| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Firearms |
| Predecessor | W.H. Baker Company |
| Founded | Ithaca, New York, United States (1880) |
| Founder(s) | Leroy Smith and William Henry Baker |
| Headquarters | Upper Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. |
| Area served | Global |
| Key people | David Dlubak |
| Products | Shotguns and Rifles |
| Parent | Ithaca Acquisition, Inc |
| Website | www.ithacagun.com |
The Ithaca Gun Company is a manufacturer of shotguns and rifles originally established in Ithaca, New York in 1880.
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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 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.[1] Its hunting shotguns were known for their fine decorative work, typically waterfowl or hunting dogs.[2]
Around 1877, Leroy Smith went into business with William Henry Baker. They moved the W.H. Baker Company, which manufactured double- and triple-barreled shotguns, from Center Lisle, New York to Syracuse.[3] In 1883, Baker, Smith, and several partners moved to Ithaca and established the original Ithaca Gun Company.[4] The company was responsible for much of the early industry of Tompkins County, especially during World War I and World War II,[5] and counted among its later patrons John Philip Sousa and Annie Oakley.[6]
The Lefever Arms Company (1883–1916) was a manufacturer of guns in Syracuse, New York founded by Daniel Myron LeFever (1835–1906) who was an American gun maker, popularly known as "Uncle Dan LeFever". He is best known as the inventor of the hammerless shotgun, first introduced in 1878. The company was in the business of gun manufacture until 1916 when they were incorporated with Ithaca Gun Company in Ithaca, New York who continued with the LeFever gun production until 1921.[7]
The original factory was located in the Fall Creek in Tompkins County 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 by 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.[8]
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 King Ferry, New York. In 2005, it received a $150,000 development loan from Cayuga County,[9] and in May of that year moved to larger facilities in Auburn, New York.[10] After a potential buyer withdrew, however, the indebted company was closed and many of its assets sold at auction on November 29, 2005 to the Marshals of Ithaca Guns, USA LLC. Finally, David Dlubak bought the current Ithaca Gun Company and 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.[4]