Edward Drummond Libbey (April 17, 1854 – November 13, 1925) is regarded as the father of the glass industry in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, where he opened the Libbey Glass Company (later Libbey, Inc.) in 1888.

Biography

Libbey was born April 17, 1854, in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

, USA. After attending

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, he worked for the New England Glass Company beginning in 1874, becoming president from 1883 to 1886. In 1888 Edward Libbey moved the New England Glass Company from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to

. In 1892 the company changed its name to Libbey Glass Company. Libbey's success depended heavily on the inventions of Michael Joseph Owens. In 1903, Libbey founded the Owens Bottle Machine Company (later

Owens-Illinois O-I Glass, Inc. is an American company that specializes in container glass products. It is the largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe (after acquiring BSN Glasspack in 2004). Company ...

), and in 1916, the Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass Company, serving as president of both firms. Libby Glass had five glass manufacturing facilities in the United States, including one in City of Industry, California. In 2004-2005, Libbey announced that they were closing the California store and were going to begin production in China, beginning in 2007. He was the founder of the

Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...

in 1901, serving as its president from 1901 to 1925, funding building construction, and bequeathing to the museum his collection of Dutch and English art. Libbey High School in Toledo, Ohio, was named after him.

Ojai, California

Edward Libbey's coming to the Ojai Valley in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

was the main turning point in the development of the city of Ojai, located in

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, Ca ...

. He saw the Ojai Valley and 'fell in love,' thinking up many plans for expansion and beautification of the existing rustic town. A fire destroyed much of the original western-style downtown Nordhoff/Ojai in 1917. Afterwards Libbey helped design, finance, and build a new downtown more in line with the newly popular Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture. The projects included a Spanish-style arcade along the main street, a bell-tower reminiscent of the famous

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

of the Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

opposite the arcade. To thank Libbey for his gifts to the town, the citizens proposed a celebration to take place on March 2 of each year. Libbey declined their offer to call it "Libbey Day", and instead suggested "Ojai Day". The celebration still takes place each year in October. The arcade and bell tower still stand, and have come to serve as symbols of the city and the surrounding valley. Libbey's pergola was destroyed in 1971, after being damaged in an explosion. It was rebuilt in the early 2000s to complete the architectural continuity of the downtown area.

Legacy

Edward Drummond Libbey High School, on Edward Drummond Libbey Way, is named for Edward Drummond Libbey.Edward Drummond Libbey High School
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, National Park Service

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

External links

Libbey.com

The Libbeys and Their Legacy
at libbeyhouse.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Libbey, Edward Drummond Glass makers 1854 births 1925 deaths History of Toledo, Ohio History of Ventura County, California Businesspeople from Toledo, Ohio People from Ojai, California Boston University alumni 19th-century American businesspeople