Paul W. Litchfield (July 26, 1875 – March 18, 1959) was an American inventor, industrialist, and author. He served as President, Chairman, and the first CEO of the
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, ...
and the founder of the town of
Litchfield Park, Arizona
Litchfield Park is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located west of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,847, up from 5,476 in 2010.
History
The town of Litchfield Park is a historically a ...
and the city of
Goodyear, Arizona
Goodyear (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Valin Thak'') is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census had a population o ...
. Among his many accomplishments as chairman was the establishment of a research and development department that produced the first practical airplane tire, long-haul conveyor belts, hydraulic disc brakes for airplanes, the first pneumatic truck tire, and a bullet-sealing fuel tank for military airplanes. Litchfield was also the author of books on air power, trucks, employee relations, and business.
Early years
Paul Weeks Litchfield was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts to Charles M. Litchfield and Julia W. Litchfield. He was a direct descendant of ''
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
'' pilgrims. He received his primary and secondary education in his native city and continued his higher education at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. In 1896, he graduated and earned a degree in chemical engineering. His first job in the rubber business was with a bicycle-tire manufacturer.
[Encyclopaedia Britannica](_blank)
/ref>[Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century](_blank)
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/ref>
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Litchfield went to work for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company plant in Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
. He soon became superintendent of the plant. In 1899, he designed and patented the first pneumatic wheels (tubeless tires) which were used in New York City's busses on Fifth Avenue. He became the superintendent and plant manager by 1900. In 1903, he met Florence Pennington Printon, who worked for the Akron Beacon Journal. They were married on June 23, 1904.
Under his direction, Goodyear began to experiment in the development of airplane parts. In 1910, he advocated for the establishment of an aeronautics department in the company. The company accepted his ideas and began to be involved in the production of aircraft that were lighter-than-air. The new department also produced observation balloons and after World War I, would team up with the German Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name ...
Company to produce zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
s, and dirigibles. Some of these set size and altitude records.[Goodyear History](_blank)
/ref>
During World War I, the demand for cotton was at an all-time high in the United States. He needed strong fabric for a new tire he designed, he wanted it woven only from long cotton staple. Litchfield believed there were places in the United States where the climate and soil conditions were very similar to those of the Nile Valley in Egypt. The United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
suggested that cotton could be grown in the area surrounding Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
.[Litchfield Park History](_blank)
/ref>
Litchfield Park
He became interested in the Salt River Valley
The Salt River Valley is an extensive valley on the Salt River in central Arizona, which contains the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.
Although this geographic term still identifies the area, the name "Valley of the Sun" popularly replaced the usage ...
area and convinced the Goodyear company to establish the Southwest Cotton Company in Phoenix. Litchfield was named president and he purchased in the general Salt River Valley area which included around the present site of Litchfield Park, then known as Litchfield Ranch.[Goodyear](_blank)
/ref> He and Southwest Cotton also leased about 8,000 acres from Chandler Improvement Company which owned a large portion of land around Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
at the time.
Two thousand men and women, mostly Mexican migrants and Native Americans were recruited by the Southwest Cotton Company. They transformed the desert area into agricultural fields and cultivated thousands of acres of cotton fields. Litchfield took an interest in the community which he established and in 1917, he established a cemetery for the employees of the Goodyear Farms and the Wigwam Resort. The cemetery was first called the "Pioneer Cemetery" and later changed to " Litchfield Cemetery".
In 1918, he had the Wigwam Organizational House built by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company as lodging for local ranch suppliers. This was the first building of what was to become the Wigwam Hotel which opened its doors in 1929. In 1919, he had the St. Thomas Mission Church a.k.a. "St. Thomas Aquinas Mission Church" built. The church was built primarily for the Mexican farm workers of the Southwest Cotton Company. That same year he oversaw the construction of the Litchfield Elementary Schools. In 1920, the Litchfield Train Station, a feeder station of the Southern-Pacific Rock-Island Line, near Maricopa County 85 and Litchfield Road was established.
On one occasion Litchfield was in a gambling casino in Ensenada, Mexico
Ensenada is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on the Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja California. The ...
