Central Glass Works

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Central Glass of Wheeling, West Virginia made tableware for both home and commercial use, such as hotels, resorts and restaurants. The firm began in 1863 on a cooperative plan.

By 1867 they had a charter to conduct business as a joint stock company. The company grew and employed about 500 persons. Central Glass first obtained coal for fuel from fifty acres near the plant. It subsequently obtained natural gas. The company shipped products throughout the U.S., Canada, West Indies, South America and to Germany.

John Oesterling was the first person to head the manufactory. A long description of the history and state of Central Glass is to be found in The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer for Sept. 14, 1886. Towards the end of the century, the firm was idle for a time. But by 1900 it was purchased by Nathan Scott and became known as Central Glass Works. In the 1920s it made iridescent and opalescent glass and produced stemware with pink bowls and with green stems –sometimes the reverse. These goblets were called “Watermelon.”

The Central Glass Works also made bowls and candle holders with acid etched designs, sometimes made with gold paint or enamel overlay. An intriguing technique employed at Central Glass was the “glue chip” method of finish application in which when the special “glue” was heated, it peels off glass slivers to create a finished frosted effect. In the depression era Central Glass produced an etched line called “Harding” in amber, amethyst, pink, green, crystal and crystal with gold, black and green trim. Also, during the 20s and 30s the Central Glass Company produced lines of etched and colored dinner wares known as Balda, Morgan, and Thistle.

By 1939, the Central Glass Works was out of business.

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