Glassmaking

In the 19th century American glass makers started to change the face of the industry.

In 1808 a factory was set up in PA

In 1818 the New England Glass Company was formed.

A few years later, a glassmaker named Deaming Jarvis (Originally worked for New England Glass), founded the Sandwich Glass Company, developed a new way of making glass. In the mid 1820's he began using a lever-operated press. Jarvis didn't invent the press but he did receive several patents for improvements in pressing techniques and mold designs. One of the first items that he and his company began making was the cup plate. It seems there was a custom in the early 19th century to drink tea from a saucer. The cup plate became the coaster for the tea cup.

Other areas that developed glass factories were in NY, NJ and Vermont. When Jarvis set up the Sandwich Glass Company on Cape Cod, he purchased 20,000 additional acres of woodland. The wood was necessary to turn the sand to molten glass.

Towards the later part of the century, and the development of natural gas the industry was changing. Michael Owns (Owens Bottling) developed solutions that change the hand blowing industry to a manufacturing industry.