[Newspaper]
Publication: The Indianapolis News
Indianapolis, IN, United States
vol. 24, no. 5, p. 1, col. 1
PENDLETON'S STORY
Her Riches of Sand, Cement-
Stone, Ocher and Gas.
The Wonders of Her Glass-Works
Her Elevator Indiustry
and Flouring Mills.
The Story of a Picturesque Town
Where The Presence of Natural
Gas Led to the Discovery of
Enormous Mineral Riches
How the Place Has Grown
and Is Still Growing.
Twenty-eight miles northeast of Indianapolis is the thriving town of Pendleton. Nature has been kind in her distribution of natural advantages in the region of Pendleton. The country roundabout is of the richest for farming; no section of the State produces larger crops of wheat. The farms are highly improved. They range in price from sixty to seventy-five dollars an acre. There was a time when, these Agricultural advantages composed the principal, almost the sols resources of Pendleton. At that time the town contained about one thousand inhabitants.
But the discovery of natural gas changed this. To the agricultural advantages there were added those which come from thriving manufacturing industries. The people of Pendleton, moved by the promises of natural gas, invested their means in factories and set about advertising them in a way to attract outside capital. The story of the town's growth and prosperity is a record of the success of this movement.
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| ONE OF PENDLETON's BIG WIINDOW GLASS WORKS. |
With the discovery of natural gas came a quickened perception of the value of other resources which had before been unappreciated. It was discovered that beneath the town and within a few feet of the surface of the ground lay a vast bed of sand, such as is used in the manufacture of glass. It was found, too, that in the outskirts of the place was an immense deposit of ochre, from which could be cheaply manufactured an excellent quality of mineral paint. The bed of limestone which overlies the deposit of glass-sand was found to be easily convertible into a good quality of cement. So it was that Pendleton was enabled to offer unusual and varied inducements to outside capital seeking investment.
The first large industry which located in Pendleton was the Pendleton Window-glass Company. The $50,000 of capital enlisted in the enterprise was furnished in part by Eastern men but principally by the business men of Pendleton and vicinity. Extensive buildings were erected with all possible dispatch, and in a few months an eight-pot glass factory was in operation. For a time the enterprise did not flourish and financial troubles almost wrecked it. The Eastern men disposed of their interest, leaving the business in the hands of the Pendleton people, who were inexperienced in the manufacture of glass. The struggle was a hard and long one, but the result was a complete victory. During the last two years the company has realized a hand-some profit. The concern gives employment to fifty men. Its pay-roll averages $1,000 a week. Its trade is widely extended over the Western and Northwestern States. The annual production is about thirty thousand boxes, each containing fifty square feet of glass, the total value being no less than $90,000. The factory is one of the most complete in the gas field. It manufactures its own packing boxes, its own melting pots, flattening stones, etc. Next year the company expects to enlarge the works by the addition of two more-pots, thus increasing its capacity 25 per cent. The officers of the company are: President, G. A. Phipps; secretary, H. F. Kahle.
The next new industry established was the Pendleton mineral paint-works. About $5,000 was invested in buildings and equipment, the money coming entirely from Eastern capitalists. After some months of operation, during which a large quantity of paint was manufactured, dissensions arose among the members of the company. The result was that the works were closed, and for some time have been standing idle. Several attempts have been made to reopen them, but so far without success. It is believed that the industry, if well managed, will yield a handsome profit, and it is hardly probable that it will be allowed to perish.
PIPE AND TUBE-WORKS
The Pendleton glass-tube and pipe-works is an enterprise of unusual interest. It possesses many novel features based upon the ingenious inventions of R. G. Guptill, who is the general manager of the company. The principle work of the company is the manufacture of glass tubes — not the small tubes such as are used in laboratories, but large, strong tubes to be used as conduits for electric wires, sewer and drain pipe, and other purposes to which earthen-ware pipes or tiles are commonly applied. It is claimed for those tubes that they are indestructible and that their polished inner surfaces make them especially valuable as drain-pipes, there being no protuberances against which refuse may lodge; that they are better than iron pipes in many instances, because they will not rust, but their chief value is as conduits for electric wires. They not only protect the wires from injury, but provide an absolute insulation, thus preventing the escape of electricity and so insuring protection. In this factory there is no glass blowing. It might be called a glass foundry for the reason that the melted glass is cast in molds. Besides the tubes, the concern produces various other forms of molded glass. Among these are slabs to be used in the construction of houses much as encrustic tiles or terra cotta are used. Ornamental cornice work or blocks of dark green glass, molded in any design desired, may be made as cheaply as the tiles or terra cotta, and the manufacturers believe that the rich polished surface of the glass will give and effect in house construction which can not be equaled by any product of clay.
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| GLASS, TUBE AND PIPE-WORKS. |
The company is preparing to make a large exhibit at the World's Fair. A handsome display of it's work will also be made at the Fair as a part of the exhibit of an electric light company. A number of hollow pillars of green glass each thirty inches in diameter and fifteen feet high will be built. They will be lighted on the inside by many electric lights, and the effect is expected to be beautiful. It is probable, also, that the tubes manufactured by this company will be put into practical use at the Fair in the laying of the system of electric wires for lighting the grounds and buildings. This company is composed principally of Indianapolis men, several of the members being State officers. The company is capitalized at $1,000,000, though as yet not more than $20,000 has been expended. Twenty acres of land underlaid by glass-sand, has been purchased, and a mill for crushing and washing it will soon be erected. This is made necessary by the fact that the sand is in the form of a soft, crumbling sandstone. The officers of the company are:
President — J. O. Henderson.
Vice-President — W. S. Jewell.
Treasurer — Leon O. Bailey.
Secretary — J. T. Fanning.
General Manager — R. G. Guptill.
