Remington factory circa 1840
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Corporation | |
Industry | Firearms, mechanical consumer products (typewriters) |
Fate | Purchased |
Successor |
Remington Arms Co. Standard Typewriter Manufacturing Company later Remington Typewriter Company and Remington Rand |
Founded | Ilion, NY, United States (1816 ) |
Founder | Eliphalet Remington |
Area served
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Worldwide |
Products |
Firearms-pistols, rifles, shotguns typewriters |
Website | www |
E. Remington and Sons (1816–1896) was a manufacturer of firearms and typewriters. Founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, on March 1, 1873 it became known for manufacturing the first commercial typewriter.
There are two versions of the origin story of the first Remington rifle barrel. One holds that the younger Remington wanted to purchase a rifle and lacked the money to buy one so he made his own. The other states that he forged a barrel from wrought iron to see if he could build a better rifle than he could buy. Both versions have him taking the barrel to a gunsmith to have it rifled.
Eliphalet II forged his first rifle barrel as a young blacksmith in 1816 and finished second place in a local shooting match with it. Despite not winning the match, he proceeded to make barrels to meet the growing demand for flintlock rifles in the Mohawk Valley. With the completion of the Erie Canal, connecting Buffalo with Albany, commerce in the Mohawk Valley expanded remarkably as did the demand for rifle barrels.
To meet the increased demand for rifle barrels, in 1828 the Remingtons moved their forge and foundry from its rural setting to 100 acres (0.4 km²) of land they had purchased astride the canal and abutting the Mohawk River near a town then called Morgan's Landing (later Ilion), New York. The move coincided with the elder Eliphalet's death, and Eliphalet II assumed control of the business.
In 1839 Elipalet was joined by his oldest son, Philo Remington (to make the business "E. Remington & Son"), and in 1845 his second son, Samuel, also joined the company, afterwards called "E. Remington & Sons". Remington's third son, Eliphalet III, would later join the company as well. During this period, the Remingtons specialized almost exclusively in the manufacture of rifle barrels. These barrels, marked with the distinctive "REMINGTON" stamp near their breeches, were recognized for their quality and reasonable price. Many, if not most, of the independent gunsmiths in the Mohawk Valley purchased completed (but not rifled) barrels from Remington and assembled them into firearms custom ordered by their customers. As demand increased, the Remingtons added other parts to their inventory, first percussion locks made in Birmingham, England but marked with their stamp "REMINGTON", and later sets of brass gun furniture, including trigger guards, butt plates, and patch boxes. After 1846, first martial longarm and then revolver production dominated the company's workforce.