West Virginia University - News and Information Services
WVU professor writes book on West Virginia's glass industry
Ken Fones-Wolf, a history professor in West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, has written a book on the glassmaking industry in West Virginia.
“Glass Towns: Industry, Labor and Political Economy in Appalachia, 1890-1930s” is being published by the University of Illinois Press.
The book examines the political and economic climate of the early 20th century. It explores how the glass industry had the potential to improve West Virginia’s political economy by establishing a base of value-added manufacturing to complement the state’s abundance of coal, oil, timber and natural gas.
It includes case studies of the glass production areas of Clarksburg, Moundsville and Fairmont and looks at the impact of industry on local populations and immigrant craftsmen.
Fones-Wolf is also a coeditor of “Transnational West Virginia: Ethnic Communities and Economic Change, 1840-1940.” His teaching fields include 19th century America; the working class, migration and ethnicity; the Gilded Age and Progressive Era; and Appalachia. His current research focuses on Protestantism and class relations in 20th century America. He has been recognized by the Eberly College with the Outstanding Researcher Award.
He received his doctorate from Temple University in 1986.
For more information, contact him at Kenneth.Fones-Wolf@mail.wvu.edu or at 304-293-2421, ext. 5240.