. He became fascinated by the interior of the casino and made a detailed drawing of it. He used it as a model for the sanctuary of the Church at Litchfield Park which was built in 1938 by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company crew.
President of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
By 1924, Litchfield was Vice President of the Goodyear Co. That same year he forged a joint venture with the German Luftschiffbau Zeppelin
Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name ...
Company. The two companies built two Zeppelins in the United States. The Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation was created to facilitate the relationship. In 1926, Litchfield went on to become the president of the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation. As company president, he was responsible for the company's expansion and set up plants, factories and plantations in foreign countries such as Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
, Sumatra, the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and Mexico. He expanded the company's operation in South America, Europe, and Africa.
The two airships built by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation were the USS ''Akron'' a.k.a. "ZRS-4" and the USS ''Macon'' a.k.a. (ZRS-5). Both were designed by Chief Designer Karl Arnstein and a team of experienced German airship engineers.
The construction of the USS ''Akron'' airship began on October 31, 1929, at the Goodyear Airdock
The Goodyear Airdock is a construction and storage airship hangar in Akron, Ohio. At its completion in 1929, it was the largest building in the world without interior supports.
Description
The building has a unique shape which has been describe ...
in Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
. A special hangar had to be built because this ship was larger than any other airship previously built in the United States. The airship was launched on August 8, 1931. Construction of the USS ''Macon'' began in May 1931 and launched on March 11, 1933. Both airships were sold to the United States Department of the Navy
The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...
.
In 1930, Litchfield became the chairman of the board of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, thus becoming the company's first CEO. He was featured on the cover of Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
on August 10, 1931, Vol. XVIII, No. 6.
The partnership between the Goodyear Co. and the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Company ended after World War II
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 opposing ...
began, but the American company continued to build blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hy ...
s under the Goodyear name.
World War II
In 1943, he was responsible for the establishment of a research and development department in the company. The department developed various items which would be of great help to the United States military during its involvement in World War II. Among the items produced were the first practical airplane tire, long-haul conveyor belts, hydraulic disc brakes for airplanes, the first pneumatic truck tire, and a bullet-sealing fuel tank for military airplanes. The research department provided work for 250 research scientists. Under his direction the company became the 10 largest company producing aircraft and airplane parts during the war era, in the United States. It employed 37,000 workers. The company manufactured F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
fighter planes for the U.S. Military.
Later years
Litchfield retired in 1956 and continued to live with his wife and family in his ranch "Rancho La Loma" located on a hill in the town which now bears his name and along Litchfield Road. The property had four additional "cottages" for family members besides the main house. In 1958, Litchfield's health began to take a turn for the worse and he and his wife moved to a new house on Fairway Drive, close to a golf course.[Litchfield Legends](_blank)
/ref>
On March 18, 1959, Paul Weeks Litchfield died in his home. He was survived by his wife and two daughters, Katherine and Edith. Mrs. Litchfield moved to Akron, Ohio and died in 1972 at the age of 92. Edith and her husband Wally Denny resided in "Rancho La Loma" until their deaths in 2001 and 2008, respectively. The Edith and Wallace Denny estate offered to the City of Litchfield Park "La Loma homestead" as a gift.
Accolades
Arizona named an important avenue "Litchfield Road" in his honor and Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...
presents the Paul W. Litchfield Goodyear Scholarship to students entering the university and its regional campuses. To qualify for this award, one of the student's parents must be an employee with five or more years of service with, or a retiree of, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company or one of its domestic subsidiaries. The selection for this renewable award is based on the students academic records, national test scores and financial need. In 1959, Akron, Ohio named a new middle school Paul Weeks Litchfield Middle School (usually referred to Litchfield Middle School and later as Litchfield Junior High School). The school was demolished in 2013 and replaced in 2016 by Litchfield Community Learning Center. Gadsden, Alabama honored Litchfield by naming a school, Litchfield High School, after him in 1970. This was due to the fact that in 1929, Litchfield had a plant built in Gadsden providing the people of that town with employment. Litchfield Park, which was founded in 1916, was incorporated as a city in 1987.History
/ref>
Written works
Litchfield authored various books including his autobiography ''Industrial Voyage'' which was published in 1954. The following books are among those authored by Paul W. Litchfield:
* ''The Industrial Republic: A Study in Industrial Economics''; Publisher: Forgotten Books; .
