclc =750938784
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last = Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)
| last = Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = (untitled column on left)
| title = (untitled column on left)
| journal = Paint, Oil and Drug Review
| journal = Paint, Oil and Drug Review
Line 937: Line 737:
| location = Chicago
| location = Chicago
| date = 1899 <!--April 12, 1899-->
| date = 1899 <!--April 12, 1899-->
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qfpYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA44&dq=%22A.+L.+Conger%22+glass+Hartford&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_GXfULXFLLKI0QGDl4GYDg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22A.%20L.%20Conger%22%20glass%20Hartford&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qfpYAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA39-PA13
| doi =
| oclc = 7711980
| oclc = 7711980
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| last =Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)
| last =Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review)
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Machine Window Glass Production
| title = Machine Window Glass Production
| journal = Paint, Oil and Drug Review
| journal = Paint, Oil and Drug Review
| volume = 44
| volume = 44
| issue = 1
| issue = 1
| page =
| publisher = D. Van Ness
| publisher = D. Van Ness
| location = Chicago
| location = Chicago
| date = 1907 <!--July 3, 1907-->
| date = 1907 <!--July 3, 1907-->
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=puc1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PP16&dq=%22Machine+Window+Glass+Production%22+%22American+Window%22+Hartford&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ILj6UNjXDqnh0gG4hYDIAw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=puc1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA4
| doi =
| oclc = 1585526
| oclc = 1585526
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{cite journal
*{{cite journal
| <!--last2 = Goodsell
| last2 = Goodsell
| first2 = Charles M. -->
| first2 = Charles M.
| last1 = Wallace
| last1 = Wallace
| first1 = Henry E.
| first1 = Henry E.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = American Window Glass Co.
| title = American Window Glass Co.
| journal = The Manual of Statistics: Stock Exchange Handbook
| journal = The Manual of Statistics: Stock Exchange Handbook
| volume = 23
| volume = 23
| issue =
| page =
| publisher = Charles H. Nicoll
| publisher = Charles H. Nicoll
| location = New York
| location = New York
| year = 1901
| year = 1901
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dvXYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA315&dq=%22Hartford+City%22+American+Window+Glass+1899+Industrial+Securities&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6fD2UMf_G5C88wTEooDQBg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Hartford%20City%22%20American%20Window%20Glass%201899%20Industrial%20Securities&f=false
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dvXYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA315
| doi =
| oclc = 1865454
| oclc = 1865454
|ref=harv
}}
}}
*{{Cite journal
*{{Cite journal
| last = Windsor
| last = Windsor
| first = John T.
| first = John T.
| author-link =
| title = Prosperity in Glass Manufacturing Industry
| title = Prosperity in Glass Manufacturing Industry
| journal = The Magazine of Wall Street
| journal = The Magazine of Wall Street
Line 991: Line 776:
| location = New York
| location = New York
|quote=American Window Glass Made High Record Earnings in the Year Ended August Last – Largest Company of the Kind in the World
|quote=American Window Glass Made High Record Earnings in the Year Ended August Last – Largest Company of the Kind in the World
| url =
| oclc = 7863409
| oclc = 7863409
| isbn =
|ref=harv
}}
}}


{{commons cat}}
{{Glass makers and brands}}
{{Glass makers and brands}}
{{good article}}
{{good article}}
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[[Category:Glassmaking companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Glassmaking companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct glassmaking companies]]
[[Category:Defunct glassmaking companies]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Indiana]]
[[Category:Blackford County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Blackford County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1890]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1890]]
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[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1899]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1899]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1890]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1890]]
[[Category:Defunct manufacturing companies based in Indiana]]

Latest revision as of 18:31, 14 July 2024

Hartford City Glass Company
Company typeCorporation
IndustryGlass manufacturing
Founded1890 (1890)
FounderRichard Heagany
Defunct1899 (facility continued to operate until 1929)
FatePurchased
SuccessorPlant No. 3 of American Window Glass Company
Headquarters
Key people
Richard Heagany, J. R. Johnston
Productswindow glass, chipped glass
Number of employees
600(1898)

Hartford City Glass Company was among the top three window glass manufacturers in the United States between 1890 and 1899, and continued to be one of the nation's largest after its acquisition. It was also the country's largest manufacturer of chipped glass, with capacity double that of its nearest competitor. The company's works was the first of eight glass plants that existed in Hartford City, Indiana during the Indiana Gas Boom. It became the city's largest manufacturer and employer, peaking with 600 employees.

