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| MILLERSBURG |
The Millersburg Glass Company would probably not have existed
if not for the different business
style of John and Frank Fenton
which caused friction in the Martins Ferry, Ohio factory where the
Fenton Art Glass Company was in full production.Each of the brothers wanted to run the factory his own way. With ongoing clashes occurring, John Fenton began searching for a site to locate a plant of his own. After much searching Frank found what he was looking for in Holmes County, Ohio in the heartland of America. By selling his share of the Fenton plant and securing a loan John purchased a 54 acre lot to the North of Millersburg and construction on the grand new plant began on 14th September 1908. On 20th May 1909 the first glass was produced, Ohio Star and Hobstar and Feather,  these moulds were designed by John Fenton himself.
The glass produced in this new factory was of the highest quality crystal,
which appeals to many collectors today.In addition to producing these patterns in crystal they were also produced in amethyst, green and marigold carnival glass and a third pattern was soon added to the range and once selling well enough new mould were soon produced. The famous Millersburg, “Radium” iridescence was first produced in January 2010, its main feature was the watery mirror-like finish now eagerly sought by today’s collectors, but the “satin” finish is also widely popular. In June 1910 the famous Courthouse bowl was produced as a tribute to the town and workers who had laid the gas lines to the factory, and many hundreds were given away at the factory. The equally famous and rare Peoples vase was also made as a tribute to the local Amish people who lived in the area. 
During the next year the Millersburg factory was at full strength, with
dozens of new patterns added to the production line with moulds produced
by the Hipkins Mould Company. Some of these patterns were the various Peacocks, Berry Wreath, Poppy, Pipe Humidor, Rosalind and Country Kitchen. In March 1911 John Fenton found that his finances were in deep trouble. The plant kept producing but the company filed for bankruptcy. Samuel Fair bought the plant in October and renamed it the Radium Glass Company, but couldn’t bring the factory back to where it was at its peak and sold the factory to the Jefferson Glass Company in 1913. In 1919 the now empty plant was sold to the Forrester Tire and Rubber Company and the factory was gutted, thus bringing to an end the last remnant of the Millersburg Glass Company. Millersburg Glass has always been hard to find in Australia, but thanks to the invention of the internet it is now seen much more often in our collections. It is probably not as widely collected in Australia due to the scarcity of Millersburg glass on the local market but when a piece does turn up it is soon snapped up.  The most commonly seen pattern in Australian collections is probably the small Cosmos bowl, Whirling Leaves and Strawberry Wreath. Thanks to Ebay other patterns are slowly beginning to show up and Millersburg Glass is finding new fans each year. |