J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company

New England Glass Company 1855

In 1800, the United States had no more than ten glass factories. Most of the nation's glass products came from Europe.[1] Lead ore, known as red lead, was a key additive for high–quality glassware, and England controlled the supply.[2][Note 1] The United States Embargo Act of 1807, and the War of 1812, made red lead extremely difficult to acquire. After the war England kept the price of red lead high, and dumped low–priced glass products in the United States. This drove many American glass companies into bankruptcy.[2]

One of the few successful American glass companies was New England Glass Company, which was incorporated in 1818 and led by Deming Jarves—the "father of the American glass industry."[4] Using assistance from the Harvard University library and a British engineer named James B. Barnes, Jarves developed a way to produce red lead from domestic sources of lead oxide.[5] Jarves also smuggled European glassmaking talent to America.[6] Among those Jarves brought in was Thomas Leighton, who rediscovered ways to make several types of colored glass, including ruby glass and mercury glass.[6][Note 2] Jarves left his company in 1825 to form the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company.[8]

Glass is made by starting with a batch of ingredients, melting it, forming the glass product, and gradually cooling it.[Note 3] Because most glass plants melted their ingredients in a pot, the plant's number of pots was often used to describe a plant's capacity.[Note 4] In 1820, there were only 33 glassmaking facilities in the United States.[1] The Tariff of 1824, which was a protective tariff, helped the American glass industry. Between 1820 and 1840, nearly 70 glass factories were started. Most of these factories were small businesses employing 25 to 40 workers.[1] Glassmaking on the East Coast of the United States peaked around 1850, as plants shifted to Pittsburgh because of the availability of coal for fuel.[16] By 1850, the United States had 3,237 free men above age 15 who listed their occupation as part of the glass manufacturing process.[17] Pennsylvania accounted for 40% of the glassmaking employees. Other states with more than 100 glass workers were New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia.[17]

Wheeling (blue circle) and operating railroad line (in red) in 1840

Before the American Civil War, Wheeling was in the Northern Panhandle part of the Commonwealth (state) of Virginia.[18] It was located at the intersection of the National Road with the Ohio River.[19] Two factors made Wheeling an ideal location for a glass factory: fuel and transportation.[19] Glassmaking requires high quantities of fuel to melt the raw materials used to make glass. Coal was the fuel of choice for making glass during much of the 19th century, succeeding wood and eventually succeeded by natural gas and oil.[20] Low-cost coal was available from mines close to Wheeling.[21]

During the 1840s, waterways were usually the best mode for inter-city transportation, especially west of the Appalachian Mountains. America's railroad network was still in its infancy, and did not have much railroad line in states west of Wheeling.[Note 5] A waterway route that used the Ohio River, and when necessary the Mississippi River, was the low–cost way to ship products from Wheeling to large cities such as Cincinnati, St. Louis, and New Orleans—and goods suffered less damage.[24][Note 6] In 1845, Wheeling had the transportation advantages of the Ohio River and National Road. It was already known that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (a.k.a. B&O) had been building railroad line to connect the city of Baltimore with the Ohio River, although there was some uncertainty about the Ohio River destination point.[19][27]

The independent community of Ritchietown was located south of Wheeling on the Ohio River.[28] Ritchietown was named after John Ritchie, who along with Samuel Sprigg owned much of the land in the area.[29] Ritchie moved to the Wheeling area as early as June 1828, and was involved with real estate and Wheeling's first flint glass factory.[30] John Ritchie's flint glass works was started in 1829.[30][Note 7] This factory was shut down in 1837.[30] In 1839, the firm Plunkett and Miller began construction of a glass works in Ritchietown adjacent to a hillside with coal.[32] During that year the nation, which had just recovered from the Panic of 1837, fell into another economic depression. Plunkett and Miller began having financial difficulties, and defaulted on a mortgage in 1841.[33] An attempt by Horatio Miller (without Plunkett) to keep the factory producing ended in late 1842 with another default. The plant was closed.[34] In 1851, Ritchietown was incorporated, and changed its name to South Wheeling.[29][35] The community changed names again in 1870, when it became part of the city of Wheeling as its Eighth Ward.[36]

