The Dorflinger Factory Museum, White Mills, Pennsylvania

What is the Dorflinger Factory Museum?

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh, it is a museum about the Dorflinger Factory.”

It is, but what is special about the museum?  The Dorfinger Factory was the home of Dorfinger Glass Works that was founded in 1865 by Christian Dorfinger.  Who were some of his buyers?  Some of his glass ended up in a special house called the White House.  Yes, that White House in Washington D.C.  Today, the old factory in the small town of White Mills in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is now a museum, and you can see the old structure that once made glass is now where you can see the works of the factory on display.

Now some of you are saying, “This is nice.  Here is a factory where great glass was made and sent to many places to include the home of the President of the United States of America.  There is one very big problem.  This factory has nothing to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not be visit this museum.”

Why visit the Dorflinger Factory Museum?

As you arrive at the museum, you park your car.  You enter the old factory, and you see the many glassworks on display.  Many of the glass were sold to others who eventually returned the glass to be put on display in the museum.  A few of the items were owned by John B. Smith.  Who was John B. Smith?  He just happened to be the president of the Erie and Wyoming Valley Railroad.  The collection included a goblet with an engraved locomotive.  It is said that the goblet was a gift from Christian Dorflinger to John Smith who created a special locomotive that ran in the valley.  Other items of John Smith’s collection is also on display here.

If you think that is not enough, the factory needed heat in order to create the glass.  The heat was created by coal.  How did the coal get to the factory?  The nearby Erie and Lackawanna Railroad brought the coal to the factory.

The Dorflinger Factory Museum is located at 670 Texas Palmyra Highway, commonly known as U.S. Route 6, the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, in White Mills, Pennsylvania.  It is open from April to December from Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm and on Sunday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.  Parking is on site, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can get more information on admission and read more into the history of the Dorfinger Glass Works at https://dorflingerfactorymuseum.com/.

Why visit the Dorfinger Factory Museum?  It is not just to see the John B. Smith collection, but to also see the great craftsmanship of the glassmakers of the Dorfinger Factory.