Bellaire Goblet Company information

The Bellaire Goblet Company was the largest manufacturer of goblets (glass stemware) in the United States during the 1880s. Its original glass plant was located in Bellaire, Ohio, which earned the nickname "Glass City" because of its many glass factories. Bellaire Goblet Company was part of Ohio's "Glass City" on the east side of the state, and later moved to the other side of the state to participate in Northwest Ohio's "Gas Boom". It also became part of a large glass trust.

The company was incorporated on July 31, 1876, by experienced glass makers from the Belmont Glass Company, which was Bellaire's first glass manufacturer. Operations for Bellaire Goblet started later in the year. By 1879 the company was exporting goods to Europe, South America, and Australia, and it expanded production capacity by leasing an additional glass works in town. Bellaire had what glass companies and other manufacturers needed: a good transportation infrastructure, a good labor supply, and plenty of coal for fuel.

In 1886 Northwest Ohio began a "gas boom" with the discovery of natural gas near the small community of Findlay. Local businessmen used incentives such as free land, cash, and low-cost natural gas to lure energy–intensive manufacturers to set up operations there. Bellaire Goblet Company moved to Findlay in 1888. The company kept the name "Bellaire" because of the brand recognition already associated with that name. During the next few years Northwest Ohio began having gas shortages in addition to the country's economic recession, and this put financial hardship on companies that relied on large quantities of fuel for their manufacturing process. In 1891 Bellaire Goblet Company was sold to a glass trust named United States Glass Company and became known as the trust's "Factory M". The Factory M plant was closed permanently in January 1893 when it had no fuel for its furnaces after the town stopped providing natural gas. The plant was sold to a non–glass company in 1894.