The Final Markdown

The development of the cutlery industry in the United States dates back to the first half of the 19th century and Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing ranks as a founding father of this craft. Established at the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1837 by inventor Silas Lamson and his sons, Ebenezer and Nathaniel and by Abel Goodnow, Lamson & Goodnow is the oldest continuous producer of cutlery in the United States. The early days of the industry were ones of explosive growth as a rapidly expanding industrial America provided a huge, diverse market for cutlery and edged tools. Lamson & Goodnow, relying on master cutlers from Sheffield, England, and Solingen, Germany, rapidly grew to be the largest producer of edged tools and cutlery in the United States, employing 340 people by 1860 and more than 500 during the Civil War.