Seneca Glass Company

{{further|19th century glassmaking in the United States|19th Century glassmaking innovations in the United States}}

Glass is made by starting with a batch of ingredients (mostly sand), melting it, forming the glass product, and gradually cooling it.{{#tag:ref|The batch of ingredients is dominated by sand, which contains silica.{{cite web

|title=How Glass is Made - What is glass made of? The wonders of glass all come down to melting sand.

|website=Corning

|url=https://www.corning.com/worldwide/en/innovation/materials-science/glass/how-glass-made.html

|access-date=July 5, 2023

|archive-date=July 5, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705205218/https://www.corning.com/worldwide/en/innovation/materials-science/glass/how-glass-made.html

|url-status=live

}} Other ingredients such as soda ash, potash, and either red lead or lime are added.{{harvnb|Weeks|United States Census Office|1884|p=30}}|group=Note}} The batch is placed inside a pot or tank that is heated by a furnace to roughly 3090{{nbsp}}°F (1700{{nbsp}}°C). The melted batch is typically shaped into the glass product (other than window or plate glass) by either a glassblower or by pressing it into a mold (also spelled "mould").{{harvnb|Weeks|United States Census Office|1884|p=45}} Most glass factories had a summer stop where the production was shut down for about six weeks.{{harvnb|Shotwell|2002|p=542}} This was done because the summer heat combined with the heat of the furnace to make the work environment almost unbearable for workers in the hot end (near molten glass). The summer stop also allowed time to perform maintenance on the facility without disrupting the production process.

The Seneca Glass Company used European glass production methods learned by their founders in Germany. The glass that was made was lead flint glass, which is made mostly from silica, potash, and oxide of lead. This type of glass has more sparkle and shine than flint glass made from lime.{{harvnb|Weeks|United States Census Office|1884|pp=19–21}} Technology from the 1890s and earlier was used throughout the company's existence. A glassblower's assistant (the gatherer) used a hollow pipe to extract molten glass from a pot.{{cite news

|title= Glass Industry Here Is Over Century Old

|newspaper=Morgantown Post

|pages = 7–8

|date = August 22, 1959

}} The glassblower and his crew used air, hand tools, and molds to shape the glass into the desired form. In some cases, a rim glazer was used to polish edges of the glass using small jets of flame.{{cite news

|title= Glass Industry Here Is Over Century Old

|newspaper=Morgantown Post

|pages = 7–8

|date = August 22, 1959

}}; {{harvnb|Shotwell|2002|p=180}}

The glass product had to be cooled gradually (annealed), or else it would become brittle and possibly break.{{cite web

|title=Corning Museum of Glass - Annealing Glass

|website=Corning Museum of Glass

|url=https://www.cmog.org/article/annealing-glass

|access-date=July 5, 2023

|archive-date=July 5, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705205217/https://www.cmog.org/article/annealing-glass

|url-status=live

}} A long conveyer oven used for annealing is called a lehr.{{cite web

|title=Corning Museum of Glass - Lehr

|website=Corning Museum of Glass

|url=https://allaboutglass.cmog.org/definition/lehr

|access-date=July 5, 2023

|archive-date=July 5, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705205217/https://allaboutglass.cmog.org/definition/lehr

|url-status=live

}} In the case of the glassware made at Seneca's Morgantown plant, it took almost two hours for the glass to move from the hot end of the lehr to the cool end.{{cite news

|last= Cochran

|first= Wendell

|title= Seneca Glass

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 40

|date = November 16, 1969

}} Packers, generally girls and women, removed the cooled glass from the lehr and packed the product for shipping.{{cite web

|title=Corning Museum of Glass - Jobs in a 19th-Century Glass Factory

|website=Corning Museum of Glass

|url=https://www.cmog.org/article/jobs-19th-century-glass-factory

|access-date=August 28, 2023

|archive-date=August 28, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828184839/https://www.cmog.org/article/jobs-19th-century-glass-factory

|url-status=live

}} Some of the finished glass would be cut, etched, or engraved before it was packed. Glass with gold or silver trim added would be reheated to fuse the trim to the glass.

{{Gallery

|title=Making glassware at Seneca Glass Company's Morgantown plant

|width=160 | height=170

|align=center

|footer=

|File:OVENS USED TO MELT GLASS. - Seneca Glass Company Factory, Beechurst Avenue between Sixth and Eighth Streets, Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV HAER WVA,31-MORG,1-4.tif

|Furnace for melting batch

|alt1=massive round chimney indoors with entrances on sides

|File:Rim glazer Seneca Glass Co LOC habshaer.jpg

|Rim glazer in foreground and hot end of lehr in back on right

|alt2=machinery with glassware on it and conveyer to oven

|File:CHECKING GLASS FOR IMPERFECTIONS. - Seneca Glass Company Factory, Beechurst Avenue between Sixth and Eighth Streets, Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV HAER WVA,31-MORG,1-11.tif

|Inspector at cool end of lehr

|alt3=machinery with glassware on it and conveyer to oven

|File:Glass packaging Seneca Glas Company LOC.jpg

|Packing finished glassware

|alt4=two women wrapping and boxing glasses

}}

Because most glass plants melted their ingredients in a pot during the 1880s, the plant's number of pots was often used to describe a plant's capacity. The ceramic pots were located inside the furnace, and contained molten glass created by melting the batch of ingredients.{{harvnb|Weeks|United States Census Office|1884|p=35}}; {{harvnb|Shotwell|2002|p=440}} One of the major expenses for the glass factories is fuel for the furnace.{{harvnb|United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce|1917|p=12}} Wood and coal had long been used as fuel for glassmaking. An alternative fuel, natural gas, became a desirable fuel for making glass in the late 19th century because it is clean, gives a uniform heat, is easier to control, and melts the batch of ingredients faster.{{harvnb|Weeks|United States Census Office|1884|p=36}}

File:Fostoria Ohio Railroad Map 1880.jpg

In the 1870s Ohio had a glass industry located principally in the eastern portion of the state, especially in coal-rich Belmont County. The Belmont County community of Bellaire, located on the Ohio side of the Ohio River across from Wheeling, West Virginia, was known as "Glass City" from 1870 to 1885.{{harvnb|McKelvey|1903|p=170}} In early 1886, a major discovery of natural gas (the Karg Well) occurred in northwest Ohio near the small village of Findlay.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=24–25}}; {{harvnb|Skrabec|2007|p=25}} Communities in northwestern Ohio began using low-cost natural gas along with free land and cash to entice manufacturing companies (especially glass makers) to start operations in their towns.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=26}}; {{harvnb|Skrabec|2007|pp=23–26}} The enticement efforts were successful, and at least 70 glass factories existed in northwest Ohio between 1886 and the early 20th century.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=28}}

The city of Fostoria, already blessed with multiple railroad lines, was close enough to the natural gas that it was able to use a pipeline to make natural gas available to businesses.{{Cite map

|author = H. Sabine, Commissioner of Rail Roads & Telegraphs

|year = 1882

|title = New Rail Road Map of Ohio prepared by H. Sabine, Commissioner of Rail Roads & Telegraphs

|url = https://www.loc.gov/item/98688542/

|location = Wapakoneta, Ohio

|publisher = R. Sutton (Library of Congress)

|accessdate = August 5, 2023

|archive-date = March 27, 2023

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230327185118/https://www.loc.gov/item/98688542/

|url-status = live

}}; {{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=173}}; {{harvnb|Geological Survey of Ohio|1890|p=190}} Eventually, Fostoria had 13 different glass companies at various times between 1887 and 1920.{{cite web

|title=Fostoria Ohio Glass Association

|website=Fostoria Ohio Glass Association

|url=https://fostoriaglass.com/

|access-date=March 27, 2023

|archive-date=March 28, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328050826/https://fostoriaglass.com/

|url-status=live

}}{{#tag:ref|The count of Fostoria glass companies varies depending on how restarts and reorganizations are counted. The Fostoria Ohio Glass Association lists 13 companies for 1887-1920.{{cite web