Many of the skilled workers employed at the Hartford City Glass Company were from Belgium, at the time the world’s leading manufacturer of window glass. The Belgian workers and their families accounted for over one-third of Hartford City's population during the 1890s, and lived on the city's south side. Because of the importance of the French-speaking Belgians, one of the local newspapers featured articles in French.

In 1899, Hartford City Glass was acquired by the American Window Glass Company, which controlled 85 percent of the American window glass manufacturing capacity. During the next decade, the company began replacing its skilled and well–paid Belgian glass blowers with machines and less-skilled machine operators. The company used the Hartford City plant to test and refine the new technology. Most of the Belgian glass workers left town.

During the 1920s, competitors developed new window glass production processes that eclipsed the American Window Glass technology, and the company lost its advantage. By the time the Great Depression struck, the Hartford City plant had closed.

Manufacturers drawn to Indiana

[edit]
old map with drawings and railroad lines
Eaton, Hartford City, and Blackford County, Indiana in 1887

During the late 1880s, the discovery of natural gas in Eaton, Indiana started an economic boom period in East Central Indiana.[1][2] Manufacturers were lured to the region to take advantage of the low cost fuel. Blackford County, a small rural county located close to Eaton, had only 181 people working in manufacturing in 1880. By 1901, the county had over 1,100 people employed at manufacturing plants in small communities such as Hartford City, Indiana.[3] Between 1880 and 1900, populations doubled in area counties such as Blackford, Delaware, and Grant.[4] The region became Indiana’s major manufacturing center.[5]

Hartford City

[edit]

Like many Indiana communities during the gas boom, Hartford City’s leaders sought to take advantage of their newfound energy resource. The Hartford City Land Company was formed in 1891 as part of the effort to attract manufacturers. The company offered "free sites, free gas, excellent switching facilities, and reasonable cash subsidies" as enticements for manufacturers to locate in the boom town.[6] Manufacturers that used high quantities of energy were especially attracted to no-cost or low-cost natural gas sites, and glassmaking was one of those energy-consuming industries.[7]

Hartford City's success in attracting manufacturers can be indirectly measured by its population growth. The city's population was 2,287 in 1890, but grew to 5,912 by 1900.[8] In 1890, the city convinced glassmaker Richard Heagany to relocate from Kokomo, Indiana. An additional glass maker, Sneath Glass Company, relocated from Tiffin, Ohio, in 1894. During 1901, Indiana state inspectors visited 15 manufacturing facilities in Hartford City. These manufacturers employed 1,077 people, and the American Window Glass plant (the former Hartford City Glass Company) plus the Sneath Glass works accounted for over half of the manufacturing employees. By 1902, Hartford City was the home of 8 glass factories.[Note 1]

Organization and management

[edit]
old picture of man with beard
advertisement from the 1890s with diamond-shaped logo
Richard Heagany, founder of Hartford City Glass Company, and advertisement

In 1878, glassmaker Richard Heagany organized a window glass plant in New York and was the factory's superintendent. That plant became the largest window glass plant in the state.[13] In 1886, he moved to Kokomo, Indiana, and opened the first window glass plant in the region to use natural gas as a fuel source. Heagany's Kokomo plant lasted three years before it was destroyed by fire. Instead of rebuilding in Kokomo, he moved to Hartford City and organized the Hartford City Glass Company. The company was organized in 1890 with the financial assistance of several capitalists. Production began in early 1891 after the plant was constructed. Heagany was the plant manager until his retirement in 1899.[13]

Capitalists

[edit]

One of the principal stockholders of the new company was multi-millionaire A. M. Barber.[14] Barber was involved in grain and banking in Akron, Ohio.[15] Another important investor from Akron was Colonel Arthur Latham Conger, who was the company's first president.[16] Conger was a Civil War veteran who invested in companies in Ohio and Indiana (including in Kokomo).[17] He was also elected president of the Hartford City Land Company in 1893.[18] Hartford City's Sydney W. Cantwell was secretary of the Hartford City Glass Company during its early years. He was also president of the state organization of window glass manufacturers.[19] Cantwell was an attorney involved with the Blackford County Bank, Akron Oil Company, and Hartford City Land Company.[20] Another Hartford City investor, Henry "H. B." Smith, was president of Hartford City's Citizen's Bank.[21]

