In 1816, Connecticut born Eliphalet Remington forged the rifle that would eventually win not only the west, but would conquer trenches throughout Europe, jungles in Vietnam, revolutionary warzones in Russia, and various other theaters of combat throughout recent history. Eliphalet effectively turned his one-man endeavor, his quest to make a decent gun for personal use, has made his name one of the most well known in the business world today, and his company, Remington Arms, into a corporate powerhouse.
Remington all started in 1816. Eliphalet’s hometown of Ilion Gulch prided itself on self-dependence, that when a citizen needed a product that same citizen could make it for himself. Eliphalet began studying the processes by which people crafted gun barrels so he could duplicate the effect in his fathers forge. Remington’s final product, a homemade flintlock rifle, was to be the first of millions of other rifles to be produced under the Remington name.
As legend goes, twenty-three year old Remington entered a shooting contest. Out of all the contestants he finished in a slightly unimpressive Second Place, but his handmade cannon turned some heads. Contestants were impressed by Eliphalet’s handiwork and orders for rifles and barrels of the same make started flowing in.
From then on Remington was the same old success story. Remington changed location to a spot close to the Erie Canal, a huge trade benefit back then. Remington shot for vertical integration, starting and buying out the Union Metallic Cartridge Company (UMCC). UMCC went on to be a pioneer in the ammunition industry. With Remington working on a more efficient gun (pioneering bolt action technologies like no other), and UMCC pumping out shells d ...