|title=Fostoria Ohio Glass Association

|website=Fostoria Ohio Glass Association

|url=https://fostoriaglass.com/glassplants/

|access-date=March 27, 2023

|archive-date=August 10, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810085252/http://fostoriaglass.com/glassplants/

|url-status=live

}} Jack K. Paquette discusses 15 companies plus four post-boom companies in Chapter V of his Blowpipes book.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=10–11 TOC}}|group=Note}} The gas boom in northwestern Ohio enabled the state to improve its national ranking as a manufacturer of glass (based on value of product) from 4th in 1880 to 2nd in 1890.{{harvnb|United States Census Office|1895|p=315}} By 1891, northwestern Ohio had problems with its gas supply, and the glass industry had over–expanded.{{harvnb|Skrabec|2007|p=55}}{{#tag:ref|Paquette notes that the pressure in gas wells was trending lower by late 1888, especially during the cold winters of 1888 and 1889. By early 1890, gas flow to factories was occasionally restricted and sometimes shut off completely.|group=Note}} The Fostoria Glass Company, which had been founded at the beginning of the Northwest Ohio gas boom, decided to move to West Virginia near coal supplies. It vacated its South Vine Street plant in Fostoria in late December 1891.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=179–183}}; {{harvnb|Murray|1992|p=58}}; {{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=About People - Daily Chronicle of the Movement of Individuals

|newspaper=Daily Register (Wheeling)

|page = 5

|date = January 12, 1892

|quote=W.S. Brady, of the Fostoria Glass Company, of Moundsville.... We will start up next Monday.}} About 60 workers made the move to West Virginia, leaving the plant's remaining glassworkers unemployed.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=214}}

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F011613-0004, Brühl, Glasveredelungsfirma.jpg

During the 1880s, a group of glassmakers from the Black Forest region of Germany (and Switzerland) moved to Cumberland, Maryland, to work in the city's glass factories.{{cite news

|last= Hunt

|first= J. William

|title= Across the Desk

|newspaper=Cumberland Times (Ancestry Newspapers)

|page = 10

|date = April 12, 1959

|quote= One Of The Nation's Leading Art Glass Companies Was Organized Here Nearly 70 Years Ago

}} These men were skilled in art glassmaking, and hoped to someday start their own business where they could fully utilize their talents. During 1891, it became known that the Fostoria Glass Company planned to move away from Fostoria. The Black Forest glassmakers held a meeting on August 10, and formed a company to buy the soon-to-be vacated Fostoria glass works. The German investor group selected another German, Otto Jaeger, to be their leader. Jaeger had been part of the Fostoria Glass Company management team, and was experienced in glass etching and engraving. The Fostoria plant and its permanent equipment were sold for $20,000 ({{Inflation|US|20000|1891|fmt=eq}}) to the German investors during the Fall of 1891.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=182}}{{#tag:ref|The sale price for the Fostoria factory and equipment is either $20,000 or $10,000—depending on the source. Paquette's book, using a Fostoria newspaper as its source, states that Otto Jaeger made the purchase for $20,000.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=182, 496}} A Maryland newspaper says the Cumberland investment group spent $10,000—although Jaeger and a Wheeling investor are not mentioned as part of the group.|group=Note}}

Although the company's plant was in Fostoria, Ohio, it was granted its charter in West Virginia on December 4, 1891.{{harvnb|Page|Frederiksen|1995|p=VIII}}; {{harvnb|West Virginia|1893|p=122 of Corporations section}} The incorporators were Otto Jaeger of Fostoria, Michael Dinger of Wheeling, George Truog of Cumberland, August Boehler of Cumberland, and Leopold Sigwart of Cumberland.{{harvnb|West Virginia|1893|p=122 of Corporations section}}{{#tag:ref|Paquette's book notes that Leopold Sigwart had several ways to spell his surname, and uses "Seigwart".{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=249}} A March 1896 advertisement for Seneca Glass uses "Sigwart" as the spelling.{{cite magazine |author= |title=Seneca Glass Company of Fostoria, Ohio |url= |magazine=Glass & Pottery World Vol. IV |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=Glass and Pottery World Co. |date=March 1896 |access-date= }} Later in the year another Seneca Glass Company ad used the "Seigwart" spelling.{{cite magazine |author= |title=Seneca Glass Company Blown Tumblers|url= |magazine=Glass & Pottery World Vol. IV |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=Glass and Pottery World Co. |date=December 1896 |access-date= }} A 1959 Cumberland newspaper (Sigwart's original American hometown) uses the "Sigwart" spelling.|group=Note}} Jaeger had also worked at Wheeling's Hobbs, Brockunier and Company, and Dinger was his brother-in-law.{{harvnb|Bredehoft|Bredehoft|1997|p=29}}; {{cite news

|title=About People

|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1892-07-16/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1892&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Dinger+Jaeger&proxdistance=5&date2=1892&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=Dinger+Jaeger&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|newspaper=Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress)

|date=July 16, 1892

|last=

|first=

|access-date=August 31, 2023

|archive-date=August 31, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831155715/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1892-07-16/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1892&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Dinger+Jaeger&proxdistance=5&date2=1892&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=Dinger+Jaeger&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|url-status=live

}} One commonly made mistake is the assumption that Seneca Glass Company was located in Ohio's Seneca County. While most of Fostoria is in Seneca County, the Seneca Glass South Vine Street plant was located in Hancock County, a few blocks west of the Seneca County border.{{Cite map

|author = Sanborn-Perris Map Company

|year = 1896

|title = Image 1 of Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Fostoria, Seneca, Hancock, and Wood Counties, Ohio (area 10 near RR)

|url = https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06698_003/

|location = New York, New York

|publisher = Sanborn–Perris Map Co. Limited (Library of Congress Geography and Map Division)

|accessdate = August 29, 2023

|archive-date = August 29, 2023

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829211135/https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06698_003/

|url-status = live

}}; {{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=182, 216}} The shareholders of the new glass company named their firm after the Seneca Indians.

Otto Jaeger assembled an experienced and highly skilled workforce for the Seneca Glass Company. Fostoria Glass Company left over half of its workforce in Fostoria. Many of these workers sought employment with the Seneca Glass Company—where they could continue to work in the same (South Vine Street) factory. Jaeger also had the expert investor/glass men from Cumberland, Maryland. Among these men were Truog, Boehler, Sigwart, and Edward and Joseph A. Kammerer. Jaeger became president, while Edward Kammerer was vice president and general manager. Truog was secretary. Thus, the company's leaders and shareholders consisted of mostly glassworkers instead of bankers or wealthy businessmen. Jaeger, Edward Kammerer, and Truog were also elected to the board of directors, as were Boehler and Sigwart. After only a few months, Truog returned to Cumberland to start the Maryland Glass Etching Works. He was replaced as secretary by Frank B. Bannister in March 1892, and W. H. Bannister became treasurer.

File:Seneca Glass Works Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1896.png

The new company began blowing lead glassware on December 29, 1891—before Fostoria Glass had officially moved out of the factory.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=214}}; {{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title= Untitled (near top center of page)

|newspaper=Lima News

|page = 2

|date = December 18, 1891

|quote=The Seneca Glass works at Fostoria will begin to operate next week.}} With its experienced workforce, production proceeded at the Seneca Glass works with no problems. The company advertised itself in 1892 as a "manufacturer of fine lead blown table and bar goods", and noted "All our goods have fire finished edges".{{harvnb|Murray|1992|p=68}} Another advertisement mentioned "Fine Lead Stemware".{{harvnb|Murray|1992|p=69}}{{#tag:ref|Murray shows a full–page advertisement for Seneca Glass Company from an 1892 issue of the Fostoria Tatler, and he also shows a small advertisement from another Fostoria Tatler issue that mentions stemware.{{harvnb|Murray|1992|pp=68–69}}|group=Note}} The original 1887 Fostoria Glass Company plant was considered large for the time, as it had a furnace with a capacity of 12 pots.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=180}} The Seneca Glass version of the plant occupied {{Convert|2.5|acre|ha|1}}, was close to two railroads, and had a rail siding that connected with a third one—the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (a.k.a. B&O).{{harvnb|Murray|1992|p=70}}; {{Cite map

|author = Sanborn-Perris Map Company

|year = 1896

|title = Images 1 and 10 of Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Fostoria, Seneca, Hancock, and Wood Counties, Ohio (area 10 near RR)

|url = https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06698_003/

|location = New York, New York

|publisher = Sanborn–Perris Map Co. Limited (Library of Congress Geography and Map Division)

|accessdate = August 29, 2023

|archive-date = August 29, 2023

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829211135/https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06698_003/

|url-status = live

}}{{#tag:ref|Murray's source for the description of the Seneca Glass Company plant, including its acreage, is the October 22, 1892, edition of the Fostoria Tatler.{{harvnb|Murray|1992|p=70}}|group=Note}}

