- Crouse-Hinds Company
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Crouse-Hinds Company Fate Still operating in name only as a subsidiary of Cooper Industries, however, traffic products division was divested in 1981 Founded January 18, 1894 Founder(s) Huntington Beard Crouse (born 1872) and Jeff Lorenzo Hinds (1846-1928) Headquarters Syracuse, New York, United States Area served United States Products traffic signals, signal controllers and accessories Crouse-Hinds Electric Company, a manufacturer of high grade electrical specialties, was established in 1894 in Syracuse, New York. They later shortened their name to Crouse-Hinds Company and beginning in the early 1920s specialized in the manufacture of traffic signals, controllers and accessories. The company name is still in use today as a subsidiary of Cooper Industries, however, the traffic signal production ended in 1981 after Cooper sold the traffic products division.[1]
Contents
History
In 1894, at age 25, Huntington Beard Crouse from the village of Fayetteville, New York, inherited a large sum of money from his uncle, Huntington Beard, who owned several small companies. Crouse teamed up with the older and wiser, Jeff Lorenzo Hinds, 51, who he met through a relative. Hinds was factory superintendent (and former mechanic) of the Electric Engineering and Supply Company of Syracuse.[1]
Electrical specialties
Crouse had the capital and Hinds had the electrical know how as well as business and management experience to start their own company. They drew up papers and formed a partnership called Crouse-Hinds Electric Company on January 18, 1894 and went on to become one of the major employers in Syracuse. The company was a manufacturer of high grade electrical specialties.[1] Their first product offering was a changeable headlight for trolley cars.[2]
A new plant was constructed in 1911 at the corner of Wolf and 7th North Streets in Syracuse.[1]
Traffic signals
Tipperary Hill's green-over-red traffic light
By 1918, the company had shortened their name to Crouse-Hinds Company and produced traffic lights, controllers and accessories.[3]
The company manufactured the first traffic signal in Syracuse which was installed in 1924 at the corner of James and State Streets. Crouse-Hinds produced traffic signals locally for many years, including the famous Tipperary Hill upside down light on the city's Far Westside.[1]
Current operations
On December 10, 1980 the Crouse-Hinds Company merged with Belden, a wire and cable manufacturer founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1902 by Joseph C. Beldon.[1]
On April 10, 1981 the newly merged company was acquired by Cooper Industries of Houston, Texas. Not long after, Cooper sold the traffic products division to Traffic Control Technologies of Liverpool, New York who then sold the division to Peek Traffic Transit of Tallahassee, Florida. In 1992, Component Products Inc. purchased the patterns for Crouse-Hinds cabinets, mountings and bases from Traffic Control Technologies.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Welcome". The Crouse-Hinds Traffic Signal and Controller Collector, 2010. http://www.crouse-hindstrafficsignals.com/. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Gadoua, Renee K.. "City looks forward and back". Syracuse Newspapers, 2001. http://syracusethenandnow.org/History/CityLooksForwardBack.htm. Retrieved August 21, 2001.
- ^ "Add Our Names to the Roll of Honor". The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York). June 24, 1918.
External links
Categories:- Defunct companies based in Syracuse, New York
- Defunct companies based in New York
- Companies established in 1894
- Companies disestablished in 1981
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