tomfuller

In 1868 a small company named the Brooklyn Flint Glass company closed its doors and moved from Brooklyn. They moved the equipment to Corning New York and started Corning Glass Works which has grown into Corning Incorporated. On May 17 a 30' X 80' barge will start a journey north on the Hudson River and then will turn west onto the Erie Canal (AKA New York State Barge Canal). The barge will have many stops along the canal The barge has a glass kiln and will be giving free tours at their stops. The final water stop will be at Watkins Glen NY in September. The barge is owned by the Corning Museum of Glass. The barge will travel overland from Watkins Glen to Corning arriving about September 22, 2018.
Corning has gone from boom to bust back to boom again. They have a few plants outside New York as well. They produced the glass bulbs used by Thomas Edison for the invention of the light bulb. Corell and Pyrex are two of their best patents. They also developed the worlds first fiber optic cable for use on the telephone network. The first fiber optic line put in service was from Wellsboro PA to Mansfield PA.
Mansfield is also famous for having the first night football game under the lights at Mansfield State Teachers College (now Mansfield University).
The ribbon glass machine that made millions of Christmas tree ornaments in Wellsboro is now making glass in Kentucky. Corning also produced the huge mirror for the observatory at Mt. Palomar.
Anyone planing a trip through Upstate New York should try to see the barge and take a tour.

k_marie

Thanks for this, tomfuller. The Erie Canal linked the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and was, of course, important to western expansion.

>>In addition to sharing the story of glassmaking in Corning, the GlassBarge tour emphasizes the continued role of New York’s waterways in shaping the state’s industry, culture, and community. GlassBarge is the 2018 signature event for the statewide celebration of the Erie Canal Bicentennial.

More info and schedule here--
https://www.cmog.org/glassmaking/dem...mos/glassbarge

tomfuller

Thank you for posting the website k_marie. I had a problem trying to post it. My wife grew up in Fairport. When she was a kid, she rode the lift bridge up a few times (no longer allowed).