Description: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, who established the first rubber company west of the Allegheny Mountains in Akron, Ohio, in 1870. Goodrich (1841-1888) helped make Akron, Ohio, the "Rubber Capital of the World" during the late 1800s. Before becoming involved in the rubber industry, Goodrich attended Cleveland Medical College (modern-day Case Western Reserve School of Medicine) where he specialized in surgery. Following the Civil War, Goodrich left medicine and became involved in other pursuits, including working in some of Pennsylvania's oilfields and, in 1867, opening a real estate office in New York City. He became involved in the rubber industry in 1869, soon becoming the largest stockholder in the Hudson River Rubber Company in New York. Goodrich faced stiff competition from numerous other rubber producers and decided to move his business to Akron, where local residents had collected $13,600 to encourage Goodrich to relocate. At this time, no other rubber manufacturers existed west of the Appalachian Mountains, and Goodrich hoped to dominate the rubber industry in the Midwest and Far West. He opened his Akron plant, the Akron Rubber Works, in March 1871, employing twenty workers. The plant made numerous items but focused on fire hoses that would not burst under pressure. The company, which became known as the B.F. Goodrich Company, grew slowly during the 1870s, nearly going bankrupt twice, but the business gained momentum during the 1880s and 1890s. In 1888, an Irish veterinarian invented the pneumatic (air-filled) tire out of rubber. It became very popular among bicyclists, providing the rider with a much smoother ride. With the invention of the automobile, demands for tires skyrocketed. The first tires were solid rubber, but the B.F. Goodrich Company quickly developed a pneumatic tire suitable for cars. By 1892, four years after B.F. Goodrich's death, the company employed four hundred workers and sold more than 1.4 million dollars worth of products. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04241
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Science and Technology
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This illustration shows two men working at a "Chaffee Machine" used to process rubber. A caption beneath the illustration reads: "Calendars heated internally by Steam, for spreading India Rubber into Sheets or upon Cloth, called the 'Chaffee Machine'." Large gears and cogs are attached to various wheels and pulleys to turn three large rolls of rubber material. The illustration is from "Trials of an Inventor, Life and Discoveries of Charles Goodyear," by Rev. Bradford K. Peirce, published in 1866. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04285
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Rubber industry workers--Ohio; Rubber industry and trade--Ohio
 

Description: Trolley conveyor made by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company of Columbus, Ohio, in use at the Pharis Tire and Rubber Company, Newark, Ohio, 1929. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01520
Subjects: Rubber industry workers -- Ohio; Jeffrey Manufacturing Company (Columbus, Ohio); Tire industry;
Places: Newark (Ohio); Licking County (Ohio);
 

Description: Poster advertisement for Goodyear Pneumatic Cord Tires for trucks. The poster features black-and-white photographs of trucks using the pneumatic cord tires while making an 8-day round trip between Akron, Ohio, and Boston, Massachusetts, in 1918. Pneumatic tires rely on a network of cords to provide their shape and enough tensile strength to maintain sufficient inflation. Frank Seiberling (1859-1955) founded the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1898. Located on the banks of the Little Cuyahoga River in Akron, the company operated in a converted strawboard factory with thirteen employees. Although its main product was tires, the company also made rubber poker chips, fire hoses, and horseshoe pads. By 1926 it had become the largest rubber company in the world. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS7660
Subjects: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Tire industry; Rubber industry; Automotive technology; Transportation--Ohio;
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a man making tires at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company factory in Akron, Ohio. Frank Seiberling (1859-1955) founded Goodyear in 1898. Located on the banks of the Little Cuyahoga River in Akron, the company operated in a converted strawboard factory with thirteen employees. Although its main product was tires, the company also made rubber poker chips, fire hoses, and horseshoe pads. By 1926 it had become the largest rubber company in the world. The photograph measures 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3084_3675638_001
Subjects: Transportation; Business and Labor; Tires; Tire industry; Rubber industry; Employees; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Taken by U.S. Film Service photographer Edwin Locke, ca. 1937, this photograph shows a rubber yard in Akron, Ohio. Numerous rubber companies operated in or near Akron, Ohio, making this city the "Rubber Capital of the World." Among the large-scale rubber producers in the area were the B.F. Goodrich Company, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. The advent of the bicycle and the automobile sparked an economic boom which drew workers not only from surrounding counties, but from neighboring states as well. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. 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: SA1039AV_B13F10_003_001
Subjects: Akron (Ohio); Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Rubber industry and trade; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Stereograph titled "Many Forms of Crude Rubber As It Comes from the Jungles." Taken in a "great rubber goods factor in Akron," ca. 1900-1930. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03908
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Science and Technology
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Rubber tires created for milk wagons in Akron, O." A nickname of Akron is the Rubber Capital of the World; and for good reason. By the second half of the 1800s, railroads connected Akron to other important cities in Ohio, and numerous industries emerged. The rubber industry being the most important and historically significant of these. For a time Akron was the fastest growing city in America, its population exploding from 69,000 in 1910 to 208,000 in 1920. People came for the jobs in the rubber factories from many places, including Europe and West Virginia. Probably among the most famous companies established in Akron were the B.F. Goodrich Company and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, both rubber and tire manufacturers that began to prosper after the advent of the automobile age. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F13_002_1
Subjects: Rubber industry and trade--Ohio--Akron; Automobiles--Tires; Milk--Transportation
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photomechanical reproduction of a stereograph depicting two workers building a rubber tire for an automobile at a factory in Akron, Ohio. The original stereograph was published by the Keystone View Company, and the reproduction was made by Stereo Classic Studios. Numerous rubber companies operated in or near Akron during the late 19th Century, leading the city to be known as the "Rubber Capital of the World." Among the large-scale rubber producers to have factories in the area were the B.F. Goodrich Company, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, and the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. The advent of the bicycle and the automobile led to great success for companies in the rubber industry. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02736
Subjects: Rubber industry workers--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor; Manufacturing industries--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: Caption reads; "Girls working in Balloon Room of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F02_006_001
Subjects: Business and Labor; Transportation--Ohio--History.; Rubber industry; Employees; Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Ohio Women
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)
 

Description: A mural of a rubber worker in Akron, Ohio. The mural was designed by Henry Keto, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917. He was educated at the Cleveland School of Art. He died in San Francisco, California in 1989. The model for the mural was H. Oimer. This mural was a part of the WPA Art Program in Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F09_012_001
Subjects: Art; Mural painting and decoration; Works Progress Administration of Ohio (U.S.); Akron (Ohio); Rubber industry
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)