Jamestown Glasshouse

A small crew of glassblowers and laborers not only chopped down hardwood trees for fueling the furnace (sometimes requiring up to two weeks to achieve the 2,300 degrees needed to melt the basic ingredients), they also collected the ingredients, ash, sand, crushed oyster shells, and burned seaweed.

Since so much time was required for preparation, it is estimated that actual glassblowing probably only occurred for five or six days a month.

However, this attempt was not productive, due to a combination of factors, including bad weather, the Indian massacre of 1622, illness, and emigration.

The furnace is much larger than the one of 1608, and uses natural gas for fuel; the glass used is made from a mix they purchase that is similar to that which was used at the time.

Local artists blow glass there daily,[1] as well as explain the art and history of glassblowing at Jamestown.