Management change

[edit]

Top management changed during 1895 after the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Colonel A. L. Conger, who had been president since the company's beginning, lost his position to another colonel from Akron, George T. Perkins. Conger had fallen into disfavor with many of the local citizens.[22] He immediately expressed his unhappiness with the election by selling his company stock and leaving town. Conger's stock was purchased by Kokomo banker John A. Jay.[23] Officers of Hartford City Glass in 1896 were George T. Perkins, President; John A. Jay, Vice President; H.B. Smith, Treasurer; Richard Heagany, General Manager; and John Rodgers Johnston, Secretary.[24]

Colonel George Tod Perkins was a Civil War veteran and president of the B. F. Goodrich Company. He was also involved in banking and had been president of the Bank of Akron.[25] John R. Johnston began working at the Hartford City plant in 1890 as a bookkeeper. He was elected secretary after 4 years. Johnston lived in Hartford City and helped Heagany run the business. Heagany submitted his resignation at the August 1899 board meeting, retiring after 42 years in the glass business. Johnston became plant manager at that time.[26] Johnston resigned a short time later, effective April 1900. He formed Hartford City's Johnston Glass Company in September of the same year.[27][28]

Workforce

[edit]

During its peak years, Hartford City Glass Company employed 500 to 600 people. In 1894, it employed 100 glass blowers as part of a total workforce of 540 people. The wages for that workforce were said to be equivalent to "about 1500 men in any other industry."[29] Not only was the glass works the largest industry in the county, it was thought to be the second-largest plant of any industry located in the Indiana Gas Belt.[29] To help meet the housing needs for the factory's many employees, 184 houses were built nearby.[24] In 1896, 443 workers at the plant lived in Hartford City, especially on the south side. Assuming each local worker had a family of five, over one-third of the city's population (2,235 of "an estimated 6,000") was financially dependent upon Hartford City Glass.[24]

Glassmakers

[edit]
Large stained glass window with rose window
Large stained glass window
Two large stained-glass windows installed by Hartford City's Belgian glass workers

The window glass manufacturing process used by Hartford City Glass was known as the Cylinder Method.[30] The process was labor-intensive, and required the services of a glass blower and glass cutter—who were both highly skilled and well paid. The glass blower led a small production crew that included skilled and unskilled workers. At older plants, the glass blower's workstation was adjacent to a ceramic pot located inside the furnace. Each pot contained molten glass created by melting a batch of ingredients that included sand, soda, and lime.[31] At newer plants such as the Hartford City works, tanks were used instead of pots. The tanks were essentially huge brick pots with multiple workstations. A tank furnace is more efficient than a pot furnace, but more costly to build.[32]

In the first step of the glass-making process, molten glass was extracted from the pot or tank. The glass blower and his helper used a blowpipe, which was typically 4 feet (1.2 m) to 5 feet (1.5 m) long, to create a bubble of molten glass. The glass blower manipulated the bubble into a cylinder, and removed it from the pot or tank. The cylinders were 12 inches (30.5 cm) to 16 inches (40.6 cm) in diameter, and 4 feet (1.2 m) or 5 feet (1.5 m) long.[30]

Next, the glass–cutter cut the cylinder, and the glass was flattened. It was necessary to gradually cool the glass, a process known as annealing, to prevent it from breaking. A lehr or annealing oven was used to anneal the product. A typical 20th-century lehr was a large conveyor inside a long oven. The newly made glass gradually moved from the hot end of the lehr to its opposite end, which was at room temperature. The glass would then be cut into the desired window glass size, placed in a box, and moved to inventory.[33] It is not known if (or when) the lehrs at the Hartford City plant had conveyors.[Note 2]

The Belgians

[edit]

During the late 19th century, glass blowers were difficult to find. Belgium was the largest exporter of window glass to the United States, and plant manager Heagany previously used the skills of glass blowers from that country in his Kokomo glass works.[13] In Hartford City, Heagany again relied upon Belgian workers for the skilled positions in his glass works.[35]

