Description: This photograph of women workers making sparkplugs at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio was taken around 1930. It measures 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). Harvey S. Firestone (1868-1938) was born in rural Columbiana County, Ohio and incorporated Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio in 1900. Five years earlier, Firestone met automobile maker Henry Ford while Firestone was working as an agent for the Columbus Buggy Company. Firestone convinced Ford that the bicycle tires he was using would not be sufficient for automobiles and began working on a new tire. The company started with twelve employees and quickly grew. In 1916, Firestone introduced the eight-hour day to the Akron factory and received a reputation for fair treatment of employees through stock offerings, free life insurance, and access to the Firestone Club House recreation center. In 1936, striking workers at Firestone were among the first to practice the sit-down strike, refusing to leave their positions. The tactic, which prevented scabs (replacement workers) and violence, led Firestone to back down on proposed wage cuts. Between 1923 and 1948, every winner of the Indianapolis 500 used Firestone tires on their cars. In 1988 Bridgestone purchased the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and became Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. The company moved its headquarters from Akron to Nashville in 1992. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3164_3780160_001
Subjects: Transportation; Business and Labor; Ohio Women; Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; Factories
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This color image shows the Firestone Memorial, Columbiana (Ohio) Cemetery, the burial place of Harvey S. Firestone (1868-1938). In 1900, Harvey S. Firestone established the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. Firestone relied on other companies to manufacture the rubber. His firm simply fastened the rubber to steel carriage wheels. In its first year of operation the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company grossed more than $100,000 in profit. In 1903 the company began to manufacture rubber, and in 1904 the firm proceeded to develop pneumatic tires for automobiles. In 1905, Henry Ford placed his first order for tires from Firestone. Firestone immediately hired additional workers, raising the number of employees from one dozen to 130. The following year, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company produced more than twenty-eight thousand tires and sold more than one million dollars worth of tires. By 1910, the company manufactured more than one million tires. Firestone's innovations in tire design allowed automobiles to travel faster and more safely. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06615
Subjects: Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938; Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; Monuments & memorials; Cemeteries--Ohio
Places: Columbiana (Ohio); Columbiana County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Firestone spark plug factory production line. Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. Akron, O." This photo depicts a spark plug production line at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio. These workers, mostly women, were likely working as part of the Works Progress Administration project. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F12_001_1
Subjects: Industries--Ohio--Akron; Spark plugs; Rubber industry and trade--Ohio--Equipment and supplies; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio; Firestone Tire & Rubber Company; Works Progress Administration of Ohio (U.S.)
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a large machine holding a form which is used to make rubber tires. This is most likely the B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company Plant or the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Plant, both in Akron, Ohio. More information needed. The B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company Plant was located at 500 South Main Street was Akron’s oldest rubber factory and one of the world’s largest, producing more than 30,000 kinds of rubber articles beside automobile tires. Occupying 275 acres, the plant had 116 buildings with 165 acres of floor space. In addition, the Goodrich company operated the Miller rubbery factory on South High Street and several regional plants. The Goodrich plant had its own utilities, waterworks, service departments, hospital, electric transportation system, and a subway. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Plant was located on 1278 South Main Street and covered 10 city blocks, including its subsidiaries: Xylos Rubber Plant, the Firestone Battery Company Plant and the Firestone Steel Products Plant. It was founded in 1900 by Harvey S. Firestone. In addition to tires, this group of factories produces batteries, spark plugs, brake linings, steel wheel drums and rims and a variety of articles requiring adhesion of steel and rubber. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F02_021_001
Subjects: Industries--Ohio--Akron; Rubber industry and trade--Ohio--Equipment and supplies; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio; Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a length of rubber moving down a conveyor belt and being fed into a machine with two large rollers, which appear to be grinding or mashing the rubber into a thinner strip. The shift workers names K. C. Dixon and E. Soderstrom appear at the top of the Davis machine in the background. This is most likely the B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company Plant or the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Plant, both in Akron, Ohio. More information needed. The B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company Plant was located at 500 South Main Street was Akron’s oldest rubber factory and one of the world’s largest, producing more than 30,000 kinds of rubber articles beside automobile tires. Occupying 275 acres, the plant had 116 buildings with 165 acres of floor space. In addition, the Goodrich company operated the Miller rubbery factory on South High Street and several regional plants. The Goodrich plant had its own utilities, waterworks, service departments, hospital, electric transportation system, and a subway. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Plant was located on 1278 South Main Street and covered 10 city blocks, including its subsidiaries: Xylos Rubber Plant, the Firestone Battery Company Plant and the Firestone Steel Products Plant. It was founded in 1900 by Harvey S. Firestone. In addition to tires, this group of factories produces batteries, spark plugs, brake linings, steel wheel drums and rims and a variety of articles requiring adhesion of steel and rubber. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F02_022_001
Subjects: Industries--Ohio--Akron; Rubber industry and trade--Ohio--Equipment and supplies; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio; Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Man working at the Firestone Rubber Company. Harvey Firestone founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, in 1900. The company relied on others to produce rubber, instead focusing on tire production. By 1910, the company manufactured more than one million tires, including for Ford automobiles. Firestone's innovations in tire design allowed automobiles to travel faster and more safely, and today as part of the Bridgestone Corporation, it is still one of the largest of its kind in the world. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03453
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Tire industry; Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reproduction of a portrait of Harvey Firestone of Akron, Ohio. Firestone founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900. The company relied on others to produce rubber, instead focusing on tire production. By 1910, the company manufactured more than one million tires, including for Ford automobiles. Firestone's innovations in tire design allowed automobiles to travel faster and more safely, and today as part of the Bridgestone Corporation, it is still one of the largest of its kind in the world. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02667
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade -- Ohio; Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868-1938; Industrialists--Ohio
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Employees of the Firestone Rubber Company making tires on an assembly line. Harvey Firestone founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, in 1900. The company relied on others to produce rubber, instead focusing on tire production. By 1910, the company manufactured more than one million tires, including for Ford automobiles. Firestone's innovations in tire design allowed automobiles to travel faster and more safely, and today as part of the Bridgestone Corporation, it is still one of the largest of its kind in the world. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03454
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; Tire industry
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph, collected for use in the Ohio Guide, shows women workers making spark plugs at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, ca. 1930. These workers were likely working as part of the Works Progress Administration project. In 1935, President Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00029
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio; Women--Employment; Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; Akron (Ohio); Works Progress Administration
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)