Begun in 1783, the company known for making distinct green ribbed glassware in the state of Connecticut would play an important historical role in global trade at the time. William Pitkin, the owner of East Hartford Glass Works in Middletown, was a member of a family who supplied gunpowder to the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. In exchange, a portion of the payment came in the form of a monopoly with a length of 25 years for glass manufacturing. With this, William Pitkin built his factory in Middletown, CT on farmland owned by his family. Unlike many glass factories in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that were started by men with experience in manufacturing glass, the Pitkin family had to hire people who had experience not only making glass but also overseeing the entire production of glass. The Pitkin family also had to obtain sources in making glass, a sand supplier from New Jersey.
East Hartford Glass Works became known for creating a variety of green bottles with ribbed patterns in the glass. These bottles were made for cider companies which in turn pour the cider into the bottles then ship them to the West Indies. Not restricting operations to making only cider bottles, the glass company also manufactured inkwells, demijohns, flasks, and other glass products, often in varying shades of green: olive, seafoam, moss, and yellowish green. The flasks were produced using the half-post method before being placed in a ribbed pattern mold, a common mold used by the factory. The ribs could be placed either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally on the final glass. Examples of these glass bottles and inkwells can be seen at the Museum of Connecticut.
During the early 1800’s other glass factories began in Connecticut, proving competition with East Hartford Glass Works. According to The Hartford Courant, December 15, 1886, John Mather bought the East Hartford Glass Works in 1807 to keep the factory open to some degree. However, in 1821 the Norfolk & Long Island hurricane made its way up the east coast of the United States and smacked Connecticut with major damage to most of the central part of the state, with East Hartford Glass Works factory being a casualty (The Hartford Courant, October 2, 1938). With the East Hartford Glass Works factory already struggling to compete with nearby glass producers, this hurricane may have been a factor in the company closing its doors in 1830.
In December 1979, the stone remains of East Hartford Glass Works was entered in the National Register of Historic Places, the result of the creation of the non-profit local organization, Pitkin Glass Works Inc. As an interesting piece of history, before this non-profit acquired the property with the remains of this glass factory, it was owned by the Pitkin family, but under the trusteeship of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Since the closing of East Hartford Glass Works, limited archaeological digs conducted by local universities at the former glass factory have been conducted, with everything from shards of glass to buttons and coins being found there.
Image Credit: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
