Dunkirk is situated in the far southwest corner of Jay County, on Highway 167. A portion of Dunkirk is now in Blackford County. Delaware County is at its southern line. It has about 2,500 people and is the second largest city in the county.
The Isaiah Sutton and Willam Shrack families settled here in half-finished log cabins in October 1837. As Isaiah’s cabin was up first, the settlement was called Sutton Town for many years. With a railroad being proposed, Isaiah platted Quincy, a little town of three blocks, on December 10, 1853, on his land. In 1867 the name was changed to Dunkirk, after the railroad station, because there was already a post office named Quincy.
Visit the Glass Museum on the corner of South Franklin and West Washington Streets. It is open from May to October on Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 4:00. See glassware from all over the world, including glass that was once produced here in Jay County. Don’t miss the glass crown made for “Cinderella, Queen of Glass”, who is crowned every year at the Glass Days Festival held just after Memorial Day. On Friday of the festival you can tour St. Gobain, the only remaining glass factory. There you will see as many as 500,000 beer bottles being made in a day. Drive by the early 1900’s passenger depot, for the Pennsylvania Railroad, at the north end of Main Street. At one time there was a tunnel under the tracks for passengers to board the train safely.