* ''Industrial Voyage; My Life as an Industrial Lieutenant''; Publisher: Doubleday; First edition; .
* ''Why? – Why America has no Rigid Airships''; Publisher: Corday & Gross, Columbus, Ohio; First edition; .
* ''Autumn Leaves: Reflections of an Industrial Lieutenant''; Publisher Corday & Gross, Cleveland Ohio, 1945.
Further reading
* "Litchfield Park"; by: Crouch, Celeste S.; Publisher: Arcadia Publishing; .
* "Los Campos" (The Camps of Litchfield Park 1929–1986); by: Cruz Pariga Dominguez and Belen Soto Moreno; Publisher: Litchfield Park Historical Society; .
See also
* Litchfield Park
* Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...
* Goodyear Farms Historic Cemetery
The Goodyear Farms Historic Cemetery is the official name given to a historic cemetery located at 3900 N Santa Fe Trail in the city of Avondale, Arizona. In the past the cemetery was known as the "Pioneer Cemetery" and also as the "Litchfield Cem ...
* John C. Lincoln
Arizona pioneers
* Mansel Carter
Mansel Carter (May 12, 1902 – June 5, 1987), also known as "Man of the Mountain", was a businessman and prospector. In 1987, ''The Phoenix'' named him one of "Arizona Legends". The San Tan Historical Society of Queen Creek recognized his grave ...
* Bill Downing
Bill Downing a.k.a. William F. Downing (1860 – August 5, 1908) was a notorious outlaw during the Wild West era in Arizona. Downing had fled from the Texas Rangers posse who was after him when he came to Arizona. In Arizona, he was involved in t ...
* Henry Garfias
Henry Garfias (born Enrique Garfias; 1851–1896) was the first city marshal of Phoenix, Arizona. He was also a gunfighter who became the highest elected Mexican American official in the valley during the 19th century.
Early years
Garfias was bo ...
* Winston C. Hackett
* John C. Lincoln
* Joe Mayer
Joseph Mayer (1846 – November 27, 1909) was an American businessman, gold prospector and pioneer who founded the town of Mayer, Arizona.
Early years
Mayer (birth name: Joseph Hoffmayer) was born in Olean, New York, to French immigrants. He d ...
* William John Murphy
William John Murphy (August 23, 1839 – April 17, 1923) was an American businessman, contractor, land developer and founder of the Arizona Improvement Company. He is also remembered as the "Founder of Glendale, Arizona" and an important contrib ...
* Wing F. Ong
Wing Foon Ong (February 4, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was the first Chinese-American not born in the United States to be elected to a state House of Representatives when in 1946 he ran for the Arizona House of Representatives and won. In 1966, ...
* Levi Ruggles
Levi Ruggles (1824–1889) known as the "Father of Florence, Arizona" was a soldier and pioneer who founded the town of Florence, Arizona.
Early years
Ruggles was born in the state of Ohio. He was a carpenter by trade and also a school teacher. U ...
* Sedona Schnebly
* Michael Sullivan
* Trinidad Swilling
Trinidad Swilling Shumaker This name uses marriage naming customs; the first is the surname of her first husband ''"Swilling"'' and the second surname is of her second husband ''"Shumaker"''. (April 15, 1849 – December 27, 1925), known as "The M ...
* Ora Rush Weed
* Henry Wickenburg
Henry Wickenburg (November 21, 1819 – May 14, 1905) was a Prussian prospector who discovered the Vulture Mine and founded the town of Wickenburg in the U.S. state of Arizona. Wickenburg never married. Mrs. Helene Holland inherited Wickenburg’ ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Litchfield, Paul W.
1875 births
1959 deaths
American chemical engineers
American manufacturing businesspeople
Businesspeople from Massachusetts
Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona
Businesspeople from Boston
American city founders