Carrick-Overbrook Historical Society:Site support

South Side iron, steel and glass and it’s connections to Carrick and Overbrook

I have included excerpts from other other sites and sources, that are closely related to Carrick and Overbrook communities development. At this point in time I wish to give credit to the sources that I have copied, rather than “ link “ Our history site with theirs. I expect this process will change , and I ask them ; and you to bear with me as I learn and improve in this system.

Many of the busnesses on the Pittsburgh's South Side were owned and operated by people who lived in Carrick. As the numbers of iron , steel, bolt and glass bottle and glass plate companies increased from 1763 ; so did the need for employees and homes for them. Carrick itself had the Englert glass factory, and our area was called Englertville until 1853 when a post office was placed here,and the name Carrick was applied to it. John Agnew , owned a 52 acre parcel of land that was a glass factory he shared with the Chambers brothers. The following highlighted notations are from a much larger list of glass companies. The letters to follow were identifying marks on bottles when they were made by bottle makers of that time. These bottle marks help collectors of today identify antique bottles. Anouther site of much interest was done by a Susan Buyers, a relitive of the Agnew family.

A & CO, A. & D. H. C, Agnew & CO, Agnew & Son A & CO. Agnew & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1854-1894+). There was a series of glass companies in the Pittsburgh area in which the Agnew family was involved, beginning as early as 1842 with Chambers & Agnew. Later, approximately 1854, the firm became John Agnew & Company (1854-1870); then, John Agnew & Son (1871-1876) and later simply Agnew & Company (1876-1892+). The most recent incarnation seems to have been "The Agnew Company", which was in operation in 1894 (a bottle catalog from this company exists, dated 1894) which may have continued on for some time afterwards. Jars that are marked "JOHN AGNEW & SON / PITTSBURG PA" presumably date from about 1871 to 1876, and those marked "AGNEW & CO / PITTSBURG PA" would date from c. 1876 into the early 1890s. See "A" entry. A. & D. H. C. .........Alexander & David H. Chambers, Pittsburgh, PA (1843-c.1889). This was one of the most prolific glass companies in Pittsburgh during the mid-to-late 1800s. Huge quantities of bottles, flasks, and fruit jars were made, as well as window glass. Many local, regional, and nationally distributed sodas, mineral waters, beers, bitters, tonics, and other types of products were packaged in bottles made by A&DHC. Most commonly, bottles with this mark usually seem to date from the 1870s and 1880s, but the mark was probably in use at least from around the start of the Civil War, perhaps a bit earlier. Agnew & CO............See "A & CO. Agnew & Son...........See "A & CO." A.G.W.................in some cases, American Glass Works, Pittsburgh, PA (1866-1905). This company, which was officially known as "American Glass Works, Limited" after 1880, MAY have produced some glass marked "A.G.W." during the time period of 1866-1880, although I am not aware of any definitive proof that they did. American Glass Works reportedly manufactured mostly window glass prior to 1880. After 1880, the mark was most frequently "A.G.W.L.", although various bottles that date after 1880 (such as certain hutchinson sodas) do carry "A.G.W."(no L) so I tend to believe that both mark variants were used, at times, during the 1880-1905 period. (See next two entries). With much more to follow, I move on . Steel and tool manufacturing has done similar markings on their products. I recall a lengthy conversation with a fellow Carpenter, Thomas Connally of Library Pa. (Since deceased) Tom was a man who collected our trades tools. He stated that there were hand saw manufacturers, some on Pittsburgh’s South Side that made hand saws for the reputable Diston saw / tool company.

However; according to him, Philadelphia got credit for hand saws that were made on the south side of Pittsburgh. The stamping pressmark from Phillie, had simply been copied and used here. But enterprizing Pittsburgh employee’s; developed their own marking system; with a mark of some kind, known at first; only to them.

