First Germans at Jamestown
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GwynEvie
N 37° 13.239 W 076° 47.160
18S E 341542 N 4120844
Interpretive marker about German glassmakers at Jamestown settlement.
Waymark Code: WM5D2D
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/20/2008
Views: 25
This marker is located in Virginia near the Jamestown archaeological site. It stands in front of a building that protects the ruins of the first glass factory in America. English entrepreneurs led by Captain John Smith established the first English settlement in the Americas at Jamestown in 1607. Among those first settlers was the first German who is known to have arrived in America, a physician and botanist named Johannes Fleischer. Unfortunately, he did not survive to greet the next Germans who arrived in 1608. Two men, whose names are unknown, were recruited as glassmakers to establish a commercial glass factory at Jamestown. Historians believe they were accompanied by several German carpenters: skilled tradesmen who were needed to build the colony and produce goods that could be sold for a profit in England.
The German glassmakers did succeed in producing glass, and today a recreated glassmaking facility stands near the excavated foundations of the factory that those first Germans built.
This marker was unveiled in 2008 in honor of 400 years of Germans in America. The dedication was led by German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth. The full text reads:
Glass was in demand in 17th-century England, and its manufacture required highly skilled craftsmen. In 1608, German glassmakers (referred to as Dutchmen by John Smith) arrived in the Second Supply and successfully completed a “tryle of glass” at James Fort. This success led to the construction of a glasshouse “neare a myle from James Towne,” where there was plenty of sand for making glass and timber for fueling the furnaces. The glasshouse measured approximately 37 x 50 feet and sheltered three furnaces and one kiln built of river cobbles.
The German artisans produced common green glass or Waldglas (forest glass). They most likely made window glass, bottles, vials or simple drinking glasses. This first industrial experiment lasted only one year, when the “Starving Time” and strained relations with the Powhatan Indians led to the abandonment of the glasshouse.
In 1948-49, the National Park Service excavated this site. In addition to the furnaces and kiln, a refuse pit was uncovered that yielded fragments of old melting pots, a “glory hole” or working hole, cullet (old glass used to make new glass), and glass drippings.
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