The elder Mr. Barnes died in 1849. At that time, the company was reorganized as Hobbs, Barnes and Company, with the two Hobbs men and younger Barnes as the owners.[46] In late December 1852, the B&O completed its line to Wheeling and the Ohio River, giving Wheeling access via railroad to points on the east coast.[47] The first train between Wheeling and Baltimore ran in January 1853.[48] More railroad lines were constructed during the following years, and the B&O eventually reached as far west as Chicago and St. Louis.[27]

In 1854, the firm purchased the land around its factory, including land that was adjacent to the newly laid tracks of the B&O Railroad.[49] Construction began on a new furnace. The new furnace was in response to increased demand for glassware caused by the expansion of what was, at that time, the American West.[46] In 1856 a new partner named Jacob K. Dunham was added to the firm. The firm changed its name back to Barnes, Hobbs, and Company, and had a wholesale distribution house was named J.K. Dunham and Company. John L. Hobbs, James F. Barnes, John H. Hobbs, and J. K. Dunham were partners in both firms.[49]

1859 advertisement for kerosene and lamps

By August 1857 the company's glass works had three furnaces for melting batch: one ten–pot, one nine–pot, and one five–pot. The plant also had an annealing furnace and stations for molds and cutting. Also mentioned was an adjoining coal mine.[50] In 1858, Dunham withdrew from the firm, so the company changed its name to Hobbs, Barnes, and Company.[51] During July 1859 John H. Hobbs sold his share of the company to James F. Barnes, which meant that John L. Hobbs and James F. Barnes each owned half of the company. The firm's name was changed to Hobbs and Barnes.[52] During 1859, petroleum was discovered in Pennsylvania.[53] This discovery, plus the increased usage of coal oil from Kentucky, led to increased demand for kerosene lamps and lanterns. The growing popularity of petroleum–based lighting caused the company to increase production of lamps and chimneys. Demand for these products was so strong that the company could not produce enough of them.[46]

The Hobbs and Barnes glass works employed 115 people in 1860.[54] The American Civil War began in 1861, and many employees of the glass works enlisted in the Union Army. The furnace of the company's glass works was shut down for about half of the year. The company continued operations, but had difficulty finding skilled workers.[46] Elsewhere in 1862, John H. Hobbs, Hobbs and Barnes bookkeeper Charles W. Brockunier, and others formed a company that found oil in Wood County.[55] In 1863, James F. Barnes retired, and the co-partnership of Hobbs and Barnes was dissolved.[56] A new co-partnership was formed, consisting of John L. Hobbs, John H. Hobbs, and Charles W. Brockunier. The firm was named J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company.[56] The newest partner, Charles W. Brockunier, began working at the South Wheeling glass works in the 1850s. It is probable that profits from the Wood County oil venture enabled Brockunier and John H. Hobbs to buy stakes in the South Wheeling glassmaking firm.[55] The stated purpose of the new firm was "manufacturing Flint and Fancy Colored Glassware, in all its branches, at the Works, South Wheeling."[56] The Hobbs and Barnes glassware and china outlet was also renamed.[56] A big name change, not related to the company, occurred in June 1863—when the northwestern portion of Virginia, including Wheeling, became the state of West Virginia.[18] The war continued to cause a labor shortage for the company, and this problem got worse during the summer of 1863 when some of the factory personnel left to form another company. This glass company was originally named Oesterling, Henderson, and Company—and it incorporated in 1867 as Central Glass Company.[57] By 1864, J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company had only 35 to 40 workers.[54]

Drawing of the J.H. Hobbs, Brockunier & Co. glass works circa 1870s

During early 1863, John L. Hobbs (the elder Hobbs) became convinced that glass made with lime instead of lead would be a better product. He began testing various combinations of ingredients to make high quality glass without lead, but his experiments were not successful.[46] In the fall of the same year, chemist William Leighton Sr. joined the firm as a partner, and continued the experiments with lime glass. Leighton came from a glass making family, and had worked at New England Glass Company.[59][Note 8] In December 1864, Leighton had success. His major change in the formula for glass was using bicarbonate of soda instead of soda ash. His formula was similar to the long-lost soda-lime formula used many years earlier in Europe. The glass made using this formula had good enough quality that the company could compete in the high-end of the glassware market.[61] This improvement in the formula for glass was considered one of two great advances in American glassmaking during the 19th century, the other being the invention of pressing.[62] The ingredients used to make the glass were lower-cost than those used to make lead glass. In addition, the glass hardened faster, meaning the workforce was forced to shape or press it quicker. Thus, the new formula produced high-quality glass at lower costs for both ingredients and labor. It also inspired glassmakers to improve the processes for shaping the glass.[63]

