Gibson History & Toystory

September

Mon Sep 01, 2008

by Fred Hendricks

The Washington-based company primarily built railcars to haul men and supplies to and from the logging camps. When business got slow, the company started building small garden tractors. Tractor production continued in Seattle after the Longmont plant opened.

Manufacturing lore suggests the relocation to Longmont by Gibson was spurned by pressure to unionize in Seattle. Longmont, located 40 miles northwest of Denver, was a budding community with limited industry but rich in agriculture heritage. Locating to Colorado may also have aided the company in sales and distribution. The Longmont Library records chronicled the opening of the Gibson factory as "The first new heavy industry to located in Longmont in over 40 years." Gibson's establishment represented millions of dollars invested in land, plants and production equipment. The new business also offered job opportunities for local residents, therefore, a company welcomed with exuberance. [Subscribe to Toy Farmer and read the rest of this article.]