In southern Jersey their was a fine white sand named silica that was needed for making glass. Early furnaces were fired with oak and pine wood from the pine barrens which would melt the glass at 3100 degrees F. Limestone would be added to improve the glass and lower the melting temp. When it was cooling down it then could be formed. At this time a hollow rod blowpipe was used to gather a glob of molten glass from the furnace. This glob was rolled on a piece of stone or metal plate to shape it, and then blown to stretch out the center of the glob, which hangs onto the blow tube. It is then placed in a clay, wood or iron (jar) mold and blown out to fit the mold. Today this process is automatized and done with great precision.

One of the largest glass works was on Stephen's Creek in Estellville in the old game preserve. It was erected by a John Scott in 1825. Estellville today is a ghost town really nothing remains but a manor, foundations of a munitions plant which we only found the one but rumor has it their are more, and two cemeteries one being well hidden. Its a very dismal forest still part of the Pine Barrens. 

In 1834 Daniel and John Estelle invested in the glassworks business. In 1825 a Tariff Law had given a preference to glass made in this country. The glassworks produced window glass and eventually blowing bottles. It employed about 80 men and children. Nearby was also the gristmill and sawmill. When the fuel supply was depleted in 1877 the glassworks shut down.

They say that this may have been the first glassworks that had the capability of producing both hollow ware and window glass. They also made canes, paperweights, pictures, beads and vases. The products were then shipped up and down the eastern seaboard from Boston to Baltimore. The village sat near by where the workers thrived on this industry when that failed the town died.  Below are 6 site descriptions of the glassworks all that remains are foundations. I did not write this it was taken off the parks site for educational purposes only.

1. The Melting Furnace Site

The melting furnace was a rectangular structure with three sections or rooms. The main furnace was located in the center room with the swing pits and the stoking area on either side. The swing pits were where the glassblower, having drawn a gather (a clump of glass on his pipe and expanded it), would swing the pipe back and forth to elongate the glass into a cylinder shape. The section to the east was used for pre- drying the wood (used as fuel for the furnace) and for the sand ( a material used to make the glass). The section to the west was used for the storage of new pots, so they could be kept hot. The pot ash was also kept in this location. This was an oven where the pots about to be used in the main furnace were preheated. This building measured approximately 45 feet by 70 feet and stood 15 feet high. It was constructed of sandstone and aggregated stone and cemented with limestone mortar. All four walls of this structure were once peirced with large arched openings set in brick. Pictures reveal it was once topped with a sloping wooden roof. The melting furnace is the best preserved of the three above ground sites.

2. The Pot House Site

The pot house, a rectangular structure, was used for making and storing the pots in which the raw materials (sand, limestone, soda, salt) were melted to make glass. This structure stood directly north of the Melting Furnace site. It was built of the same sandstone material as the melting house, repeating the same brick arched openings. The roof was most likely wood, although no evidence of this remains. The only standing wall surface is the southwest corner that contains two window openings with the original pegged mortise and tenon lintel.

3. Flattening House Site

The flattening house was a long narrow building with a flattening oven at the north end and an annealing section at the south end. It was utilized only in window pane production. It was here that glass cylinders, each 8-10 inches in diameter, that came from the melting furnace, were processed. The cylinders were rocked back and forth with a wooden rod until they were flat. They were then transferred the to annealing section where the glass was relieved of stress by heating and gradually cooling. The material used to build this structure is the same as that of the Melting Furnace and the Pot House. Presently, there are no existing walls. The remains clearly show the outline of a rectangular structure measuring approximately 25 feet by 60 feet. A dry laid brick well exists in the structure. The exact use of this well is uncertain, although it may have had a role in the annealing process.

4-5. Cutting House and Lime Kiln Sites

These two sites, which remain completely below the surface, were uncovered in 1975 during the completion of the Environmental Resource and Historical Inventory of Estell Manor Park. The cutting house was typically a long and narrow structure where the large sheets of glass were cut from the sheets formed at the flattening house. The glass panels were also packed and readied for shipment in this building. The lime kiln or shed was most likely a simple square or oblong structure used to store lime and other raw materials that were used to make glass.

6. Workers Houses Sites

These were simple buildings and where some of the glassblowers and other factory workers dwelled. There are portions of eight individual foundations above ground, although it is believed that 10 to 12 houses were built at this site.

In 1995-1996, the ruins of the Estellville Glassworks underwent a stabilization. General erosion, vandalism, and acid rain were the main factors leading to the decision to help save what is left. Sidewalks and interpretive signs were placed at the sites, so this site is now more visitor friendly.

In addition to the glassworks within the park is the Bethlehem Loading Co. It produced munitions shells here. I only was able to see one set of ruins there are supposedly more along the trail but the guys were impatient with me and wanted to go. Like I said without the right team it really can take away from the investigation. Among the ruins are horse stables, police barracks, shell plants and even a tower. 

There is also a washed out bridge could not cross it unless of course those daring enough do not mind getting a little wet crossing Stephen's Creek. I did find the Veterans cemetery near the glassworks but rumor has it their is a really old one hidden off in the woods probably further down the trail I took the guys on. 

If you have not read our Jersey Devil Page you will read that Estellville may have been the birthplace of the Jersey Devil.  I read a story about a daytime sighting here I mean there are some pretty secluded trails towards the back of the park. I also read about ghost which haunt Estell Manor one of the only remaining structures from the ghost town. It truly is a fascinating place to visit and explore.

© By

Lord Rick