Leighton retired in 1868, and was replaced as a partner in the firm by his son, William Leighton Jr.[64] The elder Leighton already made his mark on the glass industry, as his new recipe for glass caused glassware to be available to the consumer at about 25 percent of the cost prior to his discovery. The drop in prices created new demand for glass products—causing new factories to be built and old factories to increase capacity.[62] Lime glass replaced flint glass in most households.[65] Two other important innovations made by the company were: (1) the use of benzine in the polishing furnace, which eliminates sulfur that can cloud the glass; and (2) applying cold air to chill molds.[66]

1884 insurance map of the Hobbs, Brockunier, & Co. glass works

Drawing of the interior of J.H. Hobbs, Brockunier & Co. glass works circa 1870s

By 1873, the glass works was the oldest in America west of the Allegany Mountains.[67] Its facilities occupied 400 feet (121.9 m) square, and had three furnaces with a combined capacity of 29 pots. Benzine was used as a fuel for the furnace because its lack of sulfur produced clearer glass. The works employed about 300 people, and its annual revenue was about $325,000 (equivalent to $7,939,028 in 2022).[67] An 1879 report said the glass works occupied five acres (2.0 ha). The company had 12 departments with a total of 350 employees, and annual revenue was $300,000 (equivalent to $9,097,241 in 2022).[68] Described as one of the most famous glass works in the country as well as one of the largest, it was expected to be the largest after the completion of a new gas furnace.[68]

During the decade, furnaces were rebuilt and capacity was increased to a total of 32 pots. In 1879, one furnace was converted to use gas as its fuel, and it was considered the largest furnace in the United States.[46] About 350 people were employed at the works at that time. The company's goods were sold on four continents. Products included "all articles of glass for table use, engraved, cut and etched; bar goods, lamps, chandeliers and epergnes (ornamental centerpiece for a dining table)."[46] J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company was the largest glass company in America.[43]

John L. Hobbs died in 1881, and the remaining partners purchased his stake in the firm. The company was renamed Hobbs, Brockunier and Company.[69] In the early 1880s, the firm began making European-style glassware. By the mid-1880s, it had improved enough on the European designs that European manufacturers began emulating products from Wheeling.[69] The glass works was shipping about 400 railroad carloads per year to points in the United States, Cuba, South America, Australia, and Europe. Sales offices were kept in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Its colored ware was popular, and the works produced more ruby glass than the rest of the nation combined. By 1886, when including mold shops, cutting shops, etching rooms, and decorating rooms, 650 people were employed at a facility that covered several acres (1.2 ha).[69]

J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier & Company Peach Blow Vase, 1886, on display in the Walters Art Museum

In 1886, a Chinese porcelain vase on a stand was sold at auction for $18,000 (equivalent to $586,267 in 2022). The vase and stand were from a collection belonging to Mary Morgan, and the purchaser was William T. Walters of Baltimore.[70] The price was extraordinary for the time, and noted in newspapers.[71] The vase was made during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor whose reign ended in 1722.[72] The Chinese porcelain that was popular with collectors had a two-tone glaze that was called "peachbloom".[73] Glass companies sought to capitalize on the Morgan Vase publicity by producing products that looked similar. The glass typically used for these products is now called peachblow glass (not peachbloom), although the original product names differed.[74] Among rivals to Hobbs, Brockunier, and Company that made peachblow glass were New England Glass Company (Wild Rose), Thomas Webb and Sons (Peach Glass), and Stevens and Williams (Peach Bloom).[75]

Hobbs, Brockunier and Company developed the glass used for its Morgan-style vase prior to when the Morgan Vase achieved fame, and called it "coral". The company's coral glass was said to have colors "rivaling the bloom on the peach".[76][Note 9] By the second half of 1886 (after the Morgan Vase sale), Hobbs, Brockunier and Company was advertising "Peach Blow Vases".[76] Although the original Morgan Vase was placed in a wooden stand, the stand made by Hobbs, Brockunier and Company consisted of five outward facing griffins in amber–colored glass.[78] The Hobbs, Brockunier and Company peach blow glass was white or opaque white plated with gold ruby glass. The exterior glass was reheated at the top which changed the color at the top to red. The resulting product had a white interior with an exterior that was cream-colored or yellow on the bottom half and red on the top half. The finished product had a satin or gloss finish.[79] The same coral/peach blow glass was used for pitchers, bowls, and salt shakers.[80]

