Glass production in Licking County, Ohio

Licking County has been a major player in the glass-making industry throughout the Midwest since the 1800s. Important glass manufacturers include Shields King & Co., the Newark Star glass factory, and entrepreneur Edward H. Everett. Since the 1800s, glass production has decreased in Licking County, yet it is still an industry that is relevant today.

History of glass manufacturing

Shields King & Co. was a glass manufacturing company founded in 1871, and it began making various glass bottles. Shields King & Co. was founded by William Shields, David E. Stevens, Oren G. King, William E. Atkinson, and David C. Weingarner. They worked alongside other accomplices such as Richard Lumley to complete different patents including self-sealing fruit jars. Together, King & Co. worked in the Newark Star Glassworks factory to produce beer bottles, jars, bottle stoppers, and there is even evidence that they made tokens although there is no certainty on what they were used for.

Since their opening in 1871 they were successful however, after being bought by Edward H. Everett in 1880 it prompted a significant increase in business through the late 1880s producing 20,000 dollars worth of beer bottles for a brewing company in Cincinnati. The factory flourished until it burnt down in May 1893, only to begin production again in December. Edward H. Everett decided to facilitate a combination with other glass companies and create The American Bottle Company. The American Bottle Company was a prominent manufacturer of glass containers in the Midwest. It was founded in 1905 and is known for producing various bottles and jars for multiple industries.

Edward H. Everett witnessed extreme growth within the glass industry as these factories became entirely based on machines for production. Despite machine-based production being beneficial to the speed of glassware making, the machines diminished the heritage of glass blowers. The American Bottle Co. was in production from 1905 to 1916 until it gradually terminated the factories it was working with.

The gas and glass boom

Utica, Ohio, once thrived as a boomtown in the glass industry, driven by natural resources and rapid industrial expansion. In the early 1900s, the town's economy was seen as multiple glass manufacturers set up operations, which local historians have named the “gas and glass boom”. The industry flourished because the natural gas from nearby wells was plentiful and was not expensive. This provided a vital energy source for glass production. This natural resource availability positioned Utica as significant in the region's glass manufacturing companies to capitalize on the low-cost fuel.

Five glass manufacturers operated in Utica between 1903 and 1929, making the town a regional hub for glassmaking. These companies: Utica Glass Company, Central Window Glass Company, Advance Glass Company, Licking Window Glass Company, and Corl-Erie Sheet Glass Company- all contributed to the town's economic growth in the glass industry. While these companies mainly focused on producing glass for household and industrial purposes, the booming industry also led to volatility in the town, which helped with rapid economic growth. This brought challenges, including intense competition, fluctuating demand, and the dangers of working with molten glass.

The glass industry's success deeply influenced Utica's economy and community, which brought both prosperity and unpredictability. As demand for glass surged, so did the need for labor, which led to more job opportunities and this drew workers to the area. However, the rise and fall of demand in glass production also brought instability to the workforce and local economy, where companies had to experience frequent closures and changes in ownership. The impact of the glass boom is still visible in Utica today, both through the “Glass Industry Mural,” and in historical records that detail the bustling, often turbulent times of the early 20th century and has been created as part of a historical tour.

Although the glass industry in Utica has declined, the town's legacy as a “glass boom” town remains influential. Communities made the effort to have murals and tours, honor the glassmakers’ work and the town's role in Ohio's industrial history. These serve as a reminder of Utica's resilience and adaptability in a once-thriving industry.

Specific examples of glass bottles

Here is a specific example of a piece of glass that was produced in the Newark Star Glass works. Specifically, looking at one example, the Stevens Tin Top. It had a groove-ring wax sealer in a blue aquamarine glass. The jar is hand-blown and has a tool applied to the lip. There were two patented fruit jars in 1875, and the name of their jars came to be called The Western Pride Self Sealing Jar. Shields and Kind & Co remarked that their jars were the cheapest on the market and that a wrench was not needed, and therefore was not difficult to open. Since the bottle was only made out of glass, Shields King & Co argued that there would be no influence on how the fruit tasted because it never came into contact with tin or other metals.

Modern day glass making

There are various exhibits throughout Licking County that show the rich history of glass making. Companies such as Owens Corning, Heisey, Holophane, and the former American Bottle Company continue to produce glass today. Owens Corning and Holophene are still actively producing glass today. The Works had been looking for glass to put on display for a while now, and it occurred to them that it was the ideal time to put the deep rooted history of Newarks and Licking's glass on display. Throughout the museum “The Works” the exhibits were put together in specific ways so when the guest walked into the museum they could gain stories and the history of glass making. Throughout the early 1800s and 1900s the Newark Star Glass works was first created for hand-blown glass to create fruit containers and other glass bottles. Heisy found the great achievement as a producer of glass, and this is one of the main reasons why there are glass exhibitions in the museum; to give recognition to all of the glass makers. Although glass making was a very big deal during the 1800s and 1900s, it has not completely gone away, and as seen through the exhibits at "The Works" and "The Heisey".

Glassmaking in America all started from the industrial glass which gave birth to the American glass movement. However its origins can be traced all the way back to a one-week workshop hosted by the Toledo Museum of Art in 1962. In these factories, each person had a special role, and each artist can be traced back to the workshop.