Tradition Keeps Kokomo Glass Company Going Strong
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFor more than 130 years, a hidden gem in Howard County has been manufacturing and supplying glass to some of the most iconic buildings and works of art in the nation and around the world. Kokomo Opalescent Glass owner Jeff Shaw says the company was founded in the late 1880s, when word of a natural gas boom reached Brooklyn glass chemist Charles Henry, who moved to Kokomo and set up shop. Today, the company is the oldest glass manufacturer in America.
In an interview with Around INdiana Reporter Mary-Rachel Redman, Shaw said the company continues to manufacture glass using the same recipes and techniques that Henry used.
Kokomo Opalescent Glass’ first customer was Lewis Comfort Tiffany, famous for his stained glass windows and the iconic Tiffany lamp.
“Tiffany was the biggest customer for the first 20 or 30 years. The glass that he bought from us would’ve looked just like these; these are the same colors,” said Shaw. “We still use the rolling machines that his glass was made on.”
The company’s glass can be found in some of the most recognizable places around the globe, from the White House to the Vatican.
“We’re in all the Disney parks. Some people estimate that we’re in about 75% of the world’s churches,” said Shaw. “We got a call two years ago from the maintenance manager at Mount Vernon that a pane of glass cracked. So they were able to supply with a drawing and so we made a replacement pane of glass the same way they did in colonial times and so we’re in George Washington’s house, too.”
Nearly a century and a half since opening its doors, the seemingly under-the-radar operation in Kokomo continues to amass an international clientele.
“We ship to Japan, Europe, South America; last year, we produced just under a quarter million square feet of glass,” said Shaw.
Shaw says the fact that the company makes glass the same way that it did in 1888 is what has made Kokomo Opalescent Glass so successful.
“When a church, a public building needs their stained glass window repaired, if we didn’t manufacture the original glass that’s in that window, we have over 22,000 different color and texture combinations.”
The company offers weekly tours of its facility and classes for making stained glass, glass blowing, mosaics and more. Shaw says the company’s history is just as fascinating as the glass itself.
“We’re a big part of the region’s industrial heritage. You look at our connections with Tiffany and other well-known artists, we’re a big part of America’s artistic heritage.”