Despite occasional shutdowns caused by low gas pressure (gas was the fuel used by the furnace), production and sales were strong enough to justify an increase in capacity.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=215}} A May 1892 trade journal said that Seneca Glass Company planned to add another furnace that would increase their capacity to 38 pots—making it the "largest factory in the United States manufacturing tumblers alone".{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=214–215}}; {{harvnb|Murray|1992|pp=69–70}}{{#tag:ref|Both sources cite the May 12, 1892 edition of Crockery & Glass Journal for the discussion of the increase in capacity to 38 pots and the company being the largest.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=214–215, 498}}; {{harvnb|Murray|1992|pp=69–70}}|group=Note}} About 200 people were employed by the company. Because the production method used by the company emphasized handmade products, the workforce was, by necessity, highly skilled and well paid.{{harvnb|Murray|1992|p=71}}{{#tag:ref|Murray cites the October 22, 1892, edition of the Fostoria Tatler for the discussion of the glass works and employees.{{harvnb|Murray|1992|pp=70–71}}|group=Note}}

File:Seneca Glass resumes work September 1893.png

The company continued to be successful and survived the economic disruption of the Panic of 1893. An example of Fostoria's gas problem occurred in October 1894, when lack of gas pressure forced Seneca Glass and Fostoria Shade and Lamp to temporarily shut down.{{cite news

|title=Gas Gives Out - Ohio Wells are "Petering Out" Says the Fostoria Review

|newspaper=Fort Wayne News

|page = 4 (2nd col from right)

|date = October 19, 1894

|quote=...there is no gas of any consequence in the wells....}} Despite the gas problem, the Seneca Glass works employed over 230 people in 1895. Although there had been talk of expansion, the company was considering moving. The plant switched its fuel source from natural gas to coal (coal gas), but management was unhappy with the high cost of coal in Fostoria.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=215}}; {{cite news

|title=Untitled (center column near top)

|newspaper=Daily Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, Ohio)

|page = 1

|date = November 18, 1895

|quote=...to place a coal gas producer in the Seneca glass works....}}

File:Seneca Glass Co Fostoria ad.png

Late in 1895, production stopped as the workforce (which was non-union) went on strike because of unsatisfactory working conditions. The strike lasted from December 13 until January 17, 1896. During the work stoppage, a group of investors led by Leopold Sigwart removed Otto Jaeger as president. Jaeger resisted the change, causing the Sigwart group to install a new lock on the president's office. In protest, Edward Kammerer resigned as plant manager. Sigwart was elected president, and Kammerer was replaced as plant manager by his brother, Joseph.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=215–216}}{{#tag:ref|Paquette cites the January 20, 1896 edition of the Fostoria Review as his source for the Jaeger–Sigwart turmoil.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|pp=215–216, 498–499}}|group=Note}} By March 1896, the ousted Jaeger was trying to form another company in Fostoria.{{cite news

|title=Untitled (page 3 col 4 from left near top)

|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1896-03-23/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1895&sort=relevance&date2=1896&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=18&words=Jaeger+Seneca&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=Seneca+Jaeger&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|newspaper=Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress)

|date=March 23, 1896

|last=

|first=

|access-date=2023-09-01

|archive-date=2023-09-01

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901194316/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1896-03-23/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1895&sort=relevance&date2=1896&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&index=18&words=Jaeger+Seneca&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=Seneca+Jaeger&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|url-status=live

}}

The March edition of a trade magazine contained an advertisement for the company that listed "L. Sigwart" as president and "F.B. Bannister" as superintendent.{{cite journal

| date =March 1896

| title =Seneca Glass Company of Fostoria, Ohio

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =IV

| issue =3

| pages =35

| doi =

| access-date =

}} Another page in the same magazine mentioned that the "Seneca Glass Company under its new management is vigorously pushing its business this year..." and that "this factory ranks first in production of blown tumblers in this country...."{{cite journal

| date =March 1896

| title =Untitled (center of left column)

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =IV

| issue =3

| pages =38

| doi =

| access-date =

}} By summertime, the plant was working at full force to keep up with orders, and a tumbler with an etched image of former Ohio governor and current (1896) presidential candidate William McKinley was expected to be popular.{{cite journal

| date =June 1896

| title =McKinley Tumblers

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =IV

| issue =6

| pages =30

| doi =

| access-date =

}}; {{cite web

|title=William McKinley

|website=The White House

|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-mckinley/

|access-date=September 1, 2023

|archive-date=March 9, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309154551/https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-mckinley/

|url-status=live

}}

In the summer of 1896, it was announced that the company would move to Morgantown, West Virginia.{{cite news

|title=Morgantown's Boom - Her New Glass Factory and Woolen Mill Start It

|newspaper=Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette

|page = 4

|date = June 25, 1896

|quote=...signed a contract...for the removal....}} The reason for the move was the fuel problem: absence of natural gas (at times) and the cost of coal. Morgantown was a desirable location because of transportation, fuel, and raw materials—and a cash subsidy.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 8 Page 1)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}} Oil and gas had recently been discovered in the Morgantown area, providing excellent options for fuel in addition to the coal that was abundant in the Monongalia County, West Virginia, area.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 8 Page 1)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}}; {{cite web

|title=Coal and Coke Resource Analysis – Western Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia (Page 20 or 28th page of PDF)

|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service

|url=http://npshistory.com/publications/aih-sw-pa/coal-coke.pdf

|access-date=September 6, 2023

|archive-date=November 30, 2022

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130081300/http://www.npshistory.com/publications/aih-sw-pa/coal-coke.pdf

|url-status=live

}} River transportation between Pittsburgh and Morgantown improved during the 1890s because of a new river lock on the Monongahela River. Railroad transportation became available after the B&O Railroad connected Morgantown to the nation's railroad network. Good quality sand, a major raw material for glassmaking, was available from Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, and Hancock, Maryland.{{harvnb|Callahan|1926|p=269}}; {{cite news

|last= Heaster

|first= Frank M.

|title= Mason-Dixonland Notebook

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 47

|date = November 16, 1969

}} The Seneca Glass Company's incentives to move to Morgantown were free property, low-priced gas, and $20,000 ({{Inflation|US|20000|1896|fmt=eq}}). The move was temporarily delayed after a legal complaint by Otto Jaeger filed in Hancock County Court.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=216}} However, a November settlement allowed the company to move. The Fostoria glass works building remained vacant until 1905, when it became the site for the Seneca Wire and Manufacturing Company.{{harvnb|Paquette|2002|p=217}}

File:Seneca Glass Company ad from 1896 Illustrated Glass and Pottery World.JPG

The company's Morgantown glass works was constructed in 1896 and 1897. An advertisement in the December 1896 edition of a glass trade magazine announced the move.{{cite journal

| date =December 1896

| title =Seneca Glass Company – Manufacturers of Blown Tumblers – Morgantown, West Virginia

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =IV

| issue =12

| pages =11

| doi =

| access-date =

}} The plant was (and still is) located on Beechhurst Avenue, with access to the Monongahela River and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The furnace had 14 pots.{{harvnb|Zembala|Clement|1973|p=2}}; {{harvnb|Callahan|1926|p=268}} The original facility included a furnace/blowing room, a lehr room, packing area, and warehouse. It also had smaller rooms where the glass was decorated.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 7 Pages 2-4)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}} The furnace/blowing room is mostly brick, and contained a huge smokestack. The room is one story plus a basement. The lehr room is one-story, and measures about {{Convert|60|ft|m|1}} long by {{Convert|60|ft|m|1}} wide.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 7 Page 2)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}} As the company grew, expansions to the Morgantown plant were made during the 1920s and in 1947.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 7 Pages 1-4)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}}