The city's influx of French-speaking Belgians affected the town. The south side (south of Lick Creek) became known as Belgium Town.[36] Most Belgians were Catholic, and they built the city's Catholic church near their homes on the city's south side.[37] The church's Father Dhe was a native of France and was also involved with glass making.[38] During the early 1900s, the local Blackford County Gazette claimed to be the "only newspaper in State that prints French and circulates among the window glass and iron workers, the highest paid skilled mechanics in the world."[39]

The Belgian workforce also affected the city's north side. Hartford City's Presbyterian Church, which is now part of the National Register of Historical Places, was built one block north of the courthouse in 1894—and features large stained glass windows imported from Belgium.[40] For over 50 years, the bigger of two huge windows was considered the largest single-frame window in the state of Indiana.[41] These stained-glass windows, plus at least four smaller ones, were installed by the local (and mostly Catholic) Belgian glass workers.[40]

Infrastructure

[edit]
old drawing of a glass factory
Drawing of the Hartford City Glass Company plant in 1896

Construction of Hartford City's new glass works was completed in early January 1891, and production started shortly thereafter.[42] The glass works was located on Hartford City's south side, and originally occupied 12 acres (4.9 ha).[43] Natural gas was the plant's original fuel source for both the furnace used to make the glass and the ovens used to gradually cool it.[43]

In the United States, two systems were used during the 1890s to create molten glass. The older system used a pot furnace, where ceramic pots were heated inside the furnace to melt the batch of ingredients needed to make the molten glass. The newer system used a large brick tank that could be operated continuously or by the batch.[44] The Hartford City plant used the tank system, and it was originally the "largest tank window glass factory in the world".[45] The tank had a capacity equivalent to 30 pots,[46] giving the Hartford City plant more than double the capacity of some of the window glass plants built a few years earlier in Ohio.[Note 3]

With its size, newest technology, and newly built facilities, the plant was "said to be the largest and best arranged window glass works in the world."[42] During its existence, the plant was always one of the largest window glass works in the United States.[Note 4]

Initial production at the Hartford City plant continued until June, when the works was shut down to decrease inventories.[51] Summer shutdowns were normal in the glass industry at that time. The heat from the furnaces combined with summer weather made extremely uncomfortable working conditions, justifying the summer months as the best time to shut down for maintenance (or for manipulation of inventories). In the case of the first year's shutdown for the Hartford City Glass works, production was restarted in October.[52]

Expansion

[edit]

In 1892, management decided to expand the factory's capacity by adding a second tank. The new tank would add approximately 50 pots of capacity.[53] In early April, construction of the facilities for the new tank began. "Modern and improved methods in all departments of the works" were used, improving the efficiency in manufacturing and shipping.[54] The new buildings were made fire-resistant by using stone, brick, and iron for construction materials. They were also well ventilated, which made the work environment more comfortable for the glass workers.[54] The expansion increased total capacity to about 90 pots.[Note 5] This made the works the second-largest glass factory in the United States. Expenditures necessary to finance the expansion were $100,000 (over $2.5 million in 2012 dollars).[56]

During 1893, the company considered adding a third tank, which would add another 60 pots of capacity. The expansion cost estimate was $150,000 (over $3.8 million in 2012 dollars), and was said to "give employment to 350 men."[57] Two major concerns voiced by management to community leaders were adequate fire protection and housing for the workers.[58] Community leaders did not respond soon enough, and the expansion was postponed.[59] However, it is no coincidence that Hartford City's waterworks began operations in 1894, and the plant was built on the city's south side.[60] The city also acquired a chemical fire engine from the Chicago Fire Extinguisher Company, which was delivered in February 1894.[61]

Although the third tank was not added in 1893, a new ware room was built. The room was 60 feet (18.3 m) long by 120 feet (36.6 m) wide, and could hold 20,000 boxes. The roof and walls were covered in iron.[62] By September (without the capacity expansion), the plant had a payroll of $45,000 (over $1.1 million in 2012 dollars) per month, and employed 500 glass workers.[63]

In 1896, the plant employed 550 people, and produced about 2 million square feet of window glass per month.[43] In addition to window glass, the company was the nation’s largest producer of chipped glass, with capacity double that of the second-largest manufacturer. Chipped glass was a popular ornamental glass used for interiors of office buildings and with furniture.[64] At that time, the plant was the second-largest window glass producer in the country, although it became the third-largest later in the year. Its grounds had grown to cover 25 acres (10.1 ha), and included a railroad spur off of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The grounds contained two melting rooms, two warehouses, a blacksmith shop, and a machine shop. The tank in one of the melting rooms was 18 feet (5.5 m) long, 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep. One tank required 4 flattening ovens and a cutting room.[43]

