# Glass Factory Site



## KentOhio (Nov 24, 2006)

Hi all, I haven't been to this site in a few months. There are so many posts, it's hard to focus on school and the book I'm writing about Portage County, Ohio glass factories, so I've had to give you up for a while. 
 I've found two glass factories in my area that are basically unknown and unexcavated. One seems particularly pristine and historically important. My question is, should I dig it myself, not knowing the correct archaeological proceedures, or should i leave it for archaelogists to maybe dig someday? I've barely been there and haven't done much searching, but I've already found some surprising finds. It's on private property, and the owner seems to have gone out West for the winter. It's a yard. There are tenants; the house a duplex, but I haven't talked to them. I think I could ID the shards as well as anyone, but I wouldn't know how to document and map the site, and where things were dug. Any advice?


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## zanes_antiques (Nov 24, 2006)

Sounds like an interesting find. I would take along a few people form this site and I just happen to only be an hour and a half away so I'm game. I think you can do a fairly scientific dig without the help of "professionals". Just take a lot of photos and maybe lay out a grid or take measurements on where and how deep the finds are. You don't have to dig with a paint brush and a trowel to do a thorough job. That's my two cents worth. Good luck either way


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## capsoda (Nov 24, 2006)

Hey Brian, I would dig it my self. Just take alot of notes and take your time. Unless it is of some great importance to the history of bottle making it will never be dug by the arcys. The history of bottle making and the historical discoveries and changes are well documented and I doubt there are any new revelations to be discovered there.

 BUT!!!! You may find something there for your shelves and your research. PLUS!!! You can post your finds here to OOOOOOO and AHHHHHH us bottle diggers and collectors.

 You have a good chance of getting permission to dig because you are writting a book and will be taking alot of pictures and possable some vids. Use your book as leverage.


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

Hello everybody. I am new to this site also and I may have some advice about digging a glass factory site. I started out 
 20 years ago collecting insulators. A good friend of mine and myself were always out exploring Indiana looking for insulators. One day, about 12 years ago, we were in Muncie,IN looking for somthing to do so we decided to try to find the Hemingray glass company factory site. We knew about where it was at and before long we seen an old brick office building and carved in limestone blocking on top of building it read Hemingray Glass Company, we pulled in and started looking for somebody. We found the owners and she was not interrested at all about why we were there. We tryed to explain what this factory site use to be and asked if we could poke around and her answer was no way. This is a large factory site with the owners of the place renting out large warehouse buildings on the site to large industrial manufactures like re-bar manufacturing, so there was a lot going on at the site.
  We left dissapointed but planned on returning. One year later we returned and pulled up to the factory site. Got out but could not find the owners so we went looking around in a building that looked abandoned. There was a guy in there and we found out it was her son they were gone on vacation and he was running the place. We explained what we were interrested in and he said sure come on back let me give you a tour of the place. Our hearts stated pounding with excitement as we went out back. This is a 22 acre site with 10 acres being taken up by tennants and the rest is abandoned factory buildings and about 7 to 8 acres being a dump. We noticed glass right away laying every where right on top of the ground. He let us pick up a few pieces then we left with a few pieces of glass and the owners phone number. I hate to ramble on here so I will make the rest of this story short. We ended up getting permission from her and have been digging this site for 12 years. We have made some very interresting finds. I have personally dug up 7 new insulator cds, along with bottles nobody ever knew Hemingray made. Hemingray moved to this site from Covington,KY in 1888 one year after the Ball brothers moved to Muncie. The main item they were making then was oil lamps,fruit jars,and
 battery jars, and a few insulators. The shards from this era are usually the deepest in the strata at the site. I dont know how many for sure (over 50) but we have identified this many different patterns and styles that Hemingray made back then.
 Digging this site has been wonderfull you just have to take your time dig big holes and leave no furnace block unturned! Some of these furnace blocks that get in our way are 400 lbs or more! If people are interrested I can try to post some pics. just let me know. gotta go for now        diggerdarrin


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## bottlecol345 (Nov 24, 2006)

Great story Darrin. I remember heading out to the factory site about 3 years ago and I got the same looks from that lady! Never was able to check out the dump unfortunately. 

 -Chris


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## capsoda (Nov 24, 2006)

Hey Darrin, Welcome to the site. We love pictures here so post away. I for one will be waiting.


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

Here are a few pics from the Hemingray factory site


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

pic


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

another


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

and another


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

a few more


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

another one


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

a few more


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

another pic


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

just a few more i promise.


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

pic


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 24, 2006)

last pic for now these are the only pics that are small enough to post on here. I am trying to figure out hoe to resize some pics but it will only let me start to make pic smaller from the bottom right hand corner of screen and I need to start on left. I will work on this later.


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## DiggerBryan (Nov 24, 2006)

Darrin, you don't happen to have these pictures on a website do you? I know I've seen them somewhere especially the last one.


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## southern Maine diver (Nov 24, 2006)

Hey KentOhio...