Production began in January 1897.{{harvnb|Zembala|Clement|1973|p=2}} The company typically employed 150 men, 50 boys, and 50 girls. About 100 of those 250 workers were highly-skilled.{{harvnb|Callahan|1926|p=268}} Products were mostly lead (crystal) table ware, and it was all hand blown.{{harvnb|Callahan|1926|p=269}}; {{cite journal

| date =December 1896

| title =Seneca Glass Company – Manufacturers of Blown Tumblers – Morgantown, West Virginia

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =IV

| issue =12

| pages =11

| doi =

| access-date =

}} Typical production was about three carloads of glassware per week—a company advertisement said 3,000 dozen tumblers per day.{{harvnb|Callahan|1926|pp=268–269}}; {{cite journal

| date =December 1896

| title =Seneca Glass Company – Manufacturers of Blown Tumblers – Morgantown, West Virginia

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =IV

| issue =12

| pages =11

| doi =

| access-date =

}} December 1896 advertising continued the company's "largest blown tumbler" theme. The company was described as having 250 employees in 1898.{{cite news

|title=Wages Cut (page 2 bottom of 3rd column)

|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092518/1898-02-01/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1890&index=7&rows=20&words=Company+Glass+Seneca&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Seneca+Glass+Company%22&y=16&x=12&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|newspaper=Wheeling Register (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress)

|date=February 1, 1898

|access-date=2023-09-15

|archive-date=2023-09-16

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916144353/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092518/1898-02-01/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1890&index=7&rows=20&words=Company+Glass+Seneca&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Seneca+Glass+Company%22&y=16&x=12&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|url-status=live

}}

File:Seneca Glass Companty works in Morgantown West Virginia 1897 drawing.png

A stockholders' meeting was held in January 1899, and management changed. Leopold Sigwart resigned as company president, and Frank W. Bannister resigned as manager. New officers were August Boehler as president, "Andrew" Kammerer as vice president, F. B. Bannister as secretary, and W. H. Bannister as treasurer.{{cite news

|title=Morgantown Matters (page 2 further down in column)

|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1899-01-21/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1899&index=1&rows=20&words=Boehler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=West+Virginia&date2=1899&proxtext=Boehler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|newspaper=Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress)

|date=January 21, 1899

|last=

|first=

|access-date=September 7, 2023

|archive-date=September 7, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907205035/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1899-01-21/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1899&index=1&rows=20&words=Boehler&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=West+Virginia&date2=1899&proxtext=Boehler&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|url-status=live

}}{{#tag:ref|Andrew Kammerer was Joseph Anthony Kammerer, one of the organizers of Seneca Glass Company in Fostoria.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Obituary – Joseph A. Kammerer

|newspaper=Cumberland Evening Times

|page = 13

|date = June 5, 1941

|quote=Mr. Kammerer helped organize the Seneca Glass Company in 1891....}}|group=Note}} The Bannisters, W. H. and his son Frank B., soon left Seneca Glass to organize the Morgantown Glass Works.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Death of W. H. Bannister

|newspaper=Baltimore Sun

|page = 8

|date = December 20, 1901

|quote=W. H. Bannister, president of the Morgantown Glass Works, died....}} In the January 1900 stockholder's meeting, Leopold Sigwart took W.H. Bannister's place as a company director. Officers remained the same except Charles F. Boehler became secretary and Frank Caples became treasurer.{{cite news

|title=Officers Elected

|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092151/1900-01-15/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1895&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Otto+Sigwart&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=5&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Otto+Sigwart%22&y=13&x=13&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2

|newspaper=New Dominion (Morgantown) (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress)

|date=January 15, 1900

|last=

|first=

|access-date=September 8, 2023

|archive-date=September 8, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908200443/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092151/1900-01-15/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1895&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Otto+Sigwart&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=5&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Otto+Sigwart%22&y=13&x=13&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2

|url-status=live

}} At the time of the elder Bannister's death in 1901, he was president of Morgantown Glass Works, and his son was the new company's manager.{{#tag:ref|W.H. Bannister and F.B. Bannister organized the Morgantown Glass Works in 1899. Other incorporators were W.H. Bush, Leopold Sigwart, and Frank Caples.{{harvnb|West Virginia|1899|p=129}}|group=Note}}

A newspaper described Seneca Glass Company in 1901 as flourishing with a "cheap fuel supply and natural shipping advantages" while competing with a tumbler trust that it refused to join.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Manufacturing Industries

|newspaper=Baltimore Sun

|page = 8

|date = February 2, 1901

|quote=Nearly all of its stock is owned by the workmen.}} In 1902, a fire damaged portions of the interior of the facility.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 7 Page 1)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}} Losses from the fire were estimated to be $50,000 ({{Inflation|US|50000|1902|fmt=eq}}), and 350 people temporarily had no place to work.{{cite news

|title= Glass Factory Burns

|newspaper=Janesville Daily Gazette

|page = 1

|date = June 13, 1902

}} The plant was repaired and additions were made to the original structure, including a two-story replacement for a room damaged by the fire. This repair/addition was designed by prominent local architect Elmer F. Jacobs.

June 1904 was a record month for the company, and every month through September 1904 broke the record from 1903.{{cite journal

| date =September 1904

| title =Morgantown, W. VA.

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =XII

| issue =9

| pages =19

| doi =

| access-date =

}} During September, Charles Boehler was listed as secretary and manager. Advertising emphasized find lead blown bar and table glassware, tumblers, stemware, and etching—and no longer included the "largest blown tumbler" theme.{{cite journal

| date =November 1904

| title =Seneca Glass Company (advertisement)

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =XII

| issue =11

| pages =8

| doi =

| access-date =

}}; {{cite journal

| date =December 1904

| title =Seneca Glass Company (advertisement)

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =XII

| issue =12

| pages =10

| doi =

| access-date =

}} The company was granted a new West Virginia charter in 1905. Major shareholders were Leopold Sigwart, Otto Sigwart, August Boehler, and J. A. Kammerer. Each held 120 shares of stock—totaling to 480 of the 873 total shares outstanding. Among the 16 remaining shareholders were Joseph Stenger (75 shares), George Truog (30 shares), and Frances Bannister (8 shares).{{harvnb|West Virginia|West Virginia Governor|West Virginia Legislature|1907|p=58}} The company made a change in its fuel source in late 1910, replacing natural gas with coal.{{cite news

|title= Morgantown, Dec. 23. (close to center of page)

|newspaper=Cumberland Evening Times

|page = 5

|date = December 29, 1910

|quote= ...Seneca Glass Company is now using coal in its boilers....

}}

Seneca Glass Company opened a second plant, known as "Plant B", that was formerly the plant of the Romana Glass Company.{{harvnb|Hennen|Reger|White|1913|p=18}}; {{cite journal

| last =Hiser

| first =Fred

| date =November 1911

| title =Morgantown, W. VA.

