You’ve probably got one in your hand right now. Or maybe it’s holding leftovers in the fridge, sprouting a sourdough starter on the counter, or gathering dust in a basement corner because you swore you’d start canning peaches last summer. It’s the most ubiquitous piece of glassware in America. But have you ever stopped to wonder—who is Mason? And why is it called a mason jar instead of, say, a "screw-top glass bucket"?
It wasn’t just a random name chosen by a marketing firm in the 1950s.
Actually, the name belongs to John Landis Mason. He was a 26-year-old tinsmith from Philadelphia who, in 1858, decided to solve a problem that was literally killing people: bad food. Before Mason stepped onto the scene, preserving food was a gamble. You either dried it, salted it until it tasted like a leather boot, or used "cork and wax" methods that often failed, leading to botulism or just plain old rot.
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Mason changed everything. He didn't just make a jar; he engineered a seal.
The 1858 patent that changed the pantry
Before we get into the "why" of the name, we have to look at the "what." If you look closely at many vintage jars, you’ll see the words "Mason’s Patent Nov. 30th 1858" embossed right into the glass. That date is the Big Bang of modern food preservation.
John Landis Mason’s genius wasn't actually the glass itself. It was the threads. He figured out how to cut a thread into the glass rim that vanished before it reached the shoulder of the jar. This allowed a zinc screw-cap to crank down onto a rubber ring.
It sounds simple. It is simple. But in the mid-19th century, it was a revolution.
Before this, people used "wax-string" jars. You’d put a glass lid on and literally pour hot sealing wax into a groove to keep the air out. It was messy. It was unreliable. And if the wax cracked, your winter supply of green beans became a science experiment. Mason’s invention meant that for the first time, a regular person at home could achieve an airtight, "hermetic" seal with just a twist of the wrist.
Why is it called a mason jar and not a 'Ball' jar?
This is where things get a little messy in the history books. Most people look at the bottom of their jars today and see the iconic, loopy "Ball" logo. So, why don't we call them Ball jars?
Well, some people do. But "Mason" became the generic trademark, much like Kleenex or Xerox.
John Landis Mason was a brilliant inventor but, frankly, a terrible businessman. He patented the design in 1858, but he didn't have the infrastructure to mass-produce them on a global scale. He ended up selling off many of his patent rights to different manufacturers. By the time his patents expired in the late 1870s, the floodgates opened.
The Ball brothers—five of them, actually—started their company in Buffalo, New York, before moving to Muncie, Indiana. They didn't invent the jar. They just perfected the manufacturing and marketing of it. They took Mason's design, waited for the legal protections to lapse, and then blasted the market with high-quality, affordable glass.
The tragic end of John Landis Mason
It's a bit of a bummer, honestly. While the name "Mason" is known by nearly every person in the Western world, the man himself died nearly penniless in a tenement house in New York City in 1900. He never saw the massive wealth that his invention generated for the Ball family or the Kerr family (who introduced the two-piece lid we use today).
He gave us the name, he gave us the threads, but he didn't get the paycheck.
The anatomy of the seal: What makes it a Mason?
If you pick up a modern jar, it’s usually got two parts to the lid: a flat metal disk with a rubbery underside and a threaded ring. This isn't actually what Mason invented. His original design used a one-piece zinc cap with a milk-glass liner to prevent the metal from reacting with the food.
It wasn't until 1915 that Alexander Kerr—another titan of the industry—invented the two-piece lid.
Kerr’s design was even better because it allowed you to see if the jar was actually sealed. If the middle of the lid sucked down and didn't "click" when you pressed it, you knew you’d done it right. This "self-sealing" mechanism is what allowed the Mason jar to survive the invention of the refrigerator and the grocery store.
Even though we use Kerr's lid on a Ball jar, we still call the whole setup a Mason jar because the fundamental shape—the threaded glass neck—is John's legacy.
