Chapter 1: A Future Great City
In 1868, Jesup W. Scott, editor of the Toledo Blade and a real estate tycoon who owned much of what is today the city’s downtown, proclaimed Toledo to be “The Future Great City of the World.” He believed the future growth of the United States would occur around cities like Toledo because the bulk of commerce would take place in interior markets, not foreign ones. His vision would influence promoters and developers of the city well into the 20th century.
But at the time, Toledo lagged behind most other areas of Ohio in development. In the early years, settlers avoided the region due to inhospitable geography and hostile Native Americans. After the War of 1812, Americans finally started expanding into these parts. But the “Black Swamp” and malaria continued to inhibit growth. Building the canals that connected Toledo to the east and the west in the 1830s helped to drain the swamps, and railroads soon followed.
As fuel for the anticipated influx of industry that was sure to come, large natural gas deposits were found in Findlay, and most believed similar deposits were waiting to be found in Toledo. In addition to the anticipated cheap and plentiful natural gas, a stratum of quartzite was discovered that ran from Sylvania to the Maumee River. The Toledo Business Men’s Committee, established in 1887 to attract businesses to the area, advertised these resources to glass companies located along the eastern seaboard and urged them to move to the city. Three glass companies eventually agreed to relocate to Toledo: Glassboro Novelty Glass Company, the Toledo Window Glass Company, and the largest and most important, the New England Glass Company.
Edward Drummond Libbey inherited the New England Glass Company from his father, William L. Libbey. After William died, Edward found himself in possession of a factory with rising fuel costs and striking workers. Libbey began looking for a place to relocate the company with cheaper energy and labor costs, and Toledo fit the bill. Toledoans were overjoyed at such a company coming to the area, and a huge celebration met the train bringing the workers and machinery to the city in 1888.
But the company floundered in its beginning years. Michael Owens, who had been working in the glass industry since he was ten years old, was among those hired by Libbey to replace unhappy workers returning to New England. Owens quickly proved his management and technical skills. He oversaw the Toledo plant, a factory in Findlay, and Libbey’s working glass factory at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1892. The exhibition at the Libbey pavilion was popular because Libbey included glass souvenirs in the admission price to entice visitors, and also exhibited a breathtaking dress made of glass fibers.
With its success at the World’s Columbian Exposition, the company—now officially known as the Libbey Glass Company—had established a national reputation, and Libbey found in Owens a man who lacked formal education but had a knack for technical innovation. The way of making glass, which had changed little in 2000 years, was about to change dramatically.