When time allows, I plan to search and list the names of glass and steel company names on vintage South Side maps. On maps from the Pittsburgh project web site, Joseph Keeling owned coal mines and inclines. His mining endevors were quite extensive, old mining maps show that besides south sides slopes, Mount Oliver, Carrick and Bon Air were mined out; to at least Becks run, by him.

From Wikipedia , History of Pittsburgh's South Side From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Contents [hide] • 1 History • 2 Iron and Steel Mills • 3 Bridges • 4 Inclines • 5 South Side Today • 6 References • 7 Bibliography

[edit] History In 1763, King George III gave John Ormsby about 2,400 acres along the south bank of the Monongahela River as payment for his services during the French and Indian War. This land is known today as South Side. The land was then divided into four boroughs: South Pittsburgh, Birmingham, East Birmingham, and Ormsby. These boroughs were annexed into the City of Pittsburgh in 1872.1 In the early to mid 1800s, South Side was known as the center of the glass industry in America. In 1876, there were about 76 glass factories in the neighborhood. Presidents Andrew Jackson and James Monroe ordered glass tableware for the White House from the South Side companies. These factories produced all types of glass, such as goblets, window glass, bottles, tableware, etc.2 General James O’Hara and Major Isaac Craig, the pioneers of the glass industry in Pittsburgh, opened the first glass factory in the county. This factory was located on the South Side near the present day Duquesne Incline parking lot. By the 1920s, most of the glass factories had moved away due to high taxes and lack of room to expand. [edit] Iron and Steel Mills Iron and Steel mills in South Side were the workplaces of the World. In 1854, Benjamin Franklin Jones and James Laughlin became business partners and formed the American Iron Workers. Jones and Laughlin created the first ever blast furnace and named it Eliza, which was located on the north side of the Monongahela River. This furnace was connected to South Side by the Hot Metal Bridge. By 1916, J & L had six blast furnaces and nine 200-250 ton open furnaces. By 1929, J & L was producing 1.74 million tons of steel each year. However, the steel factories started to experience economic trouble in the 1960s. Due to these economic problems, there was a rapid decline of J & L factories and they began to demolish the older buildings. Then by 1989, the steel industry was gone. Today, many stores and restaurants have developed in South Side where the steel mills once stood.3 [edit] Bridges Before bridges were constructed, the only way to cross the river was by ferry. Pittsburgh, which is known as the “City of Bridges”, has many bridges that cross the Monongahela River into South Side. The Monongahela Bridge (formerly known as the Smithfield Street Bridge) was designed in 1818 and built of wood and iron. During the great Pittsburgh fire of 1845, the bridge burned in less than 10 minutes. The bridge was then rebuilt in 1846. The Liberty Bridge was built in 1928 and was designed by George S. Richardson. This bridge connects downtown Pittsburgh to the Liberty Tunnels and then to the South Hills. Some of the other bridges of South Side are: The Wabash Bridge, The Panhandle Bridge, The Tenth Street Bridge, The Birmingham Street Bridge, and The Hot Metal Bridge.4 [edit] Inclines Before cars or other ways of transportation were invented, the horse-drawn trolleys were the only means of transportation in South Side. After the horse-drawn trolleys, then came the cable traction cars, and then finally the electric trolley. Horse cars operated in South Side until 1923. In 1915, the horse-drawn trolleys and the electric trolley met at the corner of Eighteenth and Sarah Streets. The electric cars turned into what were called street cars. They were the most common means of travel around Pittsburgh and South Side, until the first incline was opened. In 1877, The Duquesne Incline opened and ran from West Carson Street to Mount Washington. In 1870, the Monongahela Incline was built and it connected West Carson Street with Grandview Avenue. The Duquesne and Monongahela inclines are still in operation today. Some inclines that are not in operation today are: The Castle Shannon Incline No.1, The Knoxville Incline, The Mount Oliver Incline, and The St. Clair Incline.5

