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Co-Operative Flint Glass Company History

CO‑OPERATIVE FLINT GLASS COMPANY, Beaver Falls, Pa. (1879‑1937).

This was the first successful glass cooperative to be established in the United States, the result of a general strike called in late November 1878 against the pressed glass factories in Pittsburgh. Rather than waiting out the lengthy strike, a number of workmen from McKee & Bros. chose to relocate to Beaver Falls, where the town gave them a tax free lease for ten years and a $25,000 cash bonus. They were in production by June 1879, advertising that they were "manufacturers of tableware, bar bottles, bird cups, shop furniture, candy jars, lantern globes, lamp chimneys, etc." This breadth and variety of product seems to have typified their output throughout most of their existence. The factory burned in 1889, but was immediately rebuilt, even larger than before. They offered a number of very successful full tableware lines and many novelties, such as a bell‑shaped butter dish with a metal clapper, so that it could be used to summon the family to dinner.

By the 1920s, the Co‑operative was a pioneer in the introduction of color to their glassware lines and had a considerable trade in hotel, soda fountain, and restaurant ware, while continuing to produce novelties, giftware, and specialties like furniture knobs and bird baths. Unfortunately, like so many other companies, the Co‑operative Flint Glass Company was unable to withstand the economic ravages of the Depression, closing in 1937.

? Adapted from The Glass Candlestick Book, volume 1, by Tom Felt, Rich & Elaine Stoer (reprinted with permission)

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Date:	05.05.2007 16:54
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Added by:	Tom Felt