Dates

• Majority of material found within 1892 - 1931

Extent

2 boxes Linear Feet (Between 1892 and 1931, five different glass companies manufactured what has become known as Indiana Glass in the same factory building in Indiana, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Not to be confused with Indiana Glass made in Dunkirk, Indiana, the glass companies based out of Indiana, Pennsylvania included the Indiana Glass Company, 1892-1896; Northwood Glass Company, 1896-1899; the Northwood Works of the National Glass Company of Pittsburgh, 1899-1904; the Dugan Glass Company, 1904-1913; and the Diamond Glassware Company, 1913-1931. The Indiana glassworks factory was built along the railroad line at the location of the former State Experimental Farm near the present location of the Miller Stadium and the Eberly College of Business parking lot at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. It was at this factory in 1897 where Northwood Glass Company owner Harry Northwood first made opalescent or translucent pressed glassware in the United States, which originated in England in the 1870s. According to Indiana County historian Clarence Stephenson, glassware, vases, dishes, and many other items made from glass in colors ranging from white to pastels are recognized as prized Indiana Glass. The story of Indiana glassware began on January 1, 1892 when a group of Indiana community leaders met in the office of attorney and former state senator George W. Hood to consider a proposal by a visiting glass expert Mr. Nevill, who had patented pressed glass molds. Nevill recommended that a glass factory be built to manufacture glass in Indiana, Pennsylvania. After the meeting, $35,000 in stock was raised to form the Indiana Glass Company. The Indiana Glass Company was formally organized on January 28, 1892 with the following directors Harry White, W.B. Marshall, Griffith Ellis, Thomas Sutton, John S. Hastings, H.W. Wilson, and Delos A. Hetrick. Harry White was elected president and authorized capital stock to be increased to $50,000. The Indiana glass factory was located on the old State Experimental Farm. The Indiana Glass Company was incorporated on April 14, 1892. It cost $29,000 to build and equip the factory, however, the Indiana Glass Works was not a financial success. After three years, it was sold at the Sheriff’s sale in October 1895. English immigrant Harry C. Northwood (1860-1919) founded the Northwood Glass Company. His father, John Northwood, was an innovator in acid etching of glass and inventor of a template machine for decorating. John Northwood also invented a glass crimping device and designed different patterns or motifs to be made with hot pressed glass molds. After having worked as a glass etcher for the Hobbs-Brochunier Plant in Wheeling, West Virginia, Harry Northwood went onto establish glass factories in Martins Ferry, Ohio, 1888-1893; Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, 1894-1895; Indiana, Pennsylvania, 1896-1899; and later the H. Northwood & Co., which operated out of the old Hobbs-Brochunier Plant in Wheeling, West Virginia, from 1901 to 1925. In February 1896, Harry Northwood leased the glass plant in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and it became known as the Northwood Glass Company. Glass production resumed in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 1896. Northwood employed his cousin Thomas E. A. Dugan (1865-1944) as Indiana plant foreman, whose father and younger brothers had also emigrated from England and worked with Harry Northwood. By February 1897, Harry Northwood had considered moving his glassworks to Blairsville, Pennsylvania. But in 1898, an agreement was reached with the Indiana Borough Council, so that Thomas Dugan, and Harry and Clara Northwood could purchase the Indiana factory for the Northwood Glass Company and keep the company in Indiana. On September 4, 1899, the Northwood Glass Company was sold to the National Glass Company of Pittsburgh. Thomas Dugan remained in charge of the Indiana factory, and he operated the Northwood Works of the National Glass Company at the Indiana site from 1900-1904. In 1904, Thomas E. A. Dugan and several investors, purchased the Indiana factory and created the Dugan Glass Company, which operated in Indiana until 1913. The Dugan Glass Company produced carnival glass from 1909-1913 and introduced designs including the Farmyard bowls, Butterfly & Tulip, Wishbone & Spades, Four Flowers, Wreathed Cherry, Apple Blossom Twigs, and Persian Gardens. Most Indiana Glass is unmarked, but Dugan glassware used the Diamond “D” trademark. On February 5, 1912, a fire caused $20,000 in damage to the Indiana factory mold shop and destroyed many expensive glass patterns. In 1913, Thomas Dugan sold the Indiana factory to the Diamond Glassware Company and moved his company to Lousconing, Maryland. From 1913 to 1931, the Indiana factory was operated by the Diamond Glassware Company, which produced carnival glass using many molds and patterns originally created by Thomas E. A. Dugan. Diamond Glassware Company also introduced new patterns including the Stork in Rushes, Peacock at the Fountain, Windflower, Double Stemmed Rose, Weeping Cherry, and Pony and Golden Harvest. The company continued to produce carnival glass during World War I and into the Great Depression, but disaster struck on June 27, 1931, when a fire destroyed most of the factory including the stockroom and $30,000 of finished glassware. The total loss to the Diamond Glassware Company was $100,000, and the Indiana glass factory closed permanently. The building was razed and the property was later purchased by Indiana University of Pennsylvania. This collection is organized in two archival boxes, and it contains photocopies of information from newspaper advertisements and catalog brochures about “Indiana Glass” that was produced by Indiana Glass Company, Northwood Glass Company, Dugan Glass Company, and later the Diamond Glassware Company at the same factory in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The collection has eight pieces of clear and opalescent pressed glassware made in Indiana between 1892 and 1931.)

Language of Materials

English