San Francisco Glass Works
History
In 1865, the second successful glassworks in California history began operation. Incorporated that year by former Pacific Glass Works employees Carlton Newman and Patrick Brannan, the company initially focused on flint glass. Known as "white ware" in the glass trade, this new enterprise began manufacturing clear glass medicine bottles and lamp chimneys in July 1865. The sand used to manufacture this glass was procured from the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas of California, known for sand with exceptionally pure silica. In 1866, the company began blowing colored glass, but disaster struck in July 1868 when the factory caught fire and burned to the ground. It was not until September 1870 that the San Francisco Glass Works was rebuilt. As a result of the fire, Pacific Glass Works was the only company producing colored bottles in California between 1868 and 1870.