The City of Crystal City was founded for the purpose of making glass. It is located along the Mississippi River in Jefferson County, approximately 27 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri.
Around 1843 an Eastern company conducted a search in this area of Missouri, looking for land with valuable minerals. In 1868 Forrest Sheppards, a mineralogist and geologist, located silica (sand rock) near the mouth of Plattin Creek. The sand was of superior quality for glass manufacturing. What followed was an enthusiastic pursuit of development, and The American Plate Glass Company was founded here by Captain Ebenezer B. Ward of Detroit, in 1871.
In 1876 the Crystal Plate Glass Company built four gas-fired furnaces and produced plate glass. The glass was made on large square tables, ground with sand, smoothed with emery and polished with rouge.
Before glass was actually produced, brush was cleared and homes were built for the workers and their families moving to this new town, originally called New Detroit. As the town grew, the residents sought their own identity, and the name of the town was changed to Crystal City. American Plate Glass Company was sold in 1877 to the Crystal Plate Glass Company of St. Louis, and in 1895 the factory, town and all its holdings were acquired by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, which later became PPG Industries.
Purchased in 1895 by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company who in 1908 built a new factory powered by steam generated, direct current electricity. Crystal City Works Nine became the largest plate glass plant in the world.
By 1899 the area’s population was estimated at 1,200. Crystal City remained a company town until 1906, when PPG began selling lots to private citizens, thus promoting Crystal City’s growth.
Around 1903, just before the St. Louis World’s Fair opened, the St. Louis, Memphis and Southern Railroad purchased the company-owned railroad’s right-of-way through Crystal and Festus to establish what became the Frisco Line. It is now the Sante Fe - Burlington Northern.
In 1925 Union Electric brought a power line down the east side of the Mississippi River from Cahokia. It crossed the river to a tower on Buck Knob to supply the new factory. Between 1925 and 1930 PPG constructed a continuous flow tank and 1,100-foot ribbon grinder and polisher.
By 1964, PPG had established a separate division for auto glass and all production was being done a Greensburg and other plants.
During World War II PPG set up the Bomber Department and produced canopy subassemblies for the Curtis Wright Company. Work done by the Duplate Department led to the formation of an Aircraft Glass Division within PPG.
In 1965 PPG obtained a license from an English firm to use their prints to build a Float Tank and Tin Bath. The new float glass replaced the production of plate glass. The last plate glass was made in Crystal City in 1972.
In 1985 first word of Work Nine closing was announced, but it was operated until December of 1990. In May the glass factory at Crystal City turned over to the salvage company. June the first, the doors of the main office were locked. Glass was shipped until December.
The Monday after Christmas 1991, Union Electric shut off the power and the last life drained from Crystal City Works Nine. Today, nothing of the glass factory remains, other than the company headquarters building and the hospital.
Around 1843 an Eastern company conducted a search in this area of Missouri, looking for land with valuable minerals. In 1868 Forrest Sheppards, a mineralogist and geologist, located silica (sand rock) near the mouth of Plattin Creek. The sand was of superior quality for glass manufacturing. What followed was an enthusiastic pursuit of development, and The American Plate Glass Company was founded here by Captain Ebenezer B. Ward of Detroit, in 1871.
In 1876 the Crystal Plate Glass Company built four gas-fired furnaces and produced plate glass. The glass was made on large square tables, ground with sand, smoothed with emery and polished with rouge.
Before glass was actually produced, brush was cleared and homes were built for the workers and their families moving to this new town, originally called New Detroit. As the town grew, the residents sought their own identity, and the name of the town was changed to Crystal City. American Plate Glass Company was sold in 1877 to the Crystal Plate Glass Company of St. Louis, and in 1895 the factory, town and all its holdings were acquired by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, which later became PPG Industries.
Purchased in 1895 by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company who in 1908 built a new factory powered by steam generated, direct current electricity. Crystal City Works Nine became the largest plate glass plant in the world.
By 1899 the area’s population was estimated at 1,200. Crystal City remained a company town until 1906, when PPG began selling lots to private citizens, thus promoting Crystal City’s growth.
Around 1903, just before the St. Louis World’s Fair opened, the St. Louis, Memphis and Southern Railroad purchased the company-owned railroad’s right-of-way through Crystal and Festus to establish what became the Frisco Line. It is now the Sante Fe - Burlington Northern.
In 1925 Union Electric brought a power line down the east side of the Mississippi River from Cahokia. It crossed the river to a tower on Buck Knob to supply the new factory. Between 1925 and 1930 PPG constructed a continuous flow tank and 1,100-foot ribbon grinder and polisher.
By 1964, PPG had established a separate division for auto glass and all production was being done a Greensburg and other plants.
During World War II PPG set up the Bomber Department and produced canopy subassemblies for the Curtis Wright Company. Work done by the Duplate Department led to the formation of an Aircraft Glass Division within PPG.
In 1965 PPG obtained a license from an English firm to use their prints to build a Float Tank and Tin Bath. The new float glass replaced the production of plate glass. The last plate glass was made in Crystal City in 1972.
In 1985 first word of Work Nine closing was announced, but it was operated until December of 1990. In May the glass factory at Crystal City turned over to the salvage company. June the first, the doors of the main office were locked. Glass was shipped until December.
The Monday after Christmas 1991, Union Electric shut off the power and the last life drained from Crystal City Works Nine. Today, nothing of the glass factory remains, other than the company headquarters building and the hospital.
History
History
1935 PPG Fire Truck