The History of the Remington Gun Maker

Remington Arms Company Inc. is known as America's oldest gun maker. Started in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington II in New York, Remington's corporate headquarters are now located in Madison, N.C. Remington Arms Company is now known for manufacturing rifles, but in the early days, the company also produced and was well known for its typewriters, sewing machines and cash registers.

Eliphalet Remington

Eliphalet Remington was born Oct. 28, 1793, in Suffield, Conn. His father was a blacksmith, and Eliphalet crafted his first rifle in his father's forge in Ilion Gulch, N.Y., in 1816. Eliphalet was married to Abigail Paddock Remington; he had three sons and two daughters. In 1856, Eliphalet and his three sons (Philo, Samuel and Eliphalet III) incorporated the company E. Remington & Sons. The business expanded rapidly during the Civil War, but Eliphalet did not live to see the end of the war. He died on Aug. 12, 1861, of heart failure. He died and was buried in Ilion, N.Y.

1816-1888: E. Remington & Sons

In 1816, after finishing second in a shooting competition with the rifle he made in his father's forge, Eliphalet Remington found himself with orders to produce rifles like the one he made for himself. In 1865, after the incorporation of E. Remington & Sons, the company produced the rolling block rifle. From 1873 to 1886, Remington produced typewriters. The Remington typewriter business was then sold, later becoming Sperry Rand.

1888-1912: Remington Arms Co.

In 1860, Schuyler, Hartley & Graham Sporting Goods Co. was founded by Marcellus Hartley. In 1867, Schuyler, Hartley & Graham acquired two small cartridge companies and was later incorporated as the Union Metallic Cartridge Company. In 1888, Marcellus Hartley acquired E. Remington & Sons and reorganized and renamed it as Remington Arms Company. Remington and Union Metallic Cartridge Company of Bridgeport were united under the name Remington U.M.C. in 1912.

1920-World War II

In 1920, after World War I, Remington found that to reach its full manufacturing capacity, it needed to branch out into other fields. Remington began to manufacture cash registers and knives, and a few years later it expanded into accessories and clothing. In 1933, after the Great Depression, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. Inc. (DuPont) purchased a 60 percent, controlling share of Remington. In 1940, just before World War II, Remington assisted the government in opening plant locations to expand ammunition production. The government owned the plants, but Remington operated them.

Remington Arms Co. Today

In 1956, Remington purchased a 2,970 acre property and wildlife refuge near Chestertown, Md., and named it Remington Farms. Remington Farms is used for conferences and hunting but continues to practice conservation. In 1980, DuPont purchased all remaining shares of Remington. In 1995, Remington began to produce safes for firearms and also opened the Remington Shooting School in Ilion, N.Y. In 1998, Remington launched its website, www.remington.com.

References

• Eliphalet Remington
• Remington Company History