[edit] South Side Today

Southside today is a neighborhood of approximately 10,000 people. It is home to one of the largest Victorian streets in the United States. East Carson Street in its entirety is designated as a historic district. The Southside Flats and Slopes are where most of the residents reside. In recent years, Southside has become home to a large student population because of its proximity to the Monongahela River and three large universities.6 [edit] References 1 History of Pittsburgh’s South Side, 2005. 2 South Side Facts 3 Stuart P. Boehmig, Pittsburgh’s South Side (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), 15-24. 4 Boehmig, 85-94. 5 Boehmig, 41-52. 6 South Side (Pittsburgh), 2006. [edit] Bibliography • Boehmig, Stuart P. Pittsburgh’s South Side. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. • History of Pittsburgh’s South Side. 2005. http://www.southsidepgh.com/live_and_work/ history.php (accessed October 30, 2006). • South Side Facts. http://www.phlf.org/spotlightonmainstreet/resources/ss_ facts_industry.pdf (accessed October 30, 2006). Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Pittsburgh%27s_South_Side" Categories: History of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Views • Article • Discussion • Edit this page • History Personal tools • Log in / create account

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http://www.southsidepgh.com/live_and_work/history.php http://www.southsidepgh.com/images/PDF/ss_watch_out.pdf <<<<<<< from South side history http://www.southsidepgh.com/images/PDF/ss_inclines.pdf http://www.southsidepgh.com/images/PDF/ss_hospitals.pdf

There are approximately 40 glass bottle companies, listed below; as Pittsburgh glass companies, other companies may have produced plate glass. According to s.side area info there were 76 glass companies in the s.side in 1876. I have yet to examine and count them from the maps at Pittsburgh project >>>>

Pittsburgh glass information from

http://myinsulators.com/glass-factories/bottlemarks.html

Glass Factory Marks on Bottles [ A - D ] [ E - L ] [ M - Z ]

Welcome! I'm interested in the history of the glass industry in the US, especially concerning the manufacturing of bottles and electrical insulators. (See my "home" page here ). On these pages I've attempted to compile a list of glass manufacturers' identification marks found on (primarily) American bottles and jars. (Click here to check another collector's site that lists some Australian and English marks). I'm also including certain marks seen on non-bottle glassware items, including tableware. The majority of these marks are found on older bottles but some commonly seen marks that are presently in use in the United States are included as well.

{For a comprehensive list of modern bottle manufacturers' marks from around the world, you might also wish to check out the following link showing many of the more recent marks (called "punt marks" on their website) which are sometimes seen on bottles imported to the United States. Click here: Emhart Glass Database of Modern Punt Marks .

Another webpage which I would recommend, especially to collectors of tableware and art glass, illustrates a number of glassmakers' marks frequently seen on carnival glassware (and some of those marks appear on other types of glass as well), and the site is here: Carnival Glass Marks . And..... another one, this site specializing on information concerning shotglasses: Marks seen on shotglasses . Most, if not all, of the marks illustrated there are frequently seen on other types of glassware as well, which makes the page quite helpful to a broader spectrum of collecting fields.}