Hobnail Finger Bowl made by Hobbs Glass Company after 1886. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hobnail glass is pressed glass with a pattern of raised bumps. It was created in 1886 at Hobbs, Brockunier and Company by William Leighton Jr. and William F. Russell.[81] Their patent, No. 343,133, discussed projecting nodules and improvements in "pressed opalescent glassware".[82] This style was the company's pattern 323. It was originally called Nodule, but more typically it was called Dew Drop or Pineapple.[83] Some experts believe pattern 323 products were labeled Pineapple by the company when the ware was opalescent, and Dew Drop when the glass was not opalescent.[83] Collectors call the pattern, and similar patterns by other companies, Hobnail or Hobnail glass.[84]

The Dew Drop/Hobnail pattern is considered "an innovation in glass" and was very popular.[85] It was made in at least 18 different colors, which is more than any other Hobbs' pattern.[86] Museums such as the Corning Museum of Glass, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), and a university museum all have this type of glass on display.[87]

Advertisement for glassware made by the United States Glass Company.

In February 1891, a glass trust was formed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[106] The new firm was named United States Glass Company, and John H. Hobbs was on the board of directors.[106] Initially, the Pittsburgh-based company consisted of 16 unionized glass works.[107] Each factory became known by a letter (e.g. Factory A of United States Glass Company).[108] Hobbs Glass Company became Factory H, and more key talent immediately left the company, including Kopp.[109] The United States was in an economic recession at the time of the formation of the glass trust.[107] More recessions would occur during the 1890s, and 1893 is considered the beginning of an economic depression with deflation and a high unemployment rate.[110] Two ways to make the plants produce products at lower prices were to get concessions from the unions and to introduce more machines.[111] It is the opinion of some experts that the U.S. Glass trust was formed to "oppose the union and to introduce the automated equipment."[112] The American Flint Glass Workers' Union was naturally opposed to mechanization or concessions, and it was strong enough that a single glass works could not oppose it.[112] U.S. Glass preferred to produce glass using the most modern equipment with relatively unskilled workers. This meant that complicated glass products that had been produced by skilled workers such as Kopp and Leighton would be phased out.[24]

Within the next year, representatives of the trust evaluated the 16 glass works. Factory H was thought to be old, have high expenses, and produce products that were costly to make. In addition, the process for making many of Factory H's products could not be easily mechanized.[111] U.S. Glass built large new glass works at Gas City, Indiana, and Glassport, Pennsylvania. The new plants were highly automated—and could oppose unions at the other 16 plants.[112] During the summer of 1892, workers at Factory H were notified that after the summer shutdown, their jobs would be vacant. Those that desired to work at the plant would need to apply to the new factory manager.[113] On October 12, 1893, the American Flint Glass Workers began a strike. Glass was not produced at Factory H, although inventory was still being sold.[112] In January 1894 U.S. Glass proposed that if the workers at its Wheeling plants would accept the terms of the labor agreements used in its Pittsburgh plants, work would start immediately. If the conditions were not accepted, then Wheeling's two glass works (Factory H and Factory O) would be torn down. The union rejected the proposed terms.[114] Members of the union remained on strike until 1897. U.S. Glass survived by producing glass at its two large (and recently built) highly mechanized plants.[112]

Factory H was not torn down, and U.S. Glass was still maintaining the facility in early 1895. In 1902, the plant was sold to Harry Northwood.[112] Northwood was an Englishman that worked at Hobbs, Brockunier and Company as an etcher in the 1880s. The company showcased his work at the West Virginia State Fair in 1882, which included etched pitchers and wine glasses.[115] Northwood was considered "one of the leading glassmen of this country".[116] His new glass works was H. Northwood and Company.[112] The plant employed 300 people, and became well known for table ware.[117] Northwood died in 1919, and his company closed in 1925.[117] That was the end of glassmaking at the Wheeling glass works originally known as Barnes, Hobbs, and Company; and more famous as J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier, and Company.[112]