Pittsburgh Glass Works
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
First glass factory in Pittsburgh was established on this site by James O'Hara and Isaac Craig in 1797. It manufactured bottles and window glass until the 1880s. A precursor of Pittsburgh's rise as the nation's largest glass producer.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In 1797, frontier entrepreneurs James O'Hara and Isaac Craig lit the furnaces of Pittsburgh's first glass factory on this site, making bottles and window glass for a growing western settlement far from eastern suppliers. The works ran until the 1880s, an early link in what became a mighty industry. Fueled by cheap coal and river transport, Pittsburgh would grow into the nation's leading glass producer.
Why it matters
This pioneering factory seeded Pittsburgh's rise as America's glassmaking capital, an early sign of the city's destiny as an industrial powerhouse.
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Related people
- · James O'Hara
- · Isaac Craig
Themes & tags
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