Usually embossed on the base, marks may also appear on the lower heel area on certain types of bottles, especially sodas. On earlier flasks, fruit jars, and soda bottles, the full factory name or initials may be embossed across the front. This list primarily includes marks that represent the actual glass company that made the bottle. Many marks are encountered that indicate the company whose product was contained within it, or are trademarks ("brand names") that give no indication of who actually made the glass, and those are, with various exceptions, not included in my list. From the standpoint of most collectors of antique bottles, the name and location of the company the bottle was made for, and the name of the product that was originally contained in the bottle (one or both of which may be embossed on the bottle) is often considered to be of more interest or importance than the glass factory where the bottle was actually manufactured. However, this site is geared with more emphasis on the actual glassmakers themselves. Hopefully this database will be of some help to those who are attempting to assign an approximate date range to a particular bottle, assuming that it carries an identifiable glass factory mark. If initial(s) embossed on the base of a bottle match a firm name (other than a glass factory) on the front, the basemark will more than likely not be a glass manufacturer's mark and so may not be listed here. This is very frequently the case, especially with soda, mineral water, beer and other bottles of the 1880-1930 period, in which the initial(s) of the "end user" (such as the bottler, brewery, drug manufacturer, or other firm for which the bottle was made) appear embossed on the base. Please keep in mind that some marks (esp. initials of early glass companies) may vary slightly in appearance and punctuation from one bottle to another. For instance, they sometimes occur with or without periods after each letter. These variations in punctuation were common and probably reflected the whim of the mold engraver, thus having little or no importance (i.e. for assigning date ranges) especially on marks of pre-1900 bottles. For the most part, I have not attempted to list fine distinctions for marks that are found both with and without periods. Another source of confusion was the common practice of engraving the "G" (especially in the 1880-1920 period) to appear very close in similarity to a "C", the only difference between the two being a small "tail" pointing in a downward or "southeasterly" direction on the lower right-hand side of the letter G. Thus, the mark "A.B.G.M.Co." might be misconstrued to read "A.B.C.M.Co." Also, the abbreviation "Co" (Company) sometimes may be found embossed with either an upper- or lower-case "O" on various bottles made by the same manufacturer. Many bottles carry only a number (or numbers) on the base. These marks usually served as some type of mold identification, indicating a particular mold used by a glass factory. If a number of identical molds were produced for making a certain type of bottle, they would often be serially numbered (such as 1 to 12). Some numbers served as date codes, or as some other type of internal code used by the factory. In the majority of cases, bottles with only numbers on the base are difficult to attribute to a specific glassmaker, although sometimes other characteristics of a bottle will give clues to it's origin. For a very informative, comprehensive site with lots of detailed discussion on various aspects of antique bottles, their methods of manufacture, uses, and clues to dating them, I encourage you to check out Bill Lindsey's Historic Glass Bottle Identification and Information Website . His site is a "work in progress", and already has a wealth of very good information posted. I will frequently be adding more data to these pages as I uncover more accurate information. The info presented on this site is the most accurate I've been able to find at present, but any corrections, additions, comments, or clarifications would be sincerely appreciated! If you have a bottle, jar or other glass item with an unlisted or unknown mark, please contact me (scroll to bottom of the page) so I can add it to the list, and perhaps find out what company it stands for. NOTE: It may be helpful to press the CTRL+F keys (Find) on your keyboard to search quickly for a specific glass factory name, city name, or initials contained in the text below. Much of the information herein comes from research by Julian H. Toulouse published in his classic reference book Bottle Makers and their Marks (1971). That book is the best reference work ever published on glass manufacturers' marks on bottles, but it does contain many errors which have been discovered over the 35 years since it was first published. Other sources of information include Helen McKearin, Rhea Mansfield Knittle, Stephen Van Rennselaer, Alice Creswick, Dick Roller, William S. Walbridge, Roger Peters, Adeline Pepper, Arthur G. Peterson, Bob Stahr, Fred Padgett, Rex L. Wilson, John O'Dell, Bill Lockhart, Jeffrey L. Giarde, David Bethman, Betty Zumwalt, Peter R. Guetig, Conrad Selle, Don Dzuro, Johnnie W. Fletcher, Ted Oppelt, Dick Cole, Harvey Teal, Dean Six, Tom Neff, Albert Morin, Philip K. Huggins, Bill Lindsey and Carol Serr, as well as personal research and my own observations over several years of collecting & studying antique bottles, insulators and other glassware. I hope this list will be of assistance to those interested in antique bottles and other glass containers made in the United States and the history behind the factories that manufactured them.

