The Root Glass Company The Root Glass Company The Root Glass Company originated as Root Glass Works in Vigo County, Indiana. Businessman and Pennsylvania native Chapman J. Root (November 22, 1864 - November 20, 1945) opened the original glass company on May 27, 1901, at Third and Voorhees Streets a year after he moved to the city of Terre Haute, Indiana. By 1904 the company was manufacturing beverage bottles for Coca-Cola as well as several other beverage companies in the area. Between 1905 and 1912 the Root Glass Company workforce increased from 600 to 825 employees. In 1915, Root's company entered a Coca-Cola contest
Sneath Glass Company employee William Chapman, working under the supervision of Ray Pruden, was granted a patent for the glass mailbox in 1921. Ray Pruden was superintendent of the factory, assuming that title after Henry Crimmel’s stroke. William Chapman was a well-known glass blower who also secured a patent for an ash tray. Employees of the company also patented other products, including a drawer pull, a caster for furniture, a newspaper receptacle, and a chick feeding fount. Years later, the glass mailbox was shown in "Popular Mechanics" magazine. Sneath Glass continued making glassware for kitchen cabinet manufacturers such as Hoosier and Sellers, and