Eagle Glass Works

The post-Civil War era industrial boom brought the expansion of existing factories and new sites for glass production in America. Development in the west, advancing rail systems and demand for the popular new glass for every table led glassmakers and investors to areas west of the Mississippi River.

Eagle Glass Works of Keota, Iowa began glass production September 25th, 1879 under the supervision of J.H. Leighton, a glassmaker originally form Wheeling, West Virginia. The demand for glass orders was on the rise and the company operated for approximately 5 months until production and labor problems forced its closure in February of 1880.

Iowa City Flint Glass Company of Iowa City, Iowa was incorporated April 30th, 1880 under the supervision of J.H. Leighton, formerly from the Keota Works. Glass production under Leighton commenced in the spring of 1881. The factory site was constructed north and east of the intersection of Maiden Lane and Kirkwood Avenue in Iowa City. The glass works grew in operation with 150 men employed producing at least a rail car load a day of affordable glass in multiple patterns. Many of the same problems that previously plagued the Eagle Glass Works in Keota, plus the increased freight costs and competition from larger eastern companies, continued to disrupt the Iowa City Glass Work’s production and profit. Operations continued for approximately fifteen months until the summer of 1882 at which time the company was forced to close.

The short-lived period of glass production in Iowa lends to the scarcity of Keota and Iowa City glass, thus becoming the driving force for those who appreciate and study glass as well as for the collector.