[ A - D ] [ E - L ] [ M - Z ]

• A.....................The letter "A" is often merely a mold letter. If it is an abbreviation for a glass factory, it could stand for one of several companies. One possibility: Agnew & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1854-1894+). See "A & CO." mark. Another possibility would be Adams & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (1861-1891). Originally Adams, Macklin & Company (1851-1861), they did manufacture at least one type of fruit jar circa 1866, lettered "Adams & Co./Manufacturers/Pittsburgh,Pa." on the front. However, the great bulk of their glass production seems to have been pressed pattern glass and high-quality tableware and novelties, especially throughout the later years of their operation. In 1891, they joined the merger known as the United States Glass Company. Note: If the bottle is machine-made, the letter "A" would indicate a much more recent company, perhaps Arkansas Glass Container Corporation, Jonesboro, AR (1958-to date). • A & CO............Agnew & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1854-1894+). There was a series of glass companies in the Pittsburgh area in which the Agnew family was involved, beginning as early as 1842 with Chambers & Agnew. Later, approximately 1854, the firm became John Agnew & Company (1854-1870); then, John Agnew & Son (1871-1876) and later simply Agnew & Company (1876-1892+). The most recent incarnation seems to have been "The Agnew Company", which was in operation in 1894 (a bottle catalog from this company exists, dated 1894) which may have continued on for some time afterwards. Jars that are marked "JOHN AGNEW & SON / PITTSBURG PA" presumably date from about 1871 to 1876, and those marked "AGNEW & CO / PITTSBURG PA" would date from c. 1876 into the early 1890s. See "A" entry. • A in a circle.........Armstrong Cork Company (Glass Division), Lancaster, PA; Millville, NJ [former Whitall Tatum Co. plant] ; Dunkirk, IN [former Hart Glass Mnfg Co. plant]. Mark was used from 1938-1969 on bottles and insulators. If there is a line underneath the "circled A", this indicates the bottle was produced at the Dunkirk plant. • A in a diamond.......Unknown • A with an eagle emblem (wings outstretched, appears as if flying through the A)...........Akro Agate Company, Akron, OH (1911-1914) and Clarksburg, WV (1914-1951). Maker of marbles as well as ashtrays and many unusual novelty items, mostly found in various colors of opaque glass (milkglass). • A. Arbogast, Pitts..............Unidentified glass factory in Pittsburgh, probably existed circa 1860-1880. Mark is pictured in Bottles on the Western Frontier by Rex L. Wilson (1981:113) and was presumably on a cylinder whiskey. • A B..................American Bottle Company (1905-1929). See A.B.CO. • AB (letters attached, as shown)...........American Bottle Company (1905-1929). See A.B.CO. • AB (letters attached) Co...........American Bottle Company (1905-1929). See A.B.CO. mark. This and the above mark was attributed to Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Co. by Toulouse. Recent research (by Bill Lockhart) has shown that the American Bottle Company was the actual source of bottles with the "AB" (letters attached) and "AB CO" marks. The "AB" and "A.B.CO" marks are also frequently misunderstood by collectors to mean "Anheuser-Busch", which is incorrect. • A.B.C.................Atlantic Bottle Company, Brackenridge, PA (c.1916-1930). First only a distributor (pre-1916), Atlantic was later an actual manufacturer of bottles. The Brackenridge plant was purchased by Owens-Illinois in 1930. • A.B.CO................American Bottle Company (1905-1929). Chicago, IL (office - 1905-1916); Toledo, OH (office - 1916-1929). Glass plant locations at Streator, IL; Newark, OH; Belleville, IL; Massillon, OH & Wooster, OH. The American Bottle Company was purchased by Owens Bottle Machine Company in 1916 (with some of the plants being closed soon afterwards) but the Streator and Newark plants continued to operate under the American Bottle Co. name until 1929, when they became part of the merger that resulted in Owens-Illinois Glass Co. (For Streator and Newark plant marks from 1916 to 1929, see "17N" and "16S" entries). Most, if not all, of the "AB", "AB CO." and "A.B.CO." marked bottles are believed to date between 1905 and 1916. However, it is possible that some bottles with these markings might date between 1916 and 1929, but, if so, could only have been made at either the Streator or Newark plant. • A.B.G.CO..............Adolphus Busch Glass Mnfg. Company, see "A.B.G.M.CO." • A.B.G.C.ST.L..........Adolphus Busch Glass Mnfg. Company (Presumably produced at their St. Louis glass factory location). See next entry. • A.B.G.M.CO............Adolphus Busch Glass Mnfg. Company, plants at Belleville, IL (1886-c.1905) and St.Louis, MO (c.1891-1925). The Belleville factory became part of American Bottle Company c.1905. (See A.B.CO. mark). • Acorn logo (shown).........Bellaire Bottle Company (Works) (c.1886-1889+). Logo is occasionally seen on the base of clear glass prescription/medicine bottles. Thanks to David Bethman for emailing me with info on the source of this mysterious acorn mark! He reports that the mark appears on a Bellaire Bottle Company letterhead shown in a book by Scott Tyson called "Glass Houses of the 1800s".

