Historic Glassware

              by John Nass, Jr., Editor, President of Mon Yough Chapter 3

Seasons Greetings Everyone! 

     In the summer of 2022 excavation at the Green Tree Tavern Stand site recovered the shards of a unique glassware vessel and two glass tumblers. The container and tumblers exhibited attributes of hand-blown glassware. Upon inspection, the container was determined to be a spirit’s decanter, and not an early 19^th century pocket flask. The reassembled decanter and tumblers are shown below. The stopper is missing. The reassembled decanter was compared with examples of early 19^th century glassware owned by the Fayette County Historical Society. The style and col were comparable to glassware produced by the glassworks in New Geneva, Pennsylvania. The community of New Gevena was created in 1974 by Albert Gallatin along the Monongahela River in Fayette County. The town was created to serve as a nucleus of what was hoped to be a vibrant, self-sustaining community that would attract settlers to the area. In 1794 the business partnership, the A. Gallatin Company, was formed. In 1796/97 a glass factory was built, a grist mill in 1796, a gun factory in 1797, and a sawmill and a pottery. The operation of the skilled businesses was under the management of skilled workers recruited by the company. The glassworks was operated by German glassblowers and produced predominantly window glass, but also whiskey bottles, bowls, and other hollow glass ware items. Much of the window glass was shipped to large communities along the Monongahela, or transported across southwestern Pennsylvania by haulers. It is entirely possible that the glass found at the tavern site was manufactured at New Geneva. The factory closed in 1847.

 

           

     The hand-blown whiskey bottles and other containers made by the glassworks often featured several parallel ribs from having been blown in a mold. We believe the color and style of the example found at the tavern was most likely made in New Geneva.

     To our knowledge, this is one of the few examples found in a historical archaeological site in Fayette County.