Plans for the addition of another tank began again in late 1896. A third tank would make the Hartford City plant the largest in the country.[65] As part of the conditions for expansion, the plant owners requested housing for its potential new workers. Although the houses were built, the company was not satisfied, as the expansion was never consummated.[Note 6] Without the third tank, the workforce still grew to 600 by 1898.[11]

Acquisition

[edit]
old advertisement showing American Indian
Advertisement for American Window Glass in 1913

In 1898, a group of men led by James A. Chambers organized a glass trust called American Window Glass Company. The company was formed from the American Glass Company, but did not incorporate until 1899. The trust planned to acquire 70 glass plants, "some of which it will close to bring the production down to the demand."[68] The prices offered for the glass plants were very generous. Owners of the glass plants could sell their plant for either cash or a combination of cash and stock in the new company. Many owners chose to receive stock.[69]

The trust was incorporated effective August 2, 1899. James A. Chambers continued as president, and Hartford City’s H.B. Smith was one of the directors of the newly incorporated company.[70] Initial acquisitions included over 20 major window glass plants, including Hartford City Glass Company. Most of the original acquisitions were from Indiana and Pennsylvania. Those glass plants were important enough to enable American Window Glass to control 85 percent of the window glass production in the United States.[70]

Many of the Indiana glass works acquired by the trust were from the East Central Indiana Gas Belt. Among those plants were the Hartford City Glass Company; and the nearby Muncie plants of Maring, Hart, and Company and C. H. Over. Other plants were located in Anderson, Dunkirk, and Fairmount, Indiana.[70] The Hartford City Glass Company became known as Plant Number 3 of the American Window Glass Company.[71] J. R. Johnston, already manager for Hartford City Glass Company, was named manager of the American Window Glass version of the same plant in December.[72] A second window glass factory from Hartford City, Jones Glass Company, was also acquired—and became plant No. 32.[12] Eventually, the company acquired 41 glass factories.[73]

American Window Glass

[edit]

After the acquisition, the Hartford City Glass works became known as plant number 3 of the American Window Glass Company. The plant employed 450 people in 1901.[3] As natural gas supplies in Indiana became depleted, many manufacturers moved or did not survive.[74] The major plants of the American Window Glass successfully changed energy sources from natural gas to gas made from coal.[75] The company also had a technological advantage. Instead of using a glass blower, American Window Glass plants extracted molten glass with a machine. The machine, which was not immediately utilized at all American Window Glass plants, was known as the Lubbers blowing machine. Refinements to the machine and glass-making process were made at the Hartford City works by plant manager Harry G. Slingluff. Production records for the entire company were set at the Hartford City plant in 1905 and 1907—using the Lubbers machines.[71][76]

Lubbers machine

[edit]

The glass blowing machine used by American Window Glass factories was created by Pittsburgh resident John H. Lubbers, and he continued to contribute improvements to the machine over the next decade.[77] By using the Lubbers machine, human glass blowers were replaced with a machine operator paid 30 percent of the glass blower wage. The machine was also five times more productive than the human blowers. It could make windows four times as large because a larger cylinder was extracted from the tank of molten glass.[71][78] Thus, the highest–paid skilled workers in the United States were considered obsolete. In the case of Hartford City, machines replaced most of the human glass blowers by 1908.[79]

Consolidation

[edit]

During the spring of 1900, rumors circulated that American Window Glass planned to move production from smaller plants in nearby Dunkirk and Redkey (factories 17, 30, 34, and 41) to the large southside Hartford City plant. If the Hartford City plant would have its capacity expanded equal to the capacity of the plants to be consolidated, then Hartford City would have "become the greatest window glass town in the world."[80] The plant would have employed nearly 1000 people, equaling the largest window glass plant in the world in capacity. That plant in combination with Hartford City's two other window glass factories, not even considering the flint glass plants or bottle plants, would make the city's window glass capacity the highest in the world.[80] The rumor had some truth—smaller plants were eventually closed. However, Hartford City's large southside plant was not expanded.