• A. & D. H. C. .........Alexander & David H. Chambers, Pittsburgh, PA (1843-c.1889). This was one of the most prolific glass companies in Pittsburgh during the mid-to-late 1800s. Huge quantities of bottles, flasks, and fruit jars were made, as well as window glass. Many local, regional, and nationally distributed sodas, mineral waters, beers, bitters, tonics, and other types of products were packaged in bottles made by A&DHC. Most commonly, bottles with this mark usually seem to date from the 1870s and 1880s, but the mark was probably in use at least from around the start of the Civil War, perhaps a bit earlier. • Adams & Co............. See "A" entry. • A G C (within outline of state of Arkansas).......Arkansas Glass Container Corporation, Jonesboro, AR (1958-to date) • Agnew & CO............See "A & CO." • Agnew & Son...........See "A & CO." • A.G.W.................in some cases, American Glass Works, Pittsburgh, PA (1866-1905). This company, which was officially known as "American Glass Works, Limited" after 1880, MAY have produced some glass marked "A.G.W." during the time period of 1866-1880, although I am not aware of any definitive proof that they did. American Glass Works reportedly manufactured mostly window glass prior to 1880. After 1880, the mark was most frequently "A.G.W.L.", although various bottles that date after 1880 (such as certain hutchinson sodas) do carry "A.G.W."(no L) so I tend to believe that both mark variants were used, at times, during the 1880-1905 period. (See next two entries). • A.G.W.................American Glass Works, Richmond, VA (1908-1925) and Paden City, WV (1918-c.1935). Bottles (especially crown-closure soda bottles) of the teens and 1920s from the VA and surrounding area with "A.G.W." marked on the base are virtually certain to be products of this company (not to be confused with the earlier American Glass Works of Pittsburgh, an unrelated company). Machine-made bottles date after 1916 (Toulouse 1971:23). The Richmond plant burned in 1925 and was not rebuilt. This company also reportedly used an "A in a circle" mark on some bottles. In any case, that mark was primarily used by the Armstrong Cork Company from 1938 to 1969. • A.G.W.L...............American Glass Works, Limited, Pittsburgh, PA (1880-1905). Advertisements exist which show this company produced a large line of Hutchinson type soda bottles, as well as many other bottles including beers and mineral waters. The mark "A.G.W.L." which appears on the heel of many Hutchinsons can be definitely attributed to this company. Please see the above two entries on "A.G.W.". • A H K.................Alexander H. Kerr & Company, Altoona, KS (1909-1912); Sand Springs, OK (1912-19??); later plants at Huntington, WV (1933-19??); Santa Ana, CA (1943-19??) and several other locations. Business offices in Los Angeles after 1919. This trademark was used from 1944-1992. See Kerr mark.

1872 maps above show no J&L mill site, although historically it was first established in 1854 , see the Pittsburgh project maps of S.Side 1872 and earlier History.