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INDUSTRIAL HISTORY in HAGERSTOWN |
| Why Industrial History? |
Names
like Möller, Pangborn, Mack Truck, and Fairchild
are probably familiar to all of you and most residents
of Hagerstown. The last 125 years of this city’s
history are intimately linked with the story of
these and other industries in the city. The arrival
of the railroads in Hagerstown in the 1870s and
80s quickly led to the development of industries
of all kinds in the area. “Made in Hagerstown”
is a label that could have been stamped on products
as diverse as furniture, shoes, rubber, organs,
airplanes, radar equipment, sandblasting equipment,
gloves, fertilizer, ribbon, cars, and refrigeration
doors. These products were most frequently shipped
to outlets within Maryland and the neighboring states
of Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. However,
products from Hagerstown were also sold in Europe,
Australia, and throughout the rest of the country.
The history of Hagerstown’s many industries
however is not as simple as a story of founders
and products. First there is the question of the
physical presence of industry in Hagerstown’s
landscape. Originally, industries were most frequently
located near railroads downtown on the inside of
blocks that housed residential and commercial uses
on their street faces. As industries grew, they
too often adopted a street face. However, as larger
industries began to require more land, public policy
began to discourage downtown industrial locations,
and suburbanization of everything from housing to
schools and work became common, many newer industries
established themselves out of town on campus-like
settings. Another thread of the industrial history
of Hagerstown is centered around the philanthropy
of its founders. Probably the two most well known
industrial philanthropists here were M.P. Möller
and Thomas Pangborn. Both men gave much back to
the community, helping fund parks, churches, and
the YMCA. An additional layer of industrial history
is the one of the men and women worked in the factories.
Some industries employed as few as ten workers while
the payrolls of others numbered in the hundreds.
Some were mainly staffed by women; others by men.
Some were unionized; others were not. A number of
the industries had long tenure in their workforces
with little turnover and vacant positions being
filled by family members of current employees. The
make-up and character of company workforces in Hagerstown
were as diverse as the products they manufactured.
These few themes do not touch upon all of the facets
of Hagerstown’s industrial history. In fact
the most vital thing about it is the manner in which
it is connected with the larger history of the town
and its people. It was Hagerstonians who founded
these industries, worked in them, and bought and
sold their products. Therefore, the history of Hagerstown’s
industries is really a history of its people. --Rebeccah
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