Nickel Plate Glass Company
They were lured to northwest Ohio to take advantage of newly discovered natural gas that was an ideal low-cost fuel for glassmaking.
The company name came from the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly known as the "Nickel Plate Road", which had tracks adjacent to the new glass plant.
Management at Wheeling's J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company had a policy of using skilled glassworkers from Europe, who would train the local employees—resulting in a superior workforce.
[6] In early 1886, a major discovery of natural gas (the Karg Well) occurred in northwest Ohio near the small village of Findlay.
[7] Communities in northwestern Ohio began using low-cost natural gas along with free land and cash to entice glass companies to start operations in their town.
The major shareholders were Peter Cassell, August Rolf, Andy J. Smith, Benjamin Hildreth, W. H. Robinson, and James B.
[11] Smith, who previously worked at Elson Glass Company in Martins Ferry, Ohio, was the president and general manager.
They were guaranteed $8,000 (equivalent to $271,289 in 2023) cash, five acres (2.0 ha) of land, no taxes, and free natural gas forever.
[17][Note 3] The men making the guarantees were prominent local capitalists Charles Foster, Rawson Crocker, and Edward Marks.
[21] Production began on August 8, and advertisements later in the year mentioned lamps, tableware, blown tumblers, and bar goods.
[27] The factory remained busy over the next few years and introduced more glassware patterns, but had occasional stoppages caused by shortages of natural gas.
[9][Note 7] Despite the natural gas problem, Nickel Plate Glass Company grew to 350 workers by January 1891.
Its stated objective was "to systematize and harmonize the workings of the several plants and secure such economies in cost as may result from a consolidation of interests.
[34] The United States was in an economic recession at the time of the formation of the glass trust, although the economy started improving after May.
[35] Two ways to make the plants produce products at lower prices were to get concessions from the unions and to introduce more machines.
[40] The companies combined into the trust were from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and the count of firms quickly grew larger.
[52][Note 11] The Nickel Plate plant's product line was changed only slightly when it became "Factory N, and it continued to make popular patterns.
[61] In September 1892, U.S. Glass Company completed negotiations to build a works in Gas City, Indiana, that would have three 15-pot furnaces.
The highly automated plant was expected to be ready in the spring (1893) and make use of the town's abundant natural gas supply.
[64][Note 15] The trust decided to remedy Factory N's natural gas shortage problem in January 1893 by switching to an oil-based fuel.
[37] There were some efforts by the local workers to revive the closed glass works during the next few years, but this ended in 1895 when the factory burned to the ground.
