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The Sneath Glass Company was an American manufacturer of glass and glassware. After a brief 1890s startup in Tiffin, Ohio, the Company moved to Hartford City, Indiana, to take advantage of the Indiana Gas Boom. The small city was enjoying the benefits of the Indiana Gas Boom, and could provide natural gas as an energy source for manufacturers. Sneath Glass was one of many glass manufacturers that moved to the region, and became Hartford City’s second largest employer. Among the original owners, Ohio businessman Ralph Davis Sneath provided capital and financial knowledge—and his family is the company’s namesake. Sneath was president of the firm when it moved to Indiana. Henry Crimmel, who already had over 25 years of glassmaking experience when he joined the company, provided the manufacturing expertise after the firm's reorganization. Following the reorganization, Alva Clyde Crimmel (Henry’s son) was the firm's secretary, while John W. Geiger served as treasurer. These four members of the management team were the company’s owners when it moved to Indiana.〔 In Indiana, the company’s main products were initially lantern globes and founts (which held the lantern’s fuel), and railroads were its major customers.〔 As demand for lanterns declined during the beginning of the 20th Century, Sneath evolved to be a maker of glassware for portable kitchen cabinets, such as those made by Sellers and the Hoosier Manufacturing Company. Eventually, portable kitchen cabinets lost their popularity after new houses began utilizing built-in cabinetry. Sneath transitioned to be a maker of a new group of wares—glass products for refrigerators. While lanterns, kitchenware, and refrigerator products were the major goods manufactured by the company during its existence, it also made a wide variety of additional merchandise. Aquariums, lenses, and mailboxes were also among the glass products made by the company.〔 Sneath was also an early manufacturer of heat-proof glass.〔 After World War II, Sneath’s major products began to become obsolete because of the plastics industry. Unlike earlier in the century, the company did not transition to a new major product when demand for its portfolio of manufactured goods subsided. Management did not adapt to competition from the plastics industry, faced a shrinking market for its goods, and could not raise prices due to post-war government price controls. The factory closed in 1952 after a work stoppage led by the local labor unions.〔 〕 ==Early years== The Tiffin Glass Company was established in 1889 in Tiffin, Ohio.〔 On January 22, 1892, the company was purchased by Samuel B. Sneath, Ralph D. Sneath, and John. W. Geiger—and renamed Sneath Glass Company. Production began in February, and major products were lantern globes and tumblers. After a reorganization and the destruction of its Tiffin works by fire, the company was lured to Hartford City, Indiana.〔 Located in East Central Indiana, Hartford City offered free natural gas and land. The East Central Indiana area was enjoying an economic “boom” period at that time caused by the discovery of natural gas. The first Sneath Glass plant in Hartford City was located on the north side of town. Production began in September 1894, and the company already had orders for 6 months of work on the first day of operation. Following the company’s reorganization, the firm’s officers were Ralph Davis Sneath, president; John. W. Geiger, treasurer; Alvie Clyde Crimmel, secretary; and Henry Crimmel, plant manager.〔 These four men were also the owners of the company, each owning equal shares of its stock. The board of directors consisted of the four owners plus Ralph's father, Samuel B. Sneath. The Sneaths came from a family of prominent businessmen from Tiffin, Ohio, and the Crimmels came from a family of glassmakers. Ralph Sneath also became involved in a grain dealership, railroading, and banking. He eventually became president of the Commercial National Bank of Tiffin, Ohio, and also president of the Ohio Banker’s Association. Civil War veteran Henry Crimmel brought over 25 years of glass making experience to the company, having learned and sharpened his skills in Bellaire, Fostoria, and Tiffin, Ohio. Henry’s brothers, Johannes (a.k.a. John) and Jacob, worked in glassmaking—and Jacob also helped found the American Flint Glass Workers Union. Both Henry and Jacob Crimmel were considered key craftsmen in the early days of the Fostoria Glass Company. While the Sneaths remained in Tiffin to oversee their many business interests, the Crimmels and Tiffin businessman J. W. Geiger moved to Hartford City. Originally, Sneath Glass made kerosene lantern globes and the founts that held the lantern's fuel. Ruby, green, and blue globes were a specialty. At one time, Sneath Glass was one of only three factories in the United States that made copper ruby globes. Major customers of lantern globes were railroads and ships.〔 Sneath globes were also used during the construction of the Panama Canal. By 1897, the company had over 60 employees. Although plant manager Henry Crimmel was known for his craftsmanship, he was also mechanically inclined. The Sneath plant had a unique system of air hoses that would allow glass blowers to quickly finish glassware that was started without the aid of machinery, enabling the skilled workers to achieve a much higher production rate.〔 Henry Crimmel received a patent in 1904 for a “Glass Drawing Machine” that was an improvement for glass blowing and prevented irregularities in the glass.〔(US patent 759,159 ), "Glass-Drawing Machine", issued 1904–05–03〕 In 1905, Sneath Glass moved to the Jones plant of the American Window Glass Company, located on Wabash Avenue in the west side of Hartford City. The Wabash Avenue site had direct access to a railroad, and was close to Washington Street, which eventually became part of Indiana State Road 26, now the major east-west highway through the city. The Jones plant was quickly remodeled, and both operations and headquarters were moved to that site. This location became the permanent home of Sneath Glass Company. John W. Geiger, part of the original company ownership and management, retired in 1907 and moved back to Tiffin, Ohio. He died at his home in Tiffin on June 23, 1915, at the age of 74 years. Another original investor, Samuel B. Sneath, died earlier in the same (1915) year, on January 7.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sneath Glass Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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