Westmoreland Glass Company

Spring of 1889 saw a group of men together operating what was known as the Specialty Glass Company, based in East Liverpool Ohio, and moving that plant to Grapeville, a site that was about 25 miles away from the larger city of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania because there was gas found on the property where the plant was then located.

The post civil war years had seen a company in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, producing some very high quality milk glass. That company, the Atterbury company went out of existence and the Westmoreland Glass company picked it up about a year later, taking up where Atterbury had left off so far as milk glass production went.
The company operated quite successfully until the early 1920’s when a name change was suggested due to the placement of the factory, which was in Westmoreland County.

The depression years hurt Westmoreland, like many other companies, however they did not cease operations as so many other companies did and in the latter part of the thirties, reorganized and continued their work.

WESTMORELAND GLASS COMPANY being so named because glassware was the only real item that was by then manufactured was the correct term it was believed for the company.

Earlier in the existence of the company, they had in fact actually made condiments such as lemon flavoring, mustard and baking powder, though the grandson of the founder believed that it was probably supplied in the container for the purposes of selling the containers, though thats not a certainty.

World War I saw the Westmoreland Glass company making glass jars which contained candies and distributed at news stands and the so called penny and dime stores of the day. They found that diversifying in this fashion really was not profitable.

Westmoreland glass was always of a high quality, and was made by hand from Pot Furnaces. The milk glass there, featuring such items as hens and other things was among the most outstanding of products that they produced and although Westmoreland Glass did offer some crystal and other items, their manufacturing produced about 75% or or more milk glass products.

Westmoreland Glass company went out of business in 1984, supplying, until they did, high quality glass ware of many varieties, but particularly superior was their amazing milk glass.