Ithaca Gun Company

The Ithaca Gun Company is a manufacturer of shotguns and rifles originally established in Ithaca, New York in 1880.

Over the years, Ithaca made numerous firearms, most notably the Ithaca 37 shotgun. Ithaca became famous for building firearms based on expired patents owned by Remington Arms (in 1989, Remington ironically purchased a design from Ithaca, the Mag 10 shotgun, which they produced as the SP-10). Ithaca also produced the M1911 pistol and the M3 Grease Gun for the United States military during World War II. Its 12-gauge shotguns were the standard used by the Los Angeles Police Department and New York Police Department, and even sold to the Royal Thai Army in the early 1980s to arm farmers against communist infiltrators.cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE0DB123BF933A05755C0A964948260|title=Ithaca Gun Co. Has Thai Order|work=The New York Times|author=Associate Press|date=June 30, 1982] Its hunting shotguns were known for their fine decorative work, typically waterfowl or hunting dogs.cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DEFDA103FF936A25753C1A9669C8B63|title=Ithaca Journal; Sweet Fishing and a Gorgeous Gorge, if You Don't Mind All That Old Lead|work=The New York Times|date=October 15, 2000|last=Johnson|first=Kirk]

History

Around 1877, Leroy Smith went into business with William Henry Baker. They moved the W.H. Baker Company, which manufactured double- and triple-barereled shotguns, from Center Lisle, New York to Syracuse.cite book|title=The Ithaca Gun Company|last=Snyder|first=Walter|publisher=Cook & Uline|location=Southern Pines|year=1999|page=15|isbn=978-0962946929] In 1883, Baker, Smith, and several partners moved to Ithaca and established the original Ithaca Gun Company.cite web|url=http://www.ithacagun.com/history.html|title=Historical Overview of the Ithaca Gun Company|accessdate=2008-06-23] The company was responsible for much of the early industry of Tompkins County, especially during the First and Second World Wars,cite news|url=http://cornellsun.com/node/26384|title=Gun Factory Building Has Hazardous History|work=Cornell Daily Sun|last=O'Toole|first=Molly|date=November 28,2007] and counted among its later patrons John Philip Sousa and Annie Oakley.cite news|url=http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2005/11/30/news/local_news/news01.txt|title=125-year-old company sold off at auction|work=The Auburn Citizen|last=Gleason|first=Anne|date=November 30, 2005]

The original factory was located in the Fall Creek neighborhood of the city, on a slope later known as Gun Hill, where the nearby waterfall supplied the main source of energy for the plant. In later years, the company came under criticism regarding environmental pollution of Fall Creek, especially lead, which led to a Superfund remediation effort. Various plans to demolish the derelict plant and to redevelop the land have failed over the years, on account of the cost of remediation and community objection to construction proposals. The factory was condemned in March 2006.cite news|url=http://cornellsun.com/node/26431|title=Clean-up, Construction to Rejuvenate Ithaca Gun Site|work=Cornell Daily Sun|date=November 30, 2007|first=Molly|last=O'Toole]

The company was controlled by the Smith family until 1967, when it was sold to a Colorado company which later became General Recreation, Inc. It filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 1979. In 1987, new owners Ithaca Acquisition, Inc. moved manufacturing to Kings Ferry, New York. In 2005 it received a $150,000 development loan from Cayuga Countycite news|title=Ithaca Gun loses buyer, closes its doors|work=The Auburn Citizen|url=http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2005/06/23/news/news02.txt|last=Broach|first=Louse Hoffman|date=June 23, 2005] , and in May of that year moved to larger facilities in Auburn, New Yorkcite news|url=http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2005/05/06/news/news06.txt|title=Ithaca Gun reloads in Auburn|work=The Auburn Citizen|date=May 6, 2005|last=Broach|first=Louise Hoffman] . After a potential buyer withdrew, however, the indebted company was closed and many of its assets sold at auction on November 29, 2005 to David Dlubak of Ithaca Guns, USA LLC. Finally, the current Ithaca Gun Company acquired the company's assets in June 2007. Since then, the factory has moved to Upper Sandusky, Ohio and undergone a total revamp, covering all areas of the manufacturing process.

References

External links

* [http://www.ithacagun.com/ Ithaca Gun Company]
* [http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/7144dd430c47561885257018004c77a3/a2347ff818829dad8525716500687d72!OpenDocument EPA to Begin Site Work Preparation at Ithaca Gun Company Site]

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2008/07/30/city-ithaca-pledges-overhaul-contaminated-gun-factory-site