 I would try to do it yourself with the assistance of a semi-professional bottle digger that you trust... Like Capsoda or someone else on the forum....[:-]

 When you involve a "professional" or a state archeologist (somebody with a bunch of letters after hisher last name) PHD... Dr... Master... Archeologist... whatever... they will be there to take the credit and push you aside in order to justify their existance or position![>:]

 A good friend of mine discovered the wreck of the "Nottingham Galley" which was shipwrecked on Boone Island off the coast of Maine, 11 miles off shore from York, Maine in 1710.  He informed the state of Maine of this discovery and the state moved in, confiscated everything, wouldn't allow him to even participate in the diving (my friend is a commercial diver who put years into searching for this wreck) and they gave him NO CREDIT, for discovering the wreck, didn't even mention him in the book that the state archeologist wrote (in which he suggested he discovered the wreck) and they wouldn't even let my friend (Jeff Campbell) keep a lead musket ball that he found on the wreck!!![]

 Be suspicious of anyone from the government when it comes to your discoveries and their interest or  involvment in the excavation...[:-]

 Wayne
 It never rains underwater...


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## Brains (Nov 24, 2006)

It's my lifes goal to go there, as of now all i can do is look at if from google earth!


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## CALDIGR2 (Nov 25, 2006)

I agree wholeheartedly with Wayne. Bad experience tells me to NEVER let those self-serving "professionals" onto ANY site that you have worked hard to find. I guarantee that the result will sour you for life.

 I don't need to remind most of you guys that these so called pro- archys learned all that they know about bottles from diggers and collectors like us. Various bottle books, written by and for collectors, are their" bibles". The SOBs ain't foolin' nobody.


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## huffmnd (Nov 26, 2006)

When it comes down to having archeologists getting involved or to do it yourself, I would do it myself. There are finds there that a lot of people would give their eye teeth to get hold of. I really wouldn't trust a professional purely for the following reasons. First as has already been said you would most likely be excluded from the operation. Second they would take all the credit (again this has been said). Third the pieces that they find will end up in one of three places, a museum (which I don't know of any that would be interested in these finds), back in the hole covered up and you would no longer be able to dig there ever again they would make sure of that or they will end up in their personal collection for their own bragging rights. 
  Do your own digging and research with many pictures and this in my opinion will make one heck of a book. Just my two cents worth.


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 26, 2006)

some of these pics are on insulators.com way back in the archives if you can find them I just thought people on this site would like to see. I will try to post some more pics of some of the glass artifacts we have dug up.
  As far as letting an expert in I say no way Ive been digging there 12 years and I consider myself an "expert" so to say.
 I dig with another guy and we do just fine. The owner would not allow anybody else on her property to dig besides us, even archaleogist. It would take a court order for them to get to this place. Most of the easy areas we have already cleared out.
 The areas we are in right now consist of digging under pieces of concrete that we can pull up and dig under. A large section of the factory site is still under a 8-10 inch slabs of concrete so it is not easy digging like it was. These areas we dig in also have to be over to the side or out of the way where they drive on the concrete . We at least have a few more years left to dig but we would have many more if the re-bar manufacturer would decide to move out. This is one of the last virgin areas left that has been undisturbed.  thats all for now    diggerdarrin


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## lexdigger (Nov 26, 2006)

Diggerdarrin, I remember seeing some of these pics on insulators.com. Man, I'll bet you all have dug alot of insulators there over the years! How many prototypes have you all dug that were intact? I'd be really interested in seeing some of them and the other stuff you all have found. Do you all dig many fruit jars? That would be like a dream come true to be able to dig on a spot like that. I've got alot of questions, but for now I'd be happy just to see some more pics of the stuff you all have dug. Thanks for sharing, Chris Capley Lexdigger


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## Bottleman (Nov 26, 2006)

Darrin, I was searching the internet and found some other guys that dig at the factory too. It looks like they have found some pretty neat stuff too. Here is a link to their website. 

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hemingray.info/photos/trips/hemidump98/images/hemidump98-19.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hemingray.info/photos/trips/hemidump98/pages/hemidump98-19.html&h=607&w=413&sz=108&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=axtMM9dBD0j8IM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2Bsite:www.hemingray.info%2BHemingray%2BGlass%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DISO-8859-1


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## diggerdarrin (Nov 26, 2006)

Here is a pic of 3 rare insulators. one on left is a spool type with a "arm" sticking out on one side i think there are a couple known one in middle is a one of a kind it just got assigned a cd number and it is 238.6 it is embossed hemingray 830. There is a common insulator hemi made embossed with the 830 number 
 but it is a different shape than this one this has been my best insulator find so far, one on right is awaiting a new cd and it is a spool type insulator. As far as fruit jars Hemingray only made the globe jars in Muncie. Whole jars have not been found
 but I have found quite a few lids to both the regular globe and 
 widemouth. Hemingray did make other fruit jars but at their plant in Covington and Cincinatti, they made the sep 18 1860 jar, royal, wax sealer with the globe style number on base,HG
 co monogramed on front of the 1858 masons, and I believe a few others.


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## akronmarbles (Nov 28, 2006)

*Glass Factory Site excavation*

Brian,
 I would be reluctant to dig this site without doing it right. It is basically the last available Ohio glass factory site from the early 19th century that is still available for research and hasn't been f''ed with as of yet. New Portage is gone - Mantua is screwed, etc. Remember that an archaeological site is a non-renewable resource - once it's gone, it's gone - That's why my work at the one site mentioned in particular has been of an extremely limited nature - I am an archaeologist by training and know the commitment and resources that it would take to do this the right way. That's why I have sat quitely with the information until reluctantly sharing it with you.


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