A Pane in the Glass Factory

A Pane in the Glass Factory. Wharton State Forest. , In the 1840s, Batsto’s iron industry was failing due to competition from new iron industries using coal and iron ore (magnetite) rather than charcoal and bog ore (limonite). Looking for another industry to keep Batsto profitable, Jesse Richards built a window glass factory on this site., Although nothing remains today, this is the site of the Batsto Glass Factory. The raw materials used in making glass (sand, lime and wood for fuel) were in abundant supply here., The Batsto Glass Factory used the “cylinder sheet method” to make window glass and panes, called “lights”, for street lamps. In 1852, the city of Camden was lit for the first time with thousands of lamp lights manufactured at Batsto., Glass making was a labor intensive and expensive process. As the years passed, frequent fires, increasing customer complaints and the death of Jesse Richards in 1854 led to the end of the once thriving glass industry at Batsto.