What Happened to the Hoosier Slide? or Why Is the Jar Blue?

Here's a "smooth-lip Mason's 1858" in "Ball Blue". Even though this jar has not been documented to have been made by Ball, conventional wisdom has it that all "Ball Blue"-colored jars were made by Ball.

Which brings up the question "why is the glass that particular shade of blue?"

Answer: "It's all in the sand, baby!"

Here's the story of how the Ball company bought up all the sand from the once famous, now gone, Indiana landmark 'The HOOSIER SLIDE'.

According to the Michigan City Public Library:

Once Indiana's most famous landmark, the Hoosier Slide was a huge sand dune bordering the west side of Trail Creek where it entered Lake Michigan. At one time it was nearly 200 feet tall, mantled with trees. Cow paths marked its slopes and people picnicked upon its crest.

Climbing Hoosier Slide was very popular in the late 1800's with the excursionist crowds who arrived in town by boat and train from Chicago and other cities. The summit, where weddings were sometimes held, afforded an excellent view of the vast lumberyards which then covered the Washington Park area.

With the development of Michigan City, the timber was cut for building construction and the sand began to blow, sometimes blanketing the main business district of the town on Front St., which nestled near its base.

When it was discovered that the clean sands of Hoosier Slide were useful for glassmaking, the huge dune began to be mined away. Dock workers loaded the sand into railroad cars with shovel and wheelbarrow to be shipped to glassmakers [and other places].

Over a period of 30 years, from about 1890 to 1920, 13 1/2 million tons of sand were shipped from Hoosier Slide until the great dune was leveled. By the 1920's, nothing remained of the giant dune.

You can see in these pix how the railroad cars were there to take all the sand away.

Here's a telling excerpt from a memoir on emichigancity.com [the man is writing about his father] --

"For twenty-five years, six days a week, he pushed an iron-wheeled wheelbarrow, moving sand from Hoosier Slide onto gondola carts headed for the manufacturing of canning jars."

Now why do Ball Jar collectors care about the Hoosier Slide? An ingredient in the sand caused glass made with it to be a certain shade of blue... the famous BALL BLUE, to be exact.

Fruit jar dealer Greg Spurgeon mention's the sand/color factoid on his great web page about FRUIT JAR COLORS. His web-page will resolve many a question as to exactly what color any of your jars are.

Ms. Dow Antiques Blog 'Tique Talk is published by msdowantiques.com