The Ladies' home journal (1948) (14765059321)

Gibson was founded by

Joshua Hall Joshua Hall (October 22, 1768 – December 25, 1862) was an American legislator who served as the eighth governor of Maine for 34 days in 1830. Hall, a Methodist minister in Frankfort, Maine, was elected to the Maine Senate in 1830 and was c ...

Belding, Michigan Belding is a city in Ionia County in the U.S. state of Michigan, completely surrounded by Otisco Township, Michigan. The population was 5,757 at the 2010 census. History In 1838, six years before John Green came to the area that later would be ...

, in 1877 as the Belding-Hall Company selling cabinets that housed blocks of ice (

ice-box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrige ...

es). The area around Belding, Michigan, had a skilled workforce of Danish craftsmen and a good supply of hardwoods including

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

. The company was purchased by Frank Gibson, a competing manufacturer of "ice

refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

s" in the early 1900s. It was the largest in its industry at the time. In 1931, the company began making electric refrigerators. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Gibson manufactured 1,078

Waco CG-4 Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

troop and cargo assault gliders under license. The company claims to have innovated the

refrigerator light A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

, the upright freezer, and the "Air Sweep" mechanism for distributing conditioned air. In 1956,

Hupp Corporation Hupp may refer to: * Hupp (surname) * Hupp, former name of DeSabla, California * The Hupp Motor Car Company * Hupp House, historic house in Strasburg, Virginia Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founde ...

acquired Gibson. In 1967 Hupp merged with

White Consolidated Industries The White Sewing Machine Company was a sewing machine company founded in 1858 in Templeton, Massachusetts, by Thomas H. White and based in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1866. History Founded as the White Manufacturing Company it took the White S ...

. It is currently owned by

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. Electrolux products sell under a variety ...

References

Home appliance manufacturers of the United States

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

1877 establishments in Michigan {{Product-stub