The B.F. Goodrich Company was founded in 1870 by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company began as a manufacturer of rubberized hoses and later began manufacturing pneumatic bicycle tires. In 1896, B.F. Goodrich became the first company in the United States to manufacture pneumatic automobile tires.
On December 31, 1870, Goodrich formed the partnership of Goodrich, Tew & Company with his brother-in-law Harvey W. Tew and a group of Akron investors. After completing the construction of a two-story factory on the banks of the Ohio Canal, Goodrich was in business as the first rubber company west of the Allegheny Mountains.
“The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is one of the largest rubber factories in the United States. Good year produced more than 110,000,000 tires since 1898. It employs thousands of people. The annual Payroll is over $43,000,000. Goodyear is the largest producer of auto tires and rubber heels in the world. 110,000,000 tires linked together would…
The Robinson Clay Product Company was a major producer of sewer pipe. Including its operations in Akron, the company had eight plants in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Robinson’s was one of many clay product companies with operations in Akron. Others included: American Vitrified Products Company, United States Stoneware Company, Summit China Company, M. A. Knight Company, Camp Brothers…
Shortly before the Great Depression, Goodrich acquired the Hood Rubber Company of Water-town, Massachusetts, and the Miller Rubber Company of Akron. The Depression reduced rubber demand and affected the company’s labor relations with its 15,000 employees in Akron. The United Rubber Workers union (URW) was formed in 1934, and in 1936 national labor leader John…
One of the largest rubber factories in the United States located in Akron, Ohio, the rubber center of the United States. This view shows plants number one and two and the steel products plant. It covers a great many acres and employs thousands of people.
Ohio Columbus Barber, the founder of nearby Barberton, Ohio, was one of the early manufacturers of rubber products in Akron. He organized and managed the Diamond Rubber Company up to the time of its 1912 acquirement by the B. F. Goodrich Company.
In 1898, Frank Seiberling established the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. The company was named for Charles Goodyear, the man who developed vulcanized rubber.
In 1916, Goodyear became the world’s largest tire company. This is also when the company began using the slogan “More people ride on Goodyear tires than on any other kind.”
Founded in 1856 by Thomas Robinson, Richard Whitmore, and Thomas Johnson. Robinson Clay Products company manufactured sewer pipes, tile, brick, and many other clay products. Offices in the Second National Building
In April 1967 the URW walked off of jobs at Goodrich, Firestone, and Uniroyal, and the resulting strike stalled rubber production in Akron for 86 days.
Goodrich ran television and print ads showing an empty blue sky, to distinguish themselves from the similar-sounding Goodyear tire company. The tagline was, “See that blimp up in the sky? We’re the other guys!”
The Diamond Rubber Company was a manufacturer of vehicle tires and other rubber products at the end of the 19th, and into the early 20th century. The company was created in 1894 by famed local industrialist O.C. Barber.
Construction of the Colonial Salt plant began in 1899 and by 1901 salt was being produced. At that time the area was known as Halo, but today is known as the Kenmore neighborhood of Akron. By 1905, the office force at Colonial was larger than nearby Firestone Rubber.
The Air Dock, as it is known, was constructed in 1929. It was the largest building in the world without interior supports and provided a huge structure in which “lighter-than-air” ships (later known as airships, dirigibles, and blimps) could be constructed. The first two airships to be constructed and launched at the Airdock were USS Akron and its sister ship, USS Macon, built…
On May 18, 1909, a fire in the seven-story Hower Power block destroyed the building and its contents, causing losses in excess of $1,500,000. Several girls employed in the building had a narrow escape. Firemen were in danger from falling walls. The building was occupied entirely by light manufacturing companies. There were more than 200…
Goodyear had its initial public offering and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on On August 5, 1927.
The Werner Printing Company established its dominance in the world of print long before Akron’s rubber boom. By 1900 the Werner Company was the largest and most complete book factory in America. Legal battles with Encyclopedia Britannica over copyright issues, which the Werner Company ultimately won, resulted in financial losses that ultimately destroyed the company.
“Oatmeal is the Cereal beefsteak. It is the very thing that produces the finest meat on cattle. But why not take your meat at first hand or rather the meat elements? Why wait until it has passed through the tissues of a living animal? Don’t eat it second-handed — eat it in oatmeal itself, in the form…
Born in Ripley, New York in 1841, Benjamin Franklin Goodrich pursued an education in medicine and served as an assistant surgeon in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. After the war, Goodrich pursued a career in business and entered into a real estate partnership with John P. Morris of New York City. In 1869…
USS Akron flys proudly over the Goodyear plant. She was the world’s first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier, carrying F9C Sparrowhawk fighter planes which could be launched and recovered while she was in flight. The Goodyear company is named after American Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanized rubber. The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron, Ohio, in…
Paul E. Werner established his dominance in publishing long before Akron’s rubber boom. By 1900, Werner’s publishing house, the Werner Company, claimed to be the largest and most complete book factory in America. Legal battles with Encyclopedia Britannica, of which Werner ultimately won, resulted in financial losses that destroyed the empire Werner had built.
By 1926 Goodyear was the largest rubber company in the world. Only four years earlier it was forced to temporarily halt production of racing tires due to heavy competition. Nevertheless, the popularity of the Goodyear tire on the racing circuit led to a popular demand for the return of the brand.
The Goodyear-Zeppelin Airdock was a purpose-built facility for the construction of large airships. The $2.2 million building is over 200 feet tall and more than 1,000 feet long. Most remarkable, the entire length of the building is free of interior supports like pillars or struts. At the time of its construction in 1929, the air dock was the…
A 1968 factory explosion at the Mohawk Rubber Plant caused the death of 25-year-old Thomas Schultz of Coventry Township.