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=YFAMAQAAIAAJ&q=Sigwart

| location =Toledo, Ohio

| publisher =American Flint Glass Workers' Union of North America

| journal =American Flint

| volume =3

| issue =1

| pages =44

| doi =

| access-date =September 6, 2023

| archive-date =September 6, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230906163852/https://books.google.com/books?id=YFAMAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=August+Boehler+J.A.+Kammerer&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOiumntJaBAxUKElkFHeWdAcU4KBDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=Sigwart&f=false

| url-status =live

}}; {{cite news

|title=Plant to Resume

|newspaper=Daily Telegram (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

|page = 7

|date = January 2, 1912

|quote=The old Romana glass plant at Star City has been acquired by the Seneca Glass Company....}} It was located in Star City, West Virginia, about {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} from the Morgantown works. Production began in the second half of 1911 or early 1912, and Plant B employed 80 to 150 people.{{#tag:ref|Sources differ on production start dates and the number of employees. The Clarksburg Daily Telegram has a January 1912 start date for 150 employees.{{cite news

|title=Plant to Resume

|newspaper=Daily Telegram (Clarksburg, West Virginia)

|page = 7

|date = January 2, 1912

|quote=The old Romana glass plant at Star City has been acquired by the Seneca Glass Company....}} A county geological and economic survey says the plant began production in August 1911 with 80 employees.{{harvnb|Hennen|Reger|White|1913|p=18}}|group=Note}}

Products were mostly undecorated tumblers, and the glassware was hand blown. Lime, instead of lead, was used to make the glass from two small tanks instead of pots. Lime glass, also called soda–lime glass, costs much less than the lead glass used at the Morgantown plant, and the glass quality is almost as good.{{cite web

|title=Corning Museum of Glass – Types of Glass

|website=Corning Museum of Glass

|url=https://www.cmog.org/article/types-glass

|access-date=September 8, 2023

|archive-date=May 22, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522211902/https://www.cmog.org/article/types-glass

|url-status=live

}}; {{harvnb|Weeks|United States Census Office|1884|pp=21, 79}} Tank furnaces are more efficient than pots, but they are more costly to build. The plant was originally managed by Otto Sigwart. In 1914, Otto's son Charles became manager.{{cite journal

| last =Goldstrom

| first =Andrew

| date =March 1914

| title =Morgantown, W. VA.

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=wlIMAQAAIAAJ&dq=Otto+Sigwart&pg=PA56-IA57

| location =Toledo, Ohio

| publisher =American Flint Glass Workers Union of North America

| journal =The American Flint

| volume =5

| issue =5

| pages =43

| doi =

| access-date =September 4, 2023

| archive-date =September 8, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230908200443/https://books.google.com/books?id=wlIMAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA56-IA57&lpg=PA56-IA57&dq=Otto+Sigwart&source=bl&ots=Si70F0Wou6&sig=ACfU3U1UAwytF-5Of1uFTOlBC35YIOi_Dw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR9oLD3pGBAxVxElkFHcfzDKY4FBDoAXoECAcQAw#v=onepage&q=Otto%20Sigwart&f=false

| url-status =live

}}; {{cite journal

| last =Hiser

| first =Fred

| date =November 1911

| title =Morgantown, W. VA.

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=YFAMAQAAIAAJ&q=Sigwart

| location =Toledo, Ohio

| publisher =American Flint Glass Workers' Union of North America

| journal =American Flint

| volume =3

| issue =1

| pages =44

| doi =

| access-date =September 6, 2023

| archive-date =September 6, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230906163852/https://books.google.com/books?id=YFAMAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=August+Boehler+J.A.+Kammerer&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOiumntJaBAxUKElkFHeWdAcU4KBDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=Sigwart&f=false

| url-status =live

}} Factory{{nbsp}}B closed in September{{nbsp}}1918 when demand subsided after World War I.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Seneca Glass Co. Reopens Factory "B"

|newspaper=The Glassworker

|page = 4

|date = July 31, 1920

|quote=Operations have resumed....}} Negotiations to sell the plant were discussed in February 1920, but no sale was accomplished. Factory{{nbsp}}B reopened in July 1920 with 75 workers.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Star City, W. VA., Plant May Go To Easterners

|newspaper=The Glassworker

|page = 28

|date = February 14, 1920

|quote=...negotiations for the sale of Factory B...are in progress.}}; {{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Seneca Glass Co. Reopens Factory "B"

|newspaper=The Glassworker

|page = 4

|date = July 31, 1920

|quote=Operations have resumed....}} In 1929, secretary–treasurer Charles F. Boehler announced that Plant B would reopen after a year of "idleness", giving employment to between 75 and 100 men.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Plant to Resume – Seneca Company to Re–Open Star City Factory

|newspaper=Charleston Daily Mail

|page = 7

|date = April 9, 1929

|quote=...would be opened in about a week....}} The plant operated until 1931.{{harvnb|Page|Frederiksen|1995|p=X}}; {{cite web

|title=StarcityWV.com – About Us

|website=Star City, West Virginia

|url=http://www.starcitywv.com/about-us/

|access-date=September 4, 2023

|archive-date=June 10, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610220723/http://www.starcitywv.com/about-us/

|url-status=live

}}

File:SenecaGlassCo works in Morgantown.png

The company was always owned by a small group of stockholders, and the founders and their families managed the company throughout its existence. Another original investor, Joseph Anthony "Andy" Kammerer, became president in 1917.{{cite news

|title= Joseph A. Kammerer

|newspaper=Cumberland Evening Times

|page = 13

|date = June 5, 1941

|quote= …Joseph Anthony Kammerer, president of the Seneca Glass Company who died…

}}{{#tag:ref|Another source says that Joseph A. "Andy" Kammerer served as president beginning 1920.{{cite news

|title= Glassmaking vital to Area's Economy

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion News (Newspaper Archives)

|page = 76

|date = July 16, 1963

|quote= The Kammerer and Sigwart families have directed the Seneca operations through most of its history.

}} An advertisement in 1927 listed "A. Kammerer" as president, and an article on the same page called him "Andrew Kammerer".{{cite journal

| date =January–February 1927

| title =Seneca Glass Company

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=uf_lAAAAMAAJ&dq=leopold+sigwart&pg=PA10

| location =Baltimore, Maryland

| publisher =League of American Municipalities

| journal =The Modern City

| volume =XII

| issue =1

| pages =10

| doi =

| access-date =September 4, 2023

| archive-date =September 4, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230904184315/https://books.google.com/books?id=uf_lAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA10&dq=leopold+sigwart&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjQkcHpyJGBAxVdElkFHeluBVoQ6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=leopold%20sigwart&f=false

| url-status =live

}}|group=Note}} In 1927, management was listed as J.A. Kammerer president and general manager; Leopold Sigwart VP and factory manager; and Charles F. Boehler, secretary, treasurer, sales manager, and purchasing agent.{{cite journal

| date =1927

| title =Seneca Glass Co., Morgantown, W. Va.

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=umo3AAAAMAAJ&dq=J.+A.+Kammerer+Seneca&pg=PA105

| location =Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

| publisher =American Glass Review

| journal =Glass Factory Year Book and Directory

| volume =

| issue =

| pages =105

| doi =

| access-date =September 6, 2023

| archive-date =September 6, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230906154744/https://books.google.com/books?id=umo3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=J.+A.+Kammerer+Seneca&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq69isqJaBAxXGElkFHWB8DakQ6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=J.%20A.%20Kammerer%20Seneca&f=false

| url-status =live

}} Leopold Sigwart died in 1937.{{cite news

|title=State News in Brief – Morgantown

|newspaper=Charleston Daily Mail (Newspaper Archives)

|page = 24

|date = March 18, 1937

|quote=Leopold Sigwart, 74, one of the founders of the Seneca Glass company, died."}} Kammerer served as president until his death in 1941. At that time, Charles F. Boehler was elected president and treasurer.{{cite journal

| date =February 1941

| title =Notes from Penn State

| url =

| location =Cleveland, Ohio

| publisher =Business Communications, Incorporated

| journal =The Ceramic Age

| volume =37-38

| issue =

| pages =178

| oclc=6183543

| doi =

| access-date =

}} Boehler died in 1945.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Glass Man Dies

|newspaper=Charleston Daily Mail (Newspaper Archives)

|page = 10

|date = September 3, 1945

|quote=A native of Germany, Boehler came to Morgantown 45 years ago.}} Harry G. Kammerer (son of J.A. Kammerer), became company president, and Harry's stepson John W. Weimer, succeeded him.{{cite news

|title= Joseph A. Kammerer

|newspaper=Cumberland Evening Times

|page = 13

|date = June 5, 1941

|quote= …Joseph Anthony Kammerer, president of the Seneca Glass Company who died…

