Opened in 1922 by a company headed by Charles R. Tips, born in 1892 and founder of the town of Three Rivers, this factory used local natural gas and quartzose sand mined in the area to make glass bottles for milk and other beverages and jars for food and cosmetics, reaching annual gross sales of a million dollars. Sold in 1937 to Ball Glass Company, it closed in 1938, but it had demonstrated Texas potential in the industry. In later years, the factory site became the location of a warehouse. Glass with the Three Rivers Cipher is highly prized by collectors.