SPRING 2015, VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1

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Spring Edition
When glass and other things came to
Landisville and nearby towns:
During the American Civil War (1861 in case you
forgot) about 2/3 of all glass made in America was
made in South Jersey. The area was ideal for glass
making, with plenty of fine sand, plenty of trees to
burn for fuel and railroads to transport the product
to the big cities. Just about every town in South Jersey had a glass plant. We, of course, all remember
that Vineland, Millville, and Bridgeton had glass
plants, but how many remember that little old
Landisville also had a glass plant??
Well, around 1895 George Jonas established a glass
plant in Minotola on a tract of land that had been
brush and farm land. It was ideally located near the
junction of the Central Railroad that came from
New York and the Newfield branch of the NJ Seashore line that went from Atlantic City to Camden.
It was built for the production of glass bottles. The
central railroad had a spur that went into the factory
and this spur crossed the road next to the rail line
and was elevated as it went into the factory. This
elevation persisted for many years even after the
factory was demolished.
Around 1915, Jonas build a company store at Central Ave. in Minotola. It was a large two story
building and it sold a variety of food stuffs. The
workers were often paid in script and could use such
script to purchase from the company store.
The factory had the distinction of producing the bit-

terest strife in the entire history of the glass bottle

blowers union of New Jersey. A very strong movement began in the glass plants to unionize, but the
Jonas plant remained union free. The plant controlled much of the area with most of the lands, and
buildings belonging to the firm. Should any of the
workers be found talking to union organizers, the
firm would fire them on the spot, and also stop the
union store from selling food to the fired workers.
Men were paid the wages usually paid to boys, they
lived in homes owned by the plant and had to pay
rent, they could only trade at the company store and
paid the price the company cared to charge, they
had to contribute to support the preacher, and most
of all, they could not speak to a union representative.
Men were required to find two boys who would
work for the company before they would be hired,
and the boys were often under the legal age of 12.
The plant made flint, amber, and fruit bottles, along
with beer, soda, and wine bottles.
In April of 1906, the plant was destroyed by fire
which resulted in 300 men and boys being unemployed for a while before the plant was rebuilt.
The plant was unionized in 1908, and on July 20,
1911 the plant's name was changed to the Minotola
Glass Co.
The plant was purchased by the Illinois Glass Co in
1920 and they closed the plant in 1933.

SPRING 2015, VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1

Some Views of the Jonas Glass Plant:

Page 2

During the early days of America, rivers were the

best way to travel. They extended the water ways by
making canals, and early America was crisscrossed
by many canals, some of which still exist.

This view of the plant shows a pile of wood for fuel

on the right, and electric wires overhead.
Then, with the onset of trains, this became the means
of travel and transport. Landisville and Minotola
were actually served by two rail lines, one from New
York city to the shore in south Jersey, and the other
from Atlantic City to Camden. The above was a station on the line from Atlantic City to Newfield. It
connected to the line that went from Vineland to

The above is one of 4 postcards that were published

of old Landisville. This is a view of the Jonas plant
on the other side of the railroad looking towards Minotola.

Camden.
Fires were an ever present threat to glass plants, and
many of them did burn down. Most were later rebuilt
in brick so as not to be so susceptible to fire.
Continued on next page

SPRING 2015, VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1

Page 3

season, it would keep active until 9:00 at night.

Workers had to come in even more early than 7:00 to
prepare the plant for operation. The pay was 75 cents
an hour.

The Buena TavernWhat used to be!

At 7:00 am and 7:00 pm every day of the week, a train

came from Atlantic City in the morning and from
Camden in the evening and passed through Minotola
and Buena. The only hitch was that to get from Minotola to Camden, you had to get off the train from Atlantic city at the Newfield station and get on the train
that came from Vineland. This then took you to Camden. Naturally your goal was usually Philadelphia,
and for that you had to walk a block from the train
station to the ferry boat that took you from Camden to
Philadelphia. When you got off the ferry at Market
street, you climbed a small hill, and there waited for a
trolley that looped around the end of Market street and
took you to the wonders of central Philadelphia. To
get home at night, you simply reversed all your activities, and reached your end of the day at 7:00 pm.
Landisville not only had a glass plant, it also had 110
stores and more. It had two movie houses, two bakeries, two barber shops, two livery stables, had a number of saw mills, had a clothing factory, and two
farmers markets. Produce from the one near the railroad was purchased, taken across the street to the
awaiting trains, and then shipped off to New York city
that very evening.
There was also a very large canning factory called
Leghetts. In the fall, when they canned tomatoes, the
entire town had the great smell of well cooked tomatoes. The plant opened at 7:00 with the blowing of a
loud whistle, and closed at 5:00. During the canning

Back in 1779 (the revolutionary war was still going

on!) a hotel was build on the corner of Tuckahoe and
Wheat road (it was called Maules Bridge Road back
then) by a Mr. Campbell. The area had a name
change during the Mexican War when it was called
Buena Vista after the American victory over the Mexicans during the battle of Buena Vista. The good people of Buena Vista later found out that there was another town in New Jersey by the same name, and so as
not to be confused with them, they dropped the
Vista and the town became Buena. To the locals,
the town is known as B-e-u-na.

When the tavern was built, the area was still primitive and wild animals still roamed the area but the Indians were long gone. Most of the inhabitants were
charcoal burners who lived in the worst of conditions
and who brought their product of charcoal to the big
city of Philadelphia.

t Page 4

SPRING 2015, VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1

We need you
contribution to
continue these
News Letters.
In more recent times the Midway Tavern looked
like this. On one occasion, a big truck coming from
the Hammonton Road drove right into the dining room.
Later, there was a fire, and the building burned to the
ground. This was then replaced by the building that
many of us still remember, called the Midway Inn.
Alas, this Inn was also destined to disappear. It has
been replaced by the current establishment that serves
the tired and hungry traveler. This is a dunkin donut
establishment that serves the customer with a high caloric delicious snack that definitely will keep you happy till you can get a real mean.

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN??

TO BE A MEMBER
BENEFACTOR $100
SPONSOR..$50
FAMILY.$35
INDIVIDUAL.$30
STUDENT .$5
MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO THE:
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC VINELAND
The Friends have no connections with the Vineland
Historical Society or any other society!

Without your
donations,
we cannot
continue!
No longer does the traveler hear the sounds of bears,
mountain lions or other wild animals, but rather the
sound of cars and trucks stopping and starting at the
traffic light nearby.
Frank De Maio

Name: ______________________________
ADDRESS: _________________________
CITY :__________________ STATE: _____
ZIP:. _______ PHONE: ________________
Mail to: Friends of Historic Vineland
C/O Frank De Maio, M.D.
1047 Almond St.
Vineland, NJ 08360