Wheeling, WVa. (WTRF)- Oglebay Institute’s Curator Of Glass Holly McCluskey says, “Wheeling glass was everywhere. It was in every home, not only in America, but throughout the world as well. It’s a tremendous legacy of glass.”
Why Wheeling?
The ingredients of silicia, soda ash and lime were ever important to make a glass batch, but a heat source, in fact, was the most significant aspect of glassmaking.
Natural gas or coal were necessary components to create molten glass.
Wheeling had a great deal of both.
Heat reaching 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit to mould the glass.
McCluskey says, “It could set up quicker in a mould. It was made to work faster therefore, it was produced at a quarter of the cost prior to this formula existing.”
This famous pressed glass formula was invented by Wheeling-based Hobbs Brockunier who used a special soda lime ingredient.
McCluskey adds that, “The scientific formula for making glass was developed by one of the most significant glass factories in American history.”
It was this formula that revolutionized the glass industry to make glass flawless.
Learn more from WTRF-TV.