Telephone Pole Insulators While exploring in a wooded area following alongside the railroad tracks, there are a few abandoned telephone poles left in place from the old hay days. My dad once told me that back in his day, him along with his buddies used to throw rocks at those old poles to see who could knock off those insulators. Well, I went out there and looked around the area. I just happened to see one of those old poles hiding in the woods, so I entered through the woodline to explore. While glancing around and scanning the ground for anything interesting, I just happened to spot a piece of glass resting in a pile of fallen leaves.
The next thing that I just happened to find, hiding under a little green plant, and surrounded by leaves was indeed, a glass insulator. Except in the picture you can see grass. This picture was taken afterwards. I didn't take an actual photo of it while exploring the woods. I only took the one above, and a few videos.
This next photo shows the bottom of the insulator and it has wood in it from when it was attached to the pole.
Insulators were originally designed to keep the wires linking telegraphs and telephones insulated from the wooden poles that held them aloft. In conjunction with the expansion of rural electrification in the early 20th century, there was a major boom in the manufacturing of insulators, peaking from the 1920's through the 1940's with production of millions per year. The insulator in the pictures above, is a product of The Whitall Tatum Company or Whitall Tatum. Whitall Tatum was one of the first glass factories in America. Located in Millviee, New Jersey, it was in operation from 1806 through 1938. Awhile back, I found another glass insulator at another location. The model and company name was different than the Whitall Tatum insulator.
Brookfield
New York.
Model #8 Brookfield Glass Company was an American glass company based in Brooklyn, New York and was known for producing industrial glassware such as insulators and jars. Brookfield Glass Company began in 1864 as Bushwick Glass Works, a bottle manufacturing company. It's founder was James Madison Brookfield. In 1864, Martin Kalbfleish, the owner of Bushwick Chemical Works built the factory to produce demijohns used for storing acid produced at his factory. Brookfield was appointed the owner. In 1869, Brookfield purchased the glassworks from Kalbfleish and food storage jars were the primary item produced, specifically pickle and relish jars. In the 1870s and 1880s, the need for insulators increased as more telegraph lines were put into use. During the 1870s, Brookfield began producing large amounts of insulators at their Brooklyn plant, and quantity of insulators produced was second only to the Hemingway Glass Company. It is estimated that over 100 types of insulators were produced by Brookfield. In 1902, a second plant was opened in Old Bridge, New Jersey. The Brooklyn plant was closed shortly after, in 1912. By the early 1920s, production has stopped at the Old Bridge plant and the company dissolved. So there you have it. I had quite an interesting find, which had a story to tell. Till next time.
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