Jars and Glass

To feed a family of 13 and the many travelers who passed through her farmhouse and inn, Susanna Huddleston undoubtedly preserved copious amounts of food. Fruits and vegetables from the Huddleston farm likely ended up in glass jars, carefully “put up” to provide food through long Indiana winters.

Today, once-utilitarian mason jars have gained popularity among a devoted following of decorators, crafters, and artisans who use the glass containers for everything from drinking glasses and light fixtures to wedding centerpieces and snow globes.

Eastern Indiana holds its own special place in mason jar history. In 1887, the area’s natural gas boom inspired the Ball brothers — Edmund, Frank, George, Lucius, and William — to move from New York to Muncie, Indiana, to start a glass manufacturing business. Within a few decades, the Ball name became indelibly linked to the glass canning jars the company produced. Its “Perfect Mason Jar” pioneered in 1913 included a perfectly fitting jar, lid, and band in one unit, a boon to home canners.