Glasshouse Ruins

At "glass point" near Jamestown, the glass furnaces were re-discovered and excavated in 1948. Here you see the original glassworks as an archaeological site. Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London in May 1607. Their 1606 charter, granted by King James I, outlined the many purposes and goals of the Company. But like all good companies, its primary duty was to provide a profitable return to the investors. One of the first English attempts at industrialization and manufacturing in America was glassblowing.The Company hoped glass production might provide the profit that it was looking for. The New World abounded with raw materials -wood for fuel and ash, and sand (silica) for the glass. All that was needed were artisans and various laborers to produce the glass. Today, in a reconstructed, interpretive facility, glassblowing is again performed at Jamestown. Modern artisans, in reproductive clothing, produce common glass objects very much as they must have done almost 400 years ago.