More than just pickles: The cultural shift
The reason why is it called a mason jar matters is because the name became synonymous with self-reliance. During the Great Depression and World War II, the government actively encouraged "Victory Gardens." They told citizens that "canning is a patriotic act."
In those years, a Mason jar wasn't a cute vase for a rustic wedding. It was a survival tool.
If you go back and look at old advertisements from the 1940s, they don't focus on the aesthetics. They focus on the seal. They talk about "protecting the harvest." The brand names changed—Atlas, Hazel-Atlas, Kerr, Ball, Golden Harvest—but the category remained "Mason Jars." It was a standard. You knew that a "regular mouth" lid from one brand would fit a jar from another. That kind of interoperability was rare back then.
Why the name persists in the 2020s
Check your Instagram feed or walk into a "farm-to-table" restaurant. You'll see Mason jars everywhere. Why? Because the name has shifted from a technical description to an aesthetic vibe.
We live in a world of planned obsolescence and flimsy plastic. A Mason jar is the opposite of that. It’s heavy. It’s transparent. It feels permanent. When we ask why is it called a mason jar, we are tapping into a history of stuff that was built to last for a century. You can literally find an 1858-dated jar in an antique shop today, and it will still hold water.
The hipster revival
Around 2010, something shifted. The Mason jar moved from the pantry to the bar. Suddenly, drinking a $14 cocktail out of a jam jar was the height of fashion. While some purists rolled their eyes, this trend actually saved the legacy. Companies like Newell Brands (which now owns Ball and Kerr) saw a massive spike in sales that had nothing to do with pickling.
People were using them for:
- Overnight oats (the wide-mouth version is better for this, obviously).
- Low-waste bulk shopping.
- Pendant lighting in "industrial" lofts.
- Cocktail shakers for people who don't want to buy a real shaker.
The name "Mason" became a shorthand for "authentic" and "handmade," even if the jar was bought at a big-box retailer.
Identifying your jars: A quick guide
If you’re digging through a grandmother’s attic and you find a "Mason" jar, you might be looking at a treasure or just a cool piece of trash.
The most common jars are the "Ball Blue" jars. These were made with sand from Lake Michigan that had a specific mineral content, giving the glass that beautiful aqua tint. If the logo has a "dropped A" in the word Ball, or if it lacks the underscore, you can date it to a specific decade.
But remember: just because it says "1858" doesn't mean it was made in 1858. Most of those are reproductions or simply used the patent date as part of the branding for decades after the patent expired.
Actionable steps for your Mason jars
If you’ve got a collection of these jars, don't just let them sit there. There are a few "pro-tips" for using them that most people ignore.
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First, check your rims. If you are actually planning to preserve food, run your finger around the top of the glass. Even a tiny chip—the kind you can barely see—will prevent a seal. Use those chipped jars for holding pens or flowers instead.
Second, understand the lid limits. Those silver rings? They are reusable until they rust. The flat lids? Officially, they are one-use-only for canning. The sealing compound (that red or orange ring on the underside) gets indented after one use and won't reliably seal a second time. If you’re just storing dry beans or pens, go ahead and reuse them forever.
Third, avoid the dishwasher for the lids. The high heat and harsh detergents will strip the coating off the metal rings and lead to rust within weeks. Hand wash the lids, but feel free to blast the glass jars in the dishwasher on the hottest setting.
Finally, if you want to get fancy, look into conversion kits. You can buy lids that turn Mason jars into soap dispensers, salt shakers, or even pour-over coffee brewers.
John Landis Mason probably never imagined people would be using his invention to drink cold-brew coffee while working in high-rise offices, but his simple idea of a threaded glass neck remains one of the most successful designs in human history. It's called a Mason jar because one guy in Philadelphia decided that "good enough" wasn't good enough for his dinner. That legacy is still sitting on your shelf today.
Clean your jars, check your seals, and appreciate the 160-year-old engineering in your hand. No matter what brand is stamped on the side, the spirit of the design is all Mason.