Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company
Encyclopedia
The Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company was the successor of the Apsley Rubber Company, and was located in Hudson
, Massachusetts
.
and J. H. Coffin of Boston. This company produced rubber (or "gossamer
") clothing; within the span of five years, the Goodyear Gossamer Company had become the largest producer of gossamer garments in the nation.
In 1892, Mr. Apsley purchased Mr. Coffin's share of the Goodyear Gossamer Company and reincorporated it as the Apsley Rubber Company. This company produced both rubber clothing and footwear. The plant employed around 1200 to 2000 people during its existence, more than half of all of those employed in Hudson at the time.
The plant was sold to the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
when Mr. Apsley approached retirement; the plant was renamed the Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company and it produced tires. A new smokestack that had the word "Firestone" spelled out on it in white-painted bricks was built by the Firestone Company. The factory folded in the 1930s, during the Great Depression
.
Today, the plant is still existence, but the Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company is long gone. Since 1963, the plant has housed Hudson Lock, LLC, which produces keys and locks. The Firestone smokestack is no longer used but is also still standing, and is quite possibly the tallest structure in the town of Hudson.
Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2010 census. The town is located in central Massachusetts, about a 40-minute drive, or about , west of Boston, and about a 20-minute drive, or about , northeast of Worcester.Before its...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
History
The Goodyear Gossamer Company was founded in 1885 in Hudson by U.S. congressman and businessman Lewis Dewart ApsleyLewis D. Apsley
Lewis Dewart Apsley was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.-Biography:Born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, Apsley moved with his parents to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in 1861. He attended public and private schools.He moved to Philadelphia and engaged in business...
and J. H. Coffin of Boston. This company produced rubber (or "gossamer
Gossamer
Gossamer commonly refers to:* Gossamer , very fine spider silk used for ballooning or kiting by various species of spiders* Gossamer , very light, sheer, gauze-like fabricGossamer may also refer to:- Technology :...
") clothing; within the span of five years, the Goodyear Gossamer Company had become the largest producer of gossamer garments in the nation.
In 1892, Mr. Apsley purchased Mr. Coffin's share of the Goodyear Gossamer Company and reincorporated it as the Apsley Rubber Company. This company produced both rubber clothing and footwear. The plant employed around 1200 to 2000 people during its existence, more than half of all of those employed in Hudson at the time.
The plant was sold to the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
when Mr. Apsley approached retirement; the plant was renamed the Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company and it produced tires. A new smokestack that had the word "Firestone" spelled out on it in white-painted bricks was built by the Firestone Company. The factory folded in the 1930s, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Today, the plant is still existence, but the Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company is long gone. Since 1963, the plant has housed Hudson Lock, LLC, which produces keys and locks. The Firestone smokestack is no longer used but is also still standing, and is quite possibly the tallest structure in the town of Hudson.