}}; {{cite news

|title= Vacations To Begin In City Glass Plants

|newspaper= Morgantown Post

|page = 1

|date = June 30, 1961

}}

Another family member in the glass business was James Sigwart, who was vice president of Seneca Glass Company when he died in 1950.{{cite news

|title= W. Va. Deaths

|newspaper= Charleston Daily Mail

|page = 28

|date = September 14, 1950

}} In 1959, a newspaper noted that the Seneca Glass Company "president, vice president, and secretary–treasurer are descendants of the men who organized the company...a Kammerer is president, a Sigwart vice president, and a Stenger secretary–treasurer". Louis W. Stenger died later in 1959, and he had served as "an official with the Seneca Glass Co. for more than 40 years".{{cite news

|title= Louis Stenger Passes Away

|newspaper=Morgantown Post

|page = 1

|date = September 4, 1959

}} Harry G. Kammerer was still the company's president and treasurer in 1972.{{cite news

|title=A very good year forecast for glass

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 86

|date = January 23, 1972

|quote=Harry G. Kammerer, president and treasurer, said....}} John Weimer was described as general manager in a February 1974 newspaper article, while the same newspaper called him president in October of the same year.{{cite news

|last=Young

|first=Shelby

|title=Business is feeling the pinch

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 9 ("Second Front Page')

|date = February 5, 1974

|quote=...according to John Weimer, Seneca general manager.}}; {{cite news

|last=Blosser

|first=John

|title=Economy, housing slump blamed for area layoffs

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 15

|date = October 19, 1974

|quote=John Weimer, president of Seneca Glass Co., ....}}

File:Glassware Seneca Glass Co LOC habshaer.jpg

During its early years, Seneca Glass Company was the largest producer of blown tumblers in the United States, and it specialized in etched designs on its glassware, such as an advertisement for a hotel or bar. In 1914 World War I caused the company to temporarily make watch crystals for American wristwatches because imported crystals were not available.{{cite news

|title=Watch Crystals Now Made in U.S.

|newspaper=Morning Herald (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)

|page = 6

|date = December 12, 1914

|quote=The Seneca Glass company...has taken the contract to manufacture all the crystals used....}} The company gradually became known for its high quality table ware. An example of the type of retailer that sold Seneca Glass products is a 1932 advertisement by Bloomingdale's that mentions a sale on "Hand–Blown Crystal Glass" made by Seneca Glass Company—"famous for quality glass".{{cite news

|title=Bloomingdale's Great Sale – Hand–Blown Crystal Glass!

|newspaper=Daily News (New York)

|page = 5

|date = June 2, 1932

|quote=Made by the Seneca Glass Co., famous for quality glass!}} In 1961 the state of West Virginia listed some of Seneca Glass Company's well–known customers. That list included Marshall Field and Company, Neiman Marcus, the Pinnacle Club in New York, the Tudor Room of the Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco, the Ritz Carlton Hotel of Boston, and Tiffany's of New York.{{harvnb|West Virginia Department of Employment Security|1961|p=6}} Eleanor Roosevelt and one of Liberia's presidents were also purchasers of glassware made by Seneca Glass Company.{{cite web

|title=Economic History – West Virginia Glass Houses (Region Focus Winter 2009)

|website=Richmond Federal Reserve Bank

|url=https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/econ_focus/2009/winter/~/media/016F66450EDD4CE58A8A590A4B278FB0.ashx

|access-date=September 11, 2023

|archive-date=May 6, 2021

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506154142/https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/econ_focus/2009/winter/~/media/016F66450EDD4CE58A8A590A4B278FB0.ashx

|url-status=live

}}; {{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 8 Page 2)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}} In 1962 the wife of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson chose Seneca's Epicure pattern for the family's personal table ware—bringing attention to the company and that pattern.{{harvnb|Page|Frederiksen|1995|p=IX}}; {{cite news

|title=(Photo of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson with his wife and senators Robert C. Byrd and Jennings Randolph)

|newspaper=Beckley Post-Herald

|page = 5

|date = June 4, 1962

|quote=Mrs. Johnson recently brought attention to the "Epicure" pattern when she chose it for her home.}} By 1969, total company sales were said to "range in the neighborhood of $2 million" ({{Inflation|US|2000000|1969|fmt=eq}}).{{cite news

|last= Cochran

|first= Wendell

|title= Seneca Glassware – What Morgantown, Lady Bird Johnson and government of Liberia have in common

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 41

|date = November 16, 1969

}}

File:Seneca Glass Company Louis W Stenger patent D170666.png

Informal dining ware also became important for the company. In 1953 the company's Louis W. Stenger received a patent for an ornamental design on a drinking glass.[https://patents.google.com/patent/USD170666?oq=Stenger+D170666 US patent D170666], "Glass", issued October 20, 1953 That year, Seneca Glass Company began producing its Driftwood Casual dinnerware pattern, which targeted the informal dining market. The decision to produce a less-formal product proved wise, as formal dinnerware became less popular during the next decade. The Driftwood Casual" pattern was popular, and it was produced for 30 years.{{harvnb|Page|Frederiksen|1995|p=X}}; {{cite news

|last= Cochran

|first= Wendell

|title= Seneca Glass

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 41

|date = November 16, 1969

|quote=Seneca produces at least two casual lines of glassware, including the famous Driftwood Casual.

}}{{#tag:ref|Examples of advertisements that included Driftwood Casual can be found newspapers such as the Washington Evening Star, Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle, Ohio's Delaware Gazette, and the Cincinnati Enquirer.{{cite news

|title=Woodward & Lothrop - Driftwood casual glassware by Seneca (page 3 advertisement)

|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1963-06-09/ed-1/seq-127/#date1=1953&index=0&rows=20&words=casual+Driftwood&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Driftwood+Casual%22&y=14&x=14&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|newspaper=Washington Evening Star (from Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress)

|date=June 9, 1963

|last=

|first=

|access-date=2023-09-15

|archive-date=2023-09-16

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916144354/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1963-06-09/ed-1/seq-127/#date1=1953&index=0&rows=20&words=casual+Driftwood&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Driftwood+Casual%22&y=14&x=14&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

|url-status=live

}}; {{cite news

|title=McCurdy's (advertisement)

|newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York)

|page = 4

|date = November 14, 1962

|quote=Even the hard–to–please on your gift list will be captivated by this artful and unusual glassware by Seneca!}}; {{cite news

|title=Where Else But at Haas – Driftwood Casual by Seneca Glass (advertisement)

|newspaper=Delaware Gazette (Delaware, Ohio)

|page = 11

|date = May 18, 1967

|quote=Captivating Tableware—in handblown lead crystal}}; {{cite news

|title=Pogue's May Sale (advertisement)

|newspaper=Cincinnati Enquirer

|page = 8

|date = May 6, 1974

|quote=20% off Seneca Driftwood Casual stemware and barware}}|group=Note}} One of the company's own showroom advertisements in 1969 mentioned colors available for Driftwood Casual: amber, crystal, peacock blue, accent red, moss green, delphine blue, heather, and brown.{{cite news

|title=Driftwood Casual – Designed by Seneca to Add Zest to Your Informal Entertaining (advertisement)

|newspaper=Dominion News (Morgantown, West Virginia)

|page = 5

|date = August 2, 1969

|quote=For party times, for everyday use, for gift giving.}} A showroom advertisement from 1970 says that Driftwood Casual was hand blown, hand finished, "casual lead glassware...available in sixteen distinctive items, and in eight sophisticated colors."{{cite news

|title=Colorful—Distinctive Driftwood Casual glassware (advertisement)

|newspaper=Dominion News (Morgantown, West Virginia)

|page = 26

|date = August 16, 1970

|quote=Perfect for informal entertaining....}} Seneca Glass introduced additional informal dining patterns during the 1970s, although these were not as successful as Driftwood.{{harvnb|Page|Frederiksen|1995|p=X}} In 1971 a company spokesman noted that the trend at that time was toward "casual–looking glassware" and "colored stemware". Among Seneca patterns were Fashionable and Cascade, which was similar to Driftwood Casual.{{cite news

|title=Glass future continues bright

|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post

|page = 49

|date = November 14, 1971

|quote=...several new lines of glassware, and additions of pieces to established favorite lines, is the strategy plan for Seneca in 1972.}} A January 23, 1972, newspaper article said last part of 1971 was good for Seneca Glass Company, and the outlook for the year was encouraging.

