gloversandtanners

Glovers and Tanners

Learn and share information about the movers and shakers of
the past that created two cities in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. A library of H.A. Manning City Directories dating back to 1865 is available for information.

A Brief History of the Glove and Leather Industry of Fulton County, New York

The bulk of Fulton County's history centers around the glove and leather industry. Johnstown and Gloversville were home to numerous glove manufacturing companies and dozens of leather tanners and finishers. Thousands of people were employed by or affiliated with the glove and leather industries, making them a major part of the economic history of the two cities.

Throughout most of the history of the glove industry in Johnstown and Gloversville, most companies used home workers to sew the gloves. Men cut the gloves from leather in factories and women hand sewed the gloves at home. Later when the sewing machine was developed, many women moved to the factories to work. Until the last years of the 20th century, home glove workers were still working in the area.

Today, there are a handful of leather tanneries and finishing plants and a few glove companies still in existence, locally. The great "glove cities" are nothing like they once were when nearly every area family had a part in the one-time "glove making capital of the world".

Wikipedia Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_(city),_New_York#Glove_industry_and_related_enterprise

Origin, Growth and Methods of the Glove and Mitten Manufacture of Fulton County
http://www.fulton.nygenweb.net/history/glove.html

HISTORY---HISTORY---HISTORY---HISTORY---HISTORY---HISTORY

         Elmer Little & Sons
             700 S. Perry St.
                Johnstown
                     1960

Kiffney Glove Co.