In 1905 American Window Glass sold some of its smaller plants, including Hartford City's plant number 32.[81] Plant number 3 still continued operations. It employed 500 people in 1910. Before the start of World War I, American Window Glass Company was still the dominant window glass manufacturer, accounting for over half of the nation's window glass manufacturing capacity.[78] In 1913, the company continued to close many of its smaller plants, while the large plants were equipped with the glass blowing machines. Plant number 3 was the third largest window glass factory in the United States, and the largest west of Pennsylvania.[78] The Belgian portion of Hartford City's glassmaking workforce was dramatically reduced because of two factors: the glass-blowing machine replaced human glass blowers; and Belgians had difficulty returning from summer vacations in their European homeland after the start of World War I.[82]

American Window Glass made record profits in 1920. All of the company's small plants had been sold or closed by that time. The glass-blowing machines were still being used to extract molten glass. The company was described as having "six large and well-equipped plants located near the Pittsburgh district, and one large plant at Hartford City, Ind."[83]

Decline

[edit]
old drawing of a machine from a patent
Drawing from 1920 M. J. Owens patent "Means for Making Sheet Glass"

During the beginning of the 20th century, competitors of the American Window Glass trust used a different approach to gain a technological advantage. The machines used by American Window Glass replaced glass blowers, but still used the same blowing and cutting process used in the 1880s—although the company was constantly working to make the process more efficient. Competitors such as American inventor Irving W. Colburn began working on a machine that produced window glass using a different process. Colburn patented his work during the first decade of the 20th century. Although he filed for bankruptcy in 1912, his patents were purchased by Edward Drummond Libbey and Michael J. Owens—who hired Colburn to continue work on the machine.[84] Owens was the creator of the Owens Bottling Machine that revolutionized the glass bottle industry.[85][86] Working with Colburn, Owens improved the window glass machine enough that it began being used for production in 1921. By 1926, Libbey-Owens had gained a window glass market share of 29 percent, while American Window Glass's share was 59 percent. During the 1920s, Pittsburgh Plate Glass also developed a new process for making window glass, creating even more competition in the window glass industry.[84][Note 7]

Because of the improved technology and processes utilized by competitors, many of the American Window Glass patents, and much of its machinery, became obsolete. By the late 1920s, American Window Glass was forced to begin re-equipping its plants with new machinery. The company underwent a financial reorganization in 1929. Dividends on its preferred stock were lowered. Although a few plants were re-equipped, the Hartford City plant was not.[87] Hartford City's natural gas supply was depleted, and the type of sand used to produce glass was in better supply near other American Window Glass plants in Pennsylvania. Thus, American Window Glass Company plant number 3, the former Hartford City Glass Company, was closed in 1929.[30]

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ A 1902 Hartford City directory lists 7 glass factories in Hartford City: American Window Glass Company factory number 3, American Window Glass Company factory number 32, Blackford Glass Company, Clelland Glass Company, Diamond Flint Glass Company, Johnston Glass Company, Hartford City Flint Glass Company, and Sneath Glass Company.[9] An eighth plant, the Sans-Pariel Bottle Company, is listed in a 1901 state inspection report.[3] The count of eight factories excludes predecessor companies. The Hurrle Glass Company factory, also listed in the 1901 report, became the Clelland Glass Company.[10] Hartford City Glass Company and Jones Glass Company, both listed in a state inspection report for 1898,[11] became American Window Glass Company factories 3 and 32, respectively.[12]
  2. ^ For more detail on 1880s glassmaking, see Appendix A in Jack Paquette's Blowpipes book. Paquette, a former Vice President of Owens-Illinois Glass Company, has written at least 3 glass–related books.[34] Window glassmaking at the Hartford City Glass Company plant is discussed, by a former glassworker whose father worked at the Hartford City plant, in a book produced by the Blackford County Historical Society.[30]
  3. ^ The first window glass plant built in Fostoria, Ohio, (Mambourg Glass Company built in 1887) had a capacity of 13 pots.[47] In Toledo, Ohio, the Toledo Window Glass Company plant was built with a 10 pot capacity in 1888.[48]
  4. ^ When constructed, the Hartford City Glass Company plant was considered the largest window glass works in the world.[42] For many years, it was one of the three largest window glass plants in the United States—competing with two plants in Pennsylvania. In congressional hearings, the plant was listed as third-largest in the United States (behind the two Pennsylvania plants) in 1898.[49] The same hearings show the Hartford City plant as largest in 1913.[50]
  5. ^ Capacity "expansion" was difficult to measure precisely. The pot-equivalency of a tank varied, depending on the tank size and way the tank was equipped.[55]
  6. ^ Testimony before the United States House Committee on Ways and Means in 1913 listed the Hartford City Glass Company as having two tanks in 1898—not three.[66] In 1913, when the plant was owned by American Window Glass Company, it was still described as having two tanks: a large tank "equipped with 10 machines" and a "smaller tank, with a six-machine equipment".[67]
  7. ^ In Europe, Belgian Emil Fourcault developed his own mechanized method (Fourcault process) to produce window glass. His process was adopted during the 1930s by a group of companies in the United States called Furco Glass. Market share for American Window Glass fell to 20 percent in the United States. The remainder of the market was dominated by three other manufacturers: Libbey-Owens with 30 percent, Pittsburgh Plate Glass with 25 percent, and Furco with 25 percent.[84]