File:PPIENG 1960s1980sStLouisFed.png

In 1968, Mr. J. Raymond Price made a presentation on behalf of the American Hand–Made Glassware Industry before the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives.{{harvnb|United States|United States Congress (90th, 2nd session: 1968). House|1968|p=3819}} Price noted that he represented 14 companies that produced hand-made glassware, but the group numbered 39 companies in 1950.{{harvnb|United States|United States Congress (90th, 2nd session: 1968). House|1968|p=3820}} He stated that the primary reason for the loss of those companies was the inability to compete with non-domestic companies that had an advantage of low wages.

During portions of the 1970s labor and fuel costs increased significantly.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 8 Page 2)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}}; {{cite web

|title=A New Inflation in the 1970's?

|website=Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

|url=https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/research/papers/1978/wp7803.pdf

|access-date=September 14, 2023

|archive-date=August 15, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815030342/https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/research/papers/1978/wp7803.pdf

|url-status=live

}}; {{cite journal

| last =Lifset

| first =Robert D.

| date =2014

| title =A New Understanding of the American Energy Crisis of the 1970s

| url =https://www.jstor.org/stable/24145526

| location =Köln, Germany

| publisher =GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences

| journal =Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung

| volume =39

| issue =4 (150)

| pages =22–42

| doi =

| jstor =24145526

| access-date =September 14, 2023

| archive-date =March 7, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230307064934/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24145526

| url-status =live

}} The United States experienced recessions from December 1969 until November 1970, November 1973 to March 1975, January 1980 to July 1980, and July 1981 to November 1982.{{cite web

|title=US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions

|website=National Bureau of Economic Research

|url=https://www.nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle-expansions-and-contractions

|access-date=September 14, 2023

|archive-date=December 1, 2019

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201170039/https://www.nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html

|url-status=live

}} In the early 1980s leaders of the glass industry again complained about overseas competition and high fuel costs. However, the main reason for the demise of the Seneca Glass Company and makers of similar products was a decline of interest in fine glassware.{{harvnb|Venable|Venable|2007|p=41}} The Seneca plant was sold in 1982 to investors that named their new company Seneca Crystal Incorporated.{{cite web

|title=Seneca Center – History in the Making)

|publisher=Seneca Center

|url=http://www.senecacenter.com/history-preserved/

|access-date=September 14, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=2023

|archive-date=March 25, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325114549/http://www.senecacenter.com/history-preserved/

|url-status=live

}}; {{harvnb|Page|Frederiksen|1995|p=XI}} By August 1983 the purchasers closed the factory and filed for bankruptcy.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 8 Page 2)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}}

The quality of Seneca Glass Company's glassware is indisputable. Its products were sold abroad and in American's finest outlets. From a business point-of-view, the remarkable aspect of Seneca Glass Company is its longevity—especially since it continued to use 1890s technology for about 90 years. The former Seneca Glass Company plant in Morgantown was still standing in 2023.{{cite web

|title=SAH Archipedia – Seneca Center

|date=November 4, 2021

|publisher=Society of Architectural Historians by the University of Virginia Press

|url=https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WV-01-061-0005

|access-date=September 4, 2023

|archive-date=September 4, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904151855/https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WV-01-061-0005

|url-status=live

}} It is known as Seneca Center, and is the home of offices, restaurants, and specialty shops. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.{{cite web

|title=Seneca Center – History in the Making)

|publisher=Seneca Center

|url=http://www.senecacenter.com/history-preserved/

|access-date=September 14, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=2023

|archive-date=March 25, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325114549/http://www.senecacenter.com/history-preserved/

|url-status=live

}}; {{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Seneca Glass Company Building (Item 12 Page 1)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|access-date=September 2, 2023

|author=Fleming, Dolores A.

|year=1985

|archive-date=September 2, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902153759/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85003214_text

|url-status=live

}}

Otto Jaeger, the ousted first president of Seneca Glass Company, founded the Bonita Art Glass Company in 1901. The Wheeling company employed 100 people, and specialized in decorating china and glass.{{cite web

|title=Otto Jaeger – Founder of Fostoria, Seneca, and Bonita Art Glass

|website=Ohio County Library (Wheeling, West Virginia)

|url=https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/4284

|access-date=September 11, 2023

|archive-date=March 27, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327080519/https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/4284

|url-status=live

}} W.H. Bannister, F. B. Bannister, Leopold Sigwart, and Frank Caples were among the incorporators of the Morgantown Glass Works in 1899. Economy Tumbler Company purchased that company during 1903.{{cite journal

| date =August 1903

| title =Notes from the Glass Factories (5th paragraph)

| url =

| location =Chicago

| publisher =Glass and Pottery World Co.

| journal =Glass & Pottery World

| volume =XI

| issue =8

| pages =15

| doi =

| access-date =

}} George Truog left the Seneca Glass Company shortly after it was formed, but remained a stockholder. He returned to Cumberland and founded the Maryland Glass Etching Works. Truog's Cumberland home (George Truog House) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.{{cite web

|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: George Truog House (Item 12 Page 1)

|publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1fd674bf-e2ef-48ae-af2d-8ae913c5a97c

|access-date=September 11, 2023

|author=Kurtze, Peter E.

|year=1986

|archive-date=September 14, 2023

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914200513/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1fd674bf-e2ef-48ae-af2d-8ae913c5a97c

|url-status=live

}}

{{Reflist|group=Note|colwidth=30em}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Bredehoft

|first1 =Neila M.

|last2 = Bredehoft

|first2 =Thomas H.

|title = Hobbs, Brockunier and Co., Glass: Identification and Value Guide

|publisher = Collector Books

|year = 1997

|location = Paducah, KY

|oclc = 37340501

|isbn =978-0-89145-780-0

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Callahan

| first = James Morton

| title = History of the Making of Morgantown, West Virginia: a Type Study in Trans-Appalachian Local History

| publisher = West Virginia University Studies in History

| year = 1926

| location = Morgantown, West Virginia

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oigXAAAAIAAJ&q=Seneca&pg=PA252

| access-date = August 29, 2023

| oclc = 210893412

| isbn =

| archive-date = August 29, 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829162119/https://books.google.com/books?id=oigXAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA252&dq=West+Virginia+History+Seneca+Glass&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA3JqXn4KBAxVGEFkFHVmHBvAQ6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=Seneca&f=false

| url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Geological Survey of Ohio

| title = Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio

| publisher = Westbote Co., State Printers

| year = 1890

| location = Columbus, Ohio

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NS0QAAAAIAAJ&dq=nickel+plate+glass+company&pg=PA191

| access-date = August 4, 2023

| oclc = 13585464

| isbn =

| archive-date = August 3, 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230803213224/https://books.google.com/books?id=NS0QAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA191&dq=nickel+plate+glass+company&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtuej0t8GAAxW4FVkFHcX1Cbc4FBDoAXoECA0QAg#v=onepage&q=nickel%20plate%20glass%20company&f=false

| url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Hennen

| first1 = Ray V.

| last2 = Reger

| first2 = David B.

| last3 = White

| first3 = I.C.

| title = Marion, Monongalia and Taylor counties – West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey

| publisher = Wheeling News Litho. Co.

| year = 1913

| location = Wheeling, WV

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hf5LAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Seneca+Glass%22+%22Boehler%22+%22Star+City%22&pg=PA18

| oclc = 15654857

| access-date = 2023-09-04

| archive-date = 2023-09-08

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230908200444/https://books.google.com/books?id=hf5LAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Seneca+Glass%22+%22Boehler%22+%22Star+City%22&pg=PA18

| url-status = live

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = McKelvey

| first = Alexander T.

| title = Centennial History of Belmont county, Ohio and Representative Citizens

| publisher = Biographical Publishing Company

| year = 1903

| location = Chicago

| pages =

| url = https://archive.org/details/centennialhistor00mcke

| quote = Centennial history of belmont county.

