Thursday, May 15, 2014
 
A Brief History of the Mason Jar
 
Used for canning pickles and sipping iced tea, these wide-mouthed jars have been kitchen mainstays ever since the Ball Corporation began producing them in 1884.  Even now, the company continues to make 585,000 mason jars each day.
 
1858
John Mason invents the first canning jar with a screw top, his patent expires in 1879, opening the market to competition.
 
1884
Brothers Frank, Edmund, George, Lucius, and William form Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing in New York State and start making mason jars.  The company moves to Indiana three years later.

1909
The first Ball Blue Book, a primer on home canning, is published.  (An updated version can be purchased at freshpreserving.com)
 
1918
The Ball brothers bequeath a small college in Muncie to the state of Indiana; the school is later renamed Ball State University.
 
1933
The Ball Company does not lay off a single employee during the Great Depression.
 
1972
After 88 years as family-owned business, Ball goes public.
 
2009
The Ball mason jar celebrates its 125th anniversary.  An exhibit, Can It!  125 Years of the Ball Jar, could be viewed at the Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana.
 
 
Graphic from Graphic Fairy
Article from Country Living - May 2009
 
Enjoy!
 
Judy
 
 

12 comments:

  1. This is really interesting, I didn't know they went that far back. Now, if we could research why everyone has such a fascination with them these days!!

    Thanks, Judy!

    XO,
    Jane

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  2. Enjoyed reading this bit of history. I need to let daughter know about this as she loves the antique and vintage canning jars.
    Enjoy your weekend.

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  3. So cool, Judy. And I still love them! Susan

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  4. Interesting. I'm from Indiana and had no idea they were made here.

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  5. Great history Judy, thanks for sharing!

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  6. Very interesting post, Judy. And how very impressive that no one was laid off during the depression.

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  7. Very interesting! My husband want to throw out all our Ball jars. I don't think he should.
    Deb

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  8. I have boxes of jars from back when I used to can and I have several of the blue ones that belonged to my mother, I really treasure those. Thanks for the history! When we were in Branson, we stopped in at the Farmhouse downtown for a dish of blackberry cobbler with ice cream. The drinks came in a jar and while it's not a new idea, I thought it was a neat way to drink an iced tea!

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  9. I love these jars:) Enjoy your day dear friend, HUGS!

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  10. We LOVE Mason Jars!
    We even use them for drinking glasses.
    Fun post. Thank you.
    Carla

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  11. Thanks for sharing the history Judy..I have quite a few of them here!

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  12. What foods have you canned . . .
    Our favorite would be pickles . . .

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