The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company was an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, it was founded in Springfield,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

by Edwin Kelly and Arthur Grant in 1894. It was acquired in 1935 by the

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, ...

, who maintained it as a subsidiary until 1999 when it was integrated into Goodyear North America. It continues today as a major brand under Goodyear.

Name changes

The company was sold to the McMillin group in 1899 for $1 million. Arthur Grant received $166,000 in stock and $33,000 in cash for his share of the company. The McMillin group renamed the new company Consolidated Rubber Tire Company and it continued under that name until 1914. The name Kelly-Springfield Tire Company was given to the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

sales subsidiary in 1911. Consolidated's name was changed in 1914. "The" was added to the front of the name in 1932 and it became The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company. Manufacturing was done at a 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 ...

, and another plant was bought in

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at ...

, in 1915 and used until 1921. The growth of the company continued until the president, Van Cartwell, decided to build a new plant in

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

. An agreement was signed on November 4, 1916, details of which called for the city of Cumberland to provide a free site and $750,000 toward construction of the plant. The city of Cumberland also agreed to make improvements for roads, water and sewerage lines and other essential construction. In turn, once operating, the plant began to employ over 3,000 people and had a production capacity of five times the production capacity of the company until that point. The first tire was built on April 2, 1921. The Kelly Springfield Tire Company was sold in 1935 to the

and Edmund S. Burke became president. He served as president from 1935 until 1959. The company operated as a wholly owned subdivision. The company continued to grow until 1962 when it added a new plant in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 2 ...

. Another plant was built in 1963 at

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the county seat and largest city of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is known for hosting the second Linc ...

, and the third plant in 1969 in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America ...

. After 66 years of operation, the Cumberland plant was closed in 1987. In that same year the Lee Tire and Rubber Company came under the control of Kelly-Springfield. In November 1987 the corporate offices were moved to a new facility on Willowbrook Road in Cumberland. The original plant site was returned to the city. In 1994 the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company celebrated 100 years. At that time it was the oldest tire company in the United States. In the 1990s, Kelly-Springfield was absorbed by parent company Goodyear and moved its corporate headquarters to Akron, Ohio.

References

External links

* * * * *

Name changes

References

External links

See also