Early glassmaking in the United States
Glassmaking in the United States before the 18th century / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Early glassmaking in the United States began in Colonial America in 1608 at the Colony of Virginia near Jamestown, believed to be the first industrial facility in what would later become the United States. For centuries, glassmaking procedures, techniques, and recipes were kept secret, with countries actively preventing glassmaking knowledge from spreading beyond their borders. German workers with glassmaking knowledge, described as Dutchmen, along with Polish glass workers, were brought to Colonial America to begin operations. Although glass was made at Jamestown, production was soon suspended because of strife in the colony. A second attempt at Jamestown also failed.
Later attempts to produce glass were made during the 1600s; glass works in New Amsterdam and the Colony of Massachusetts Bay had some success. In the 17th century, at least two New Amsterdam glass factories may have conducted small-scale operations for several decades, while glass production at the Massachusetts glass works was short-lived. 17th and 18th century glass works were usually built near water for transportation and in proximity to wooded areas for fuel. Glassmaking increased in the 18th century, but by 1800 there were only about ten factories producing glass in the United States. Major obstacles to glassmaking in the United States were competition from imports, finding labor with glassmaking knowledge, and the difficulty of finding raw materials necessary to make the glass.