Why You Should Visit the Dorflinger Factory Museum

The Spark of Inspiration

In the latter 19^th century and early 20^th century, pieces made in the tiny hamlet of White Mills graced the tables of the most powerful people of the time. Dorflinger Glass was part of the place settings everywhere, from The White House to the palaces of Europe. It all began when Christian Dorflinger relocated his glassmaking business from Brooklyn, NY to White Mills, PA in 1862. The sleepy farm town was soon a hot bed of industry employing hundreds of workers and churning out the world’s finest cut glass. Many who were trained at the Dorflinger Glass Factory struck out on their own. J.S. O’Conner worked for Dorflinger for 23 years before establishing his own shop on the rock ledges overlooking Wallenpaupack Creek. It was a successful enterprise for many years and became one of the largest employers in Wayne County. O’Conner’s glass factory is now Ledges Hotel.

Gilded Age Glory

The light-filled space is the ideal showcase for a vast collection of Dorflinger Glass. Browse factory samples of presidential collections, which were part of every White House administration from President Abraham Lincoln to President Woodrow Wilson. Other highlights include the 1899 wedding service for William K. Vanderbilt Jr. and Virginia Graham Fair as well as a tableware service commissioned in 1919 by Canadian Pacific Railway for a visit by the Prince of Wales. Don’t miss the regulation-size cut glass baseball bat presented to local baseball legend Eddie Murphy during the 1913 World Series. There’s also an exquisite green cut-to-clear punch bowl set cut in Dorflinger’s Montrose pattern that dates to 1846. It’s one of only five known color punch bowl sets cut in this pattern.