| oclc = 318390043

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = Murray

| first = Melvin L.

| title = Fostoria, Ohio Glass II

| publisher = M. L. Murray

| year = 1992

| location = Fostoria, OH

| pages =

| oclc = 27036061

}}

• {{Cite book

| last1 = Page

| first1 = Bob

| last2 = Frederiksen

| first2 = Dale

| title = Seneca Glass Company, 1891-1983: A Stemware Identification Guide

| publisher = Page-Frederiksen Pub. Co.: Replacements [distributor]

| year = 1995

| location = Greensboro, NC

| isbn = 978-1-88997-702-7

| oclc = 33078185

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = Paquette

| first = Jack K.

| authorlink = Jack K. Paquette

| title = Blowpipes, Northwest Ohio Glassmaking in the Gas Boom of the 1880s

| publisher = Xlibris Corp.

| year = 2002

| isbn = 1-4010-4790-4

| oclc = 50932436

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Shotwell

| first = David J.

| title = Glass A to Z

| publisher = Krause Publications

| year = 2002

| location = Iola, Wisconsin

| pages =

| oclc = 440702171

| isbn = 978-0-87349-385-7

}}

• {{cite book

|last = Skrabec

|first = Quentin R.

|title = Glass in Northwest Ohio

|publisher = Arcadia

|year = 2007

|location = Charleston, South Carolina

|oclc = 124093123

|isbn =978-0-73855-111-1

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = United States Census Office

| title = Report on manufacturing industries in the United States at the eleventh census: 1890

| publisher = Government Printing Office

| year = 1895

| location = Washington

| url = https://archive.org/details/reportonmanufac00offigoog

| oclc = 10470409

}}

• {{Cite book

| last1 = United States

| last2 = United States Congress (90th, 2nd session: 1968). House

| title = Foreign Trade and Tariff Proposals: Hearings before the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session on Tariff and Trade Proposals

| publisher = United States Government Printing Office

| year = 1968

| location = Washington

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yjQ2AQAAIAAJ&dq=Seneca+Glass+Company+sold&pg=PA3819

| page =

| quote =

| oclc = 453392

| access-date = 2023-09-13

| archive-date = 2023-09-14

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230914200511/https://books.google.com/books?id=yjQ2AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA3819&dq=Seneca+Glass+Company+sold&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiTmMn-rqiBAxXbFFkFHXvpAhM4PBDoAXoECAgQAg#v=onepage&q=Seneca%20Glass%20Company%20sold&f=false

| url-status = live

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce

| title = The Glass Industry. Report on the Cost of Production of Glass in the United States

| publisher = Government Printing Office

| year = 1917

| location = Washington

| url = https://archive.org/details/glassindustryrep00unit

| page =

| quote =

| oclc = 5705310

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Venable

|first1 = Wallace S.

|last2 = Venable

|first2 = Norma Jean

|title = Around Morgantown

|publisher = Arcadia Publishing

|year = 2007

|location = Charleston, South Carolina

|oclc = 128247476

|isbn =978-0-73854-393-2

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Weeks

| first1 = Joseph D.

| last2 = United States Census Office

| title = Report on the Manufacture of Glass

| publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office

| year = 1884

| location = Washington, District of Columbia

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ot0nAAAAYAAJ&q=report+on+the+manufacture+of+glass

| access-date = June 26, 2023

| isbn =

| oclc = 2123984

| archive-date = July 16, 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230716182017/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ot0nAAAAYAAJ&q=report+on+the+manufacture+of+glass

| url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last = West Virginia

| title = Acts of the Legislature of West Virginia at its Twenty-First Regular and Extra Sessions, commencing January 11, and February 25, 1893

| publisher = Moses W. Donally, Public Printer

| year = 1893

| location = Charleston, West Virginia

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb84AAAAIAAJ&dq=Seneca+Glass+Company%2C+manufacturing+glass+and+glassware&pg=RA1-PA122

| access-date = August 29, 2023

| isbn =

| oclc = 24491764

| archive-date = August 29, 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230829204411/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb84AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA122&dq=Seneca+Glass+Company,+manufacturing+glass+and+glassware&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhsoGu2oKBAxWrF1kFHeRXB5kQ6AF6BAgMEAI#v=onepage&q=Seneca%20Glass%20Company%2C%20manufacturing%20glass%20and%20glassware&f=false

| url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last = West Virginia

| title = Acts of the Legislature of West Virginia at its Twenty-Fourth Regular Session, commencing January 11, 1899

| publisher = Press Butler Printing Co.

| year = 1899

| location = Charleston, West Virginia

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=W6IxAAAAIAAJ&dq=Morgantown+Glass+company+Bannister&pg=RA1-PA129

| access-date = September 8, 2023

| isbn =

| oclc = 7287536

| archive-date = September 8, 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230908200444/https://books.google.com/books?id=W6IxAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA129&dq=Morgantown+Glass+company+Bannister&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz3vuJrZuBAxVAEFkFHTY2BzsQ6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=Morgantown%20Glass%20company%20Bannister&f=false

| url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = West Virginia

| last2 = West Virginia Governor

| last3 = West Virginia Legislature

| title = Public Documents (Corporation Report of Secretary of State - March 4, 1905 to March 1, 1907 - Charters Issued...

| publisher = The Crossman Printing Company

| year = 1907

| location = Charleston, West Virginia

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Kfu3BvI0SycC&dq=Frank+B.+Bannister+Seneca+Glass&pg=RA1-PA58

| access-date = September 2, 2023

| isbn =

| oclc = 13484972

| archive-date = September 2, 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230902150753/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kfu3BvI0SycC&pg=RA1-PA58&dq=Frank+B.+Bannister+Seneca+Glass&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiv6q-6l4yBAxX6F1kFHfMdCQ8Q6AF6BAgNEAI#v=onepage&q=Frank%20B.%20Bannister%20Seneca%20Glass&f=false

| url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last = West Virginia Department of Employment Security

| title = Employment Review, State of West Virginia

| publisher = West Virginia Department of Unemployment Compensation

| year = 1961

| location = Charleston, West Virginia

| oclc = 14040335

}}

• {{cite journal

| last1 =Zembala

| first1 =Dennis (historian)

| last2 =Clement

| first2 =Daniel (transcriber)

| date =1973

| title =Seneca Glass Company

| url =https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/wv/wv0100/wv0136/data/wv0136data.pdf

| location =Morgantown, West Virginia

| publisher =National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

| journal =Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

| volume =HAER WV–6

| issue =

| pages =– Written Historical and Descriptive Data

| doi =

| oclc =20229044

| access-date =September 2, 2023

| archive-date =September 2, 2023

| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230902193339/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/wv/wv0100/wv0136/data/wv0136data.pdf

| url-status =live

}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Seneca Glass Company}}

• [https://magwv.pastperfectonline.com/Search?search_criteria=Seneca&onlyimages=true&onlyimages=false Seneca Glass] The Museum of American Glass - Seneca Glass Company glassware
• [http://historicalglassmuseum.com/newsletter/2020SepNewsletter.pdf Seneca Glass] Historical Glass Museum Redlands, California (Driftwood Casual in Buttercup, Cinnamon, Moss Green, Amber, and Delphine Blue)
• [https://wvhistoryonview.org/image/053481.jpg Seneca etched ware] West Virginia & Regional History Center
• [https://fostoriaglass.com/seneca-glass-company/ Seneca Glass Company page] Fostoria Ohio Glass Association
• [https://wvhistoryonview.org/catalog/008413 Seneca Glass plant in Morgantown] West Virginia University - West Virginia & Regional History Center

{{Glass makers and brands}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Glassmaking companies of the United States

Category:Defunct glassmaking companies

Category:Fostoria, Ohio

Category:Morgantown, West Virginia

Category:Manufacturing companies based in West Virginia

Category:American companies established in 1891

Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1891

Category:1887 establishments in Ohio

Category:Defunct manufacturing companies based in West Virginia