J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company was one of the largest and best-known manufacturers of glass in the United States during the 19th century. Its products were distributed worldwide. The company is responsible for one of the greatest innovations in American glassmaking—an improved formula for lime glass that enabled American glass manufacturers to produce high-quality glass at a lower cost. The firm also developed talented glassmakers that started glass factories in Ohio and Indiana.
The firm was first organized as Barnes, Hobbs and Company in 1845 by James B. Barnes and John L. Hobbs. Both men held supervisory positions at the New England Glass Company in Massachusetts before starting their business venture. They came to a small community near the south side of Wheeling, Virginia, to begin their new glassmaking partnership. The company's glass factory was known as the South Wheeling Glass Works. The firm was reorganized multiple times during the 50 years following 1845, but members of the Hobbs family were always part of the ownership. During its peak notoriety, the company was named J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company. This version of the firm was organized in 1863 as a co-partnership between John L. Hobbs, son John H. Hobbs, and Charles W. Brockunier. Its products were mostly pressed and blown tableware.
In 1891, the Hobbs Glass Company joined the United States Glass Company trust. The trust controlled over a dozen glass plants. In 1893, the trust closed the Hobbs Wheeling Glass Works. It remained closed until 1902 when the property was sold to Harry Northwood—a former employee of J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company. Northwood's new glass factory, named H. Northwood and Company, employed 300 people and was a successful producer of tableware until 1925.
Background
Glassmaking in the United States
Glass is made by starting with a batch of ingredients, melting it, forming the glass product, and gradually cooling it. In 1800, the United States had no more than ten glass factories. Most of the nation's glass products came from Europe. Lead ore, known as red lead, was a key additive for high–quality glassware, with England holding the world's known supply. 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.
One of the few successful American glass companies was the New England Glass Company, which was incorporated in 1818 and led by Deming Jarves—the "father of the American glass industry." 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. Jarves also "smuggled" European glassmaking talent to America. Among those Jarves brought in was Thomas Leighton, who rediscovered ways to make several types of colored glass, including ruby glass and mercury glass. Jarves left his company in 1825 to form the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company.
In 1820, there were only 33 glassmaking facilities in the United States. 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. 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. By 1850, the United States had 3,237 free men above age 15 who listed their occupation as part of the glass manufacturing process. Pennsylvania accounted for 40% of the glassmaking employees. Other states with more than 100 glass workers were New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Wheeling
Before the American Civil War, Wheeling was in the Northern Panhandle part of the Commonwealth (state) of Virginia. It was located at the intersection of the National Road with the Ohio River. Two factors made Wheeling an ideal location for a glass factory: fuel and transportation. Other than labor, fuel for the melting and annealing furnaces was the biggest expense in glassmaking. 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. Low-cost coal was available from mines close to Wheeling.;
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. 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. 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.
Ritchietown and South Wheeling The independent community of Ritchietown was located south of Wheeling on the Ohio River. Ritchietown was named after John Ritchie, who along with Samuel Sprigg owned much of the land in the area. Ritchie moved to the Wheeling area as early as June 1828, and was involved with real estate and Wheeling's first flint glass factory. John Ritchie's flint glass works was started in 1829. This factory was shut down in 1837. In 1839, the firm Plunkett and Miller began construction of a glassworks in Ritchietown adjacent to a hillside with coal. 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. An attempt by Horatio Miller (without Plunkett) to keep the factory producing ended in late 1842 with another default, which caused the plant to be closed. In 1851, Ritchietown was incorporated, and changed its name to South Wheeling. The community changed names again in 1870, when it became part of the city of Wheeling as its Eighth Ward.
Startup In 1845, James B. Barnes and John L. Hobbs moved to the Ohio River community of Ritchietown to start a new glass company.; They named their company Barnes, Hobbs and Company.; James F. Barnes, son of James B. Barnes, was also a partner in the new firm. The men leased the former Plunkett and Miller glassworks, which was owned by creditors of the bankrupt firm. The glassmaking plant was called the South Wheeling Glass Works. The elder Barnes and Hobbs had worked in supervisory positions at the New England Glass Company in Massachusetts. John H. Hobbs, son of John L. Hobbs, joined the business early in its existence. A just-opened exposed seam of coal was said to "within a few rods of the furnace". Initially, coal was used to power the furnace while wood was used in the annealing process that gradually cools the product. Among the initial products were lantern chimneys (the glass surrounding the flame), jars, tumblers, and cologne bottles.; At the beginning of 1848, the three partners purchased a portion of their factory's property.
Early years 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. In late December1852, the B&O Railroad completed its line to Wheeling and the Ohio River, giving Wheeling access via railroad to points on the east coast. The first train between Wheeling and Baltimore ran in January 1853. More railroad lines were constructed during the following years, and the B&O Railroad eventually reached as far west as Chicago and St. Louis.
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. 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. 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 which 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.
By August 1857 the company's glassworks 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. In 1858, Dunham withdrew from the firm, so the company changed its name to Hobbs, Barnes, and Company. 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 then changed to Hobbs and Barnes. During 1859, petroleum was discovered in Pennsylvania. 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.
The Hobbs and Barnes glassworks employed 115 people in 1860. The American Civil War began in 1861, and many employees of the glassworks enlisted in the Union Army. Due to the uncertain times, the furnace of the company's glassworks was shut down for about half of the year. The company continued operations, but had difficulty finding skilled workers. Elsewhere in 1862, John H. Hobbs, Hobbs and Barnes bookkeeper Charles W. Brockunier, and others formed a company that found oil in Wood County. In 1863, James F. Barnes retired, and the co-partnership of Hobbs and Barnes was dissolved. 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. The newest partner, Charles W. Brockunier, began working at the South Wheeling glassworks 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. The stated purpose of the new firm was "manufacturing Flint and Fancy Colored Glassware, in all its branches, at the Works, South Wheeling." The Hobbs and Barnes glassware and china outlet was also renamed. 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. 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 new glass company was originally named Oesterling, Henderson, and Company—and it incorporated in 1867 as Central Glass Company. By 1864, J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company had only 35 to 40 workers.
Golden era Under the management J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company the next twenty-five years were a golden era for the South Wheeling glassworks. The firm became "famous for the variety, quality, and beauty of its pressed ware, and the richness of its cut, engraved and blown ware". J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier & Company became "one of the most prestigious houses in the Midwest, if not in the entire country." The company made almost all types of glass products with the exception of bottles and window glass.
Glass formula