Photo by Janelle Patterson Brooke and her daughter Lyla Stewart watch the demolition of the Fenton Art Glass factory Wednesday in Williamstown.

WILLIAMSTOWN — When she awoke Wednesday, Chris Fenton knew the end of an era was near.

“You could see through the holes where the windows were to the trees on the other side. I knew it would happen soon,” she said. “Then when I came home from Parkersburg the first wall was starting to come down.”

Fenton, of Williamstown, blinked a few tears away as she watched the legacy of her grandfather, the Fenton Art Glass factory, crumble beneath the claw of an excavator Wednesday.

“I’m glad my dad isn’t alive to see this, although dad would be thankful a new grade school will be here in its place,” she said. “Of course I did my mourning for the company a long time ago but this is still hard to see.”

Fenton Art Glass, founded in 1905, employed approximately 725 local residents at its peak as pressers, blowers, finishers, glass mixers, melters, mold maintenance, inspectors, decorators and finishers, along with those who worked in shipping, customer service, sales and product development.

Photo by Janelle Patterson Reclaim Co., of Fairmont, demolishes the finishing area of the Fenton Art Glass factory Wednesday in Williamstown.

Frank L. Fenton built the factory in Williamstown in 1907.

The factory announced it would close in 2007 and would be demolished before summer’s end but after restructuring stayed open until 2011 and the final auction for the factory took place last summer.

Families trickled in as the afternoon wore on Wednesday, bringing little ones eager to see the work of the excavators and bulldozer, of which three were on site from Reclaim Co., the company contracted to do the demolition.

“I live just around the corner and this road was blocked off so I knew something was coming,” said Brooke Stewart as her 6-year-old twins Lyla and Layne and friend Henry Nicely, 6, watched along the hill where the two side parking lots faced the demolition.

Erica Flinn also brought her children and niece and nephew to see the walls come down.

Photo by Janelle Patterson Chris Fenton takes photos of the demolition of her grandfather’s factory in Williamstown Wednesday.

“I was born here and my aunt and uncles and grandfather all worked there. Anybody who has lived here has had a part in Fenton,” said Flinn. “It’s bittersweet to watch because I’m excited about the new school but sad to see it torn down. It was a landmark of the town.”

Stewart said she was surprised by projections for construction of the new elementary, which is estimated to be completed in time for her children’s second grade year.

“That seems really fast, but I know it’s needed,” she said. “And they’ll remember what was here before when they go.”

The contractors working on the demolition Wednesday said they will be working on tear down from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for the next few weeks, but couldn’t give a definite timeframe just yet.

“It’s going to be so weird to look over here and see nothing,” noted Fenton as she took photos with her phone to send to her brother and cousins. “I knew I was going to have a ringside seat but still, the next couple weeks should be hard.”

Photo by Janelle Patterson Debris of the finishing area of the Fenton Art Glass factory lies in the closed off street in Williamstown Wednesday.

Fenton said where the first wall came down was where finishing took place in the factory, then when she looked in on the inside where Reclaim Co. had parked the debris piles were stacked in front of the old loading docks.

“I can see my old office window from here,” she said, pointing to the second window from where the building changes from brick to cinder block.

She said she began working for the family company in the 1980s then was an assistant manager in the gift shop.

“When they took the windows out it really looked like a war zone, it was eerie,” she said.

Photo by Janelle Patterson Lyla Stewart, Henry Nicely and Layne Stewart watch the demolition of the Fenton Art Glass factory in Williamstown Wednesday.

Photo by Janelle Patterson Williamstown boys gather at the fence to watch the demolition of the Fenton Art Glass factory in Williamstown Wednesday.

Photo by Janelle Patterson From left to right, Lyla Stewart, Henry Nicely and Layne Stewart watch the demolition of the Fenton Art Glass factory in Williamstown Wednesday.

Photo by Janelle Patterson An excavator piles debris near the loading docks of the old Fenton Art Glass factory in Williamstown during demolition Wednesday.