The Coventry Glass Factory made and sold a variety of bottles and other glass products for almost thirty-seven years. It is believed that glass products were produced until about 1848, but account books exist that show the company continued to sell their products until 1850. Items sold those last few years were most likely from existing stock. As with many of the glass houses from this time period, little is known about the exact reason for closing, and we know nothing about how the Coventry factory buildings looked or what happened to them.

Much of our knowledge about the glass products from the Coventry factory is based on information obtained by an amateur archeologist named Harry Hall White. Several articles about the Coventry Glass Factory were written by White in the early 1940's and published in Antiques magazine. White found glass fragments which provided the basis for determining many of the bottle types produced at the Coventry factory. Several other books were written about 19th century glass houses, but they frequently refer to the work done by White when Coventry glass is discussed.

During the 1970's, the Coventry Historical Society showed some renewed interest in the Coventry Glass Factory. A Historic District Study Committee (1971 to 1974), was led by John Scarchuk. Thanks to this committee and the individual efforts of Jesse Brainard, interest in the Glass Factory led to a proposal to include the area in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1980, Society members did some excavation on the factory site. Many glass fragments and artifacts were identified. The Society has a collection of materials from the work performed at this time. In August, 1987, the Society received notice that the Coventry Glass Factory Historic District had been formally approved for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the Factory site, several area properties are included in the Historic District.

It is especially pleasing that recently the Coventry Historical Society was able to purchase bottles made at the Coventry Glass Factory. These flasks have the popular cornucopia design. Flasks of this type were made over a period dating from about 1825-1840.

The Coventry Glass Factory, one of many factories in Coventry during the 19th century, is another example of the historic heritage we have our town.

©1997 William Wajda, Archivist