Est. 1884
Heritage & History
The Ball brothers — Frank, Edmund, Lucius, William, and George — established the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company in Muncie, Indiana in 1884, initially producing wooden jacket tin cans before pivoting to glass jars. The threaded zinc lid with a rubber seal ring that became the Ball jar standard was developed in the 1880s, and the two-piece lid system — a flat disc with a sealing compound and a separate screw band — was adopted in the 20th century and remains the industry standard today.
Muncie, Indiana became the center of American glass jar manufacturing, and Ball's commitment to the Indiana location persisted through the company's growth into a major industrial conglomerate. The Ball brand for canning jars is now owned by Newell Brands, which continues production at US facilities. The Mason jar — named for inventor John Landis Mason who patented the threaded lid design in 1858 — has become so synonymous with Ball that the two names are used interchangeably in American kitchens.
Made in the USA
Ball mason jars are heat-tempered glass products manufactured at US facilities. The glass tempering process increases resistance to thermal shock — the stress that cracks ordinary glass when hot liquid is introduced — which is essential for canning use where jars move between boiling water baths and room temperature. The tempering process is conducted at precise temperature profiles that require controlled furnace conditions and consistent glass composition.
The BPA-free Sure Seal lid compound is applied to each lid at the manufacturing facility, forming the sealing layer that creates an airtight vacuum seal as jars cool after processing. The consistency of this seal compound is critical to food safety — an inadequate seal allows air infiltration that causes spoilage and potentially dangerous bacterial growth in low-acid foods.
What Sets Them Apart
Ball's dominant position in the canning jar market is based on 140 years of reliability data — a jar design and lid system that home canners have used successfully for generations, with USDA-tested recipes developed specifically for Ball jar dimensions and processing times. The predictability of the product is itself a feature: home canning is a food safety practice where consistency matters, and a jar system with 140 years of documented performance provides assurance that matters when preserving food for winter storage.
The Ball canning guides and recipe resources represent an additional value — the company has invested in developing tested, scientifically verified canning instructions that give home preservers the confidence to can safely. For buyers new to home preservation, the Ball ecosystem of jars, lids, recipes, and testing provides a complete system backed by a century and a half of American food preservation tradition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ball made in the USA?
Yes. Ball manufactures 4 verified products in Muncie, IN. Ball Corporation has manufactured mason jars for home canning and food preservation in Muncie, Indiana since 1884, establishing the American standard for glass canning jars that has been used by generations of home preservers.
Where is Ball manufactured?
Ball is headquartered in Muncie, IN. Manufacturing takes place in Muncie, IN.
What Ball products can I buy?
We carry 4 verified Ball products across Home & Kitchen. Every listing links directly to Amazon with verified American manufacturing.
When was Ball founded?
Ball was founded in 1884. Ball Corporation has manufactured mason jars for home canning and food preservation in Muncie, Indiana since 1884, establishing the American standard for glass canning jars that has been used by generations of home preservers.