Manitoba - Glass Works

Manitoba Glass Works, Beausejour



I'm sure thankful for that smaller sign.


Even this sign is now in ruins, but it's a whole lot newer than the rest of the site. The Glass Works were the first glass container factory in western Canada (get specific enough and you can be the first anything). It opened in 1906 to serve the Winnipeg beverage industry, then expanded in 1911 to serve other glassmaking needs. However, even at its peak, it wasn't nearly as large as its eastern competitors, so as automation dominated the market, the Glass Works fell after just 8 years.


The first site upon entry is the old furnace room. It appears to have had multiple entrances where wood was shoveled in - both wood and oil were used in the process. The side entrance (last 2 photos) is on the west or cemetery side of the site.


Walking back along the east side of the furnace room.


There's an old, filled-in pit to the west of the furnace, I imagine for the remnants of whatever was burned or broken. The concrete posts were probably part of the machine shop, based on a reasonably inaccurate site map.


Past the machine shop, I'm now walking along the main factory building, reflecting the upgraded 1911 floorplan. Photos start in the northeast and gradually circle back to the west side of the building to head north.


My best guesses for these random ruins are the oil storage facility (1st photo) and foundations for the curing lehr, a long kiln that provided a temperature gradient to gradually finish the glass as it was conveyed through. (This is as automated as the factory got.) It's possible that the last photo or two are part of the old factory entrance - I'm given to understand it was down the road from the location atop this page.


I'm a little more certain that this is the site of the factory warehouse, dating to the 1911 expansion. (It's possible one or both of the lehr photos are part of this as well.) Based on the site map, it's relatively close to the lime pile, and this giant expanse of white rock sure seems like a lime pile.


Is this an oil storage tank? Is this part of the old furnace? Is this random waste dumped in the ruins? I photograph, you decide.


Bottom left: Alps. The rest of the photo: old glass necks, known as pontils. The pontil was the part of the bottle that was held to transfer it from the blowpipe to the furnace. It was then struck off and cast aside. The bottoms of old bottles have dimpled ridges in them, and if you consider those the "navel" of the bottle, then pontils are the umbilical cords.

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