References

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  1. ^ "Indiana's Natural Gas Boom". The American Oil & Gas Historical Society. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  2. ^ Glass & Kohrman 2005, p. 10
  3. ^ a b c Indiana Department of Inspection 1902, p. 57
  4. ^ Forstall 1996, pp. 49–53
  5. ^ Glass & Kohrman 2005, p. 7
  6. ^ Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated) 1896, p. 4
  7. ^ Hamilton, Abraham & Lankford 2005, p. 13 section 8
  8. ^ Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.) 1986, p. 16
  9. ^ Dale 1902, pp. 121–122
  10. ^ "Company is Organized To Operate the Late Hurrle Glass Factory". Hartford City Telegram. 1895-01-04. p. 1.
  11. ^ a b Indiana Department of Factory Inspection 1899, p. 44
  12. ^ a b "Injunction Suits". Hartford City Telegram. 1899-09-27. p. 1.
  13. ^ a b c "Factory Owner of Natural Gas Days Here Dies". Kokomo Daily Tribune. 1925-09-10. p. 1.
  14. ^ Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World) 1896b, p. 10
  15. ^ Graham & Perrin 1881, p. 684
  16. ^ Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review) 1899, p. 13
  17. ^ Lane 1892, p. 470
  18. ^ "Indiana State News". Parker News. 1893-09-08. p. 7.
  19. ^ "Within Our Borders - Will Make No Glass". Goshen Daily News. 1891-09-01. p. 3.
  20. ^ Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated) 1896, p. 30
  21. ^ Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated) 1896, p. 15
  22. ^ "Dont Bet on the Colonel". Hartford City Telegram. 1894-12-12. p. 1.
  23. ^ "Col. Conger Beaten". Fort Wayne Weekly Gazette. 1895-09-05. p. 2.
  24. ^ a b c Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated) 1896, p. 18
  25. ^ Lane 1892, p. 157
  26. ^ "Annual Meetings. Manufacturers Directors of the Hartford City Glass Company and Hartford City Land Company Meet". Hartford City Telegram. 1899-08-30. p. 1.
  27. ^ Fleming & American Historical Society 1922, p. 39
  28. ^ Castelo et al. 2012, p. 35
  29. ^ a b "A Big Industry". Hartford City Telegram. 1894-12-05. p. 1.
  30. ^ a b c d Castelo et al. 2012, pp. 16–17
  31. ^ United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce) 1917, p. 55
  32. ^ United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce) 1917, p. 61
  33. ^ Skrabec 2007, p. 30
  34. ^ Paquette 2002, pp. 469–475
  35. ^ Clamme & Castelo 2011, p. 11
  36. ^ Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.) 1986, pp. 48–49
  37. ^ Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.) 1986, p. 68
  38. ^ Clamme & Castelo 2011, p. 23
  39. ^ Blackford County Gazette (advertisement) 1903, p. 269
  40. ^ a b Blackford County Historical Society (Ind.) 1986, p. 67
  41. ^ Amstutz & Historical Committee 1943, p. 7
  42. ^ a b c "(Untitled column on far left near bottom of page)". Rochester Tribune. 1891-01-02. p. 1. The Hartford City glass works have just been completed and are said to be the largest and best arranged window glass works in the world. The weekly pay roll will amount to over $3,000.
  43. ^ a b c d Unlisted (Hartford City Illustrated) 1896, p. 16
  44. ^ United States Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce (Dept. of Commerce) 1917, p. 41
  45. ^ "In the Gas Fields.". Oskaloosa Daily Herald. 1891-04-27. p. 2.
  46. ^ "(untitled third column from left)". Hartford City Telegram. 1893-03-02. p. 1.
  47. ^ Paquette 2002, p. 176
  48. ^ Paquette 2002, pp. 333–334
  49. ^ United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means 1913, pp. 410–411
  50. ^ United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means 1913, pp. 412–413
  51. ^ "State News - Glass Works Shut Down". Goshen Daily News. 1891-06-03. p. 5.
  52. ^ "Over the State". Logansport Journal. 1891-10-07. p. 3. The Hartford City glass works have resumed operations.
  53. ^ "Indiana State News". Spencer Democrat. 1892-04-07. p. 6.
  54. ^ a b "WINDOW GLASS NOTES". Hartford City Telegram. 1892-04-07. p. 1.
  55. ^ Merriam et al. 1901, p. 390
  56. ^ "Glass Works for Hartford City". Connersville Daily Examiner. 1892-03-31. p. 1.
  57. ^ "State News Summary". Shoals Martin County Tribune. 1893-03-24. p. 2.
  58. ^ "Meeting of the Glass Company". Hartford City Telegram. 1893-04-20. p. 1.
  59. ^ "(untitled third column from right)". Hartford City Telegram. 1893-06-01. p. 1.
  60. ^ Indiana State Board of Health 1907, p. 250
  61. ^ Castelo et al. 2012, p. 23
  62. ^ "(untitled third column from left)". Hartford City Telegram. 1893-04-06. p. 1.
  63. ^ "From Hoosierdom - Glass Works to Start". Logansport Reporter. 1893-09-20. p. 1.
  64. ^ Unlisted (Glass & Pottery World) 1896, p. 23
  65. ^ "Indiana News - Enlarging a Glass Plant". Connersville Daily Examiner. 1896-12-28. p. 1.
  66. ^ United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means 1913, p. 406
  67. ^ Unlisted (National Glass Budget) 1913, p. 7
  68. ^ "The Big Trust. The New Window Glass Combine Certain". Hartford City Telegram. 1899-05-17. p. 1.
  69. ^ "The Glass Trust. Manufacturers Believe It Is a Sure Go". Hartford City Telegram. 1899-07-12. p. 1.
  70. ^ a b c Wallace & Goodsell 1901, p. 315
  71. ^ a b c Unlisted (Paint, Oil and Drug Review) 1907, p. 4
  72. ^ "(untitled second column from right, near bottom of page)". Hartford City Telegram. 1899-12-13. p. 1.
  73. ^ Hawkins 2009, p. 23
  74. ^ Glass & Kohrman 2005, p. 91
  75. ^ "American Window Glass is to Continue the Use of Coal Gas". Hartford City Telegram. 1895-09-27. p. 1.
  76. ^ "Indiana Company Has New Glass Making Record". Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. 1905-04-09. p. 18.
  77. ^ Unlisted (National Glass Budget) 1917, p. 1
  78. ^ a b c Hamor 1913, p. 81
  79. ^ "Human Blowers Thing of the Past – Machines Replacing Skilled Trades and Obsolete Methods of Manufacture of Window Glass". Daily Times Gazette (Hartford City, Indiana). 1908-04-13. p. 1.
  80. ^ a b "We'll Lead the World". Portland Semi Weekly Sun. 1900-05-22. p. 1.
  81. ^ "Offers Old Plants for Sale". Logansport Reporter. 1905-06-15. p. 7.
  82. ^ Fones-Wolf 2007, p. 138
  83. ^ Windsor 1921, p. 318
  84. ^ a b c Chandler 1999, pp. 115–116
  85. ^ Skrabec 2007, p. 124
  86. ^ "The Fabulous Monster: Owens Bottle Machine". Corning Museum of Glass. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  87. ^ "Belle Vernon and Arnold Plant Method of Window Glass Manufacture Success Certain But Business Is Still Dull". Charleroi (PA) Mail. 1930-02-20. p. 1.

Cited works

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