Two disadvantaged regions, on opposite sides of the earth, built the same industry 27 years apart. Then one chose to make, and the other chose to sell.
I also found Corning, NY's history of glassmaking (Pyrex etc.) interesting:
1. "In 1851, Amory Houghton, Sr. founded what would become Corning Glass in Cambridge, MA as Bay State Glass Company. By 1864, he had sold his interest in the company and purchased the idle Brooklyn Flint Glass Company in Brooklyn, NY. A few years later, in 1868, labor problems forced Houghton to relocate to Corning, NY where the company set up shop as Corning Flint Glass Company. By 1870, the company was renamed Corning Glass Works of Corning, NY."
2. But "Corning area's first real industry was lumber. The first settlers used the area's river systems to transport logs and finished lumber in fleets downstream to buyers. This gave rise to large mills which helped to develop the area. Rafting of lumber began to wane as timber was depleted. At one time the mills of the Corning area were reputed to be among the biggest in the world. After the lumber was depleted the great mills moved north to new forests."
A superb parallel, thank you. What you point to fits the Sabae story almost exactly. As you say, labor troubles pushed Houghton out of Brooklyn, and Corning welcomed the works with cheaper coal, canal transport, and local financing. Glass, like eyewear, was carried in from outside rather than born of local raw materials.
And your timber point is the sharpest part. Corning first grew rich on timber, and when the forests were exhausted the great sawmills moved north. Its second life as "Crystal City" was not continuity but replacement. One industry left with its resource; another was carried in and took root. The land did not dictate the outcome. Human choices did.
I also found Corning, NY's history of glassmaking (Pyrex etc.) interesting:
1. "In 1851, Amory Houghton, Sr. founded what would become Corning Glass in Cambridge, MA as Bay State Glass Company. By 1864, he had sold his interest in the company and purchased the idle Brooklyn Flint Glass Company in Brooklyn, NY. A few years later, in 1868, labor problems forced Houghton to relocate to Corning, NY where the company set up shop as Corning Flint Glass Company. By 1870, the company was renamed Corning Glass Works of Corning, NY."
https://pyrexpassion.com/blog/where-it-all-began-the-history-of-corning-glass
2. But "Corning area's first real industry was lumber. The first settlers used the area's river systems to transport logs and finished lumber in fleets downstream to buyers. This gave rise to large mills which helped to develop the area. Rafting of lumber began to wane as timber was depleted. At one time the mills of the Corning area were reputed to be among the biggest in the world. After the lumber was depleted the great mills moved north to new forests."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corning,_New_York
A superb parallel, thank you. What you point to fits the Sabae story almost exactly. As you say, labor troubles pushed Houghton out of Brooklyn, and Corning welcomed the works with cheaper coal, canal transport, and local financing. Glass, like eyewear, was carried in from outside rather than born of local raw materials.
And your timber point is the sharpest part. Corning first grew rich on timber, and when the forests were exhausted the great sawmills moved north. Its second life as "Crystal City" was not continuity but replacement. One industry left with its resource; another was carried in and took root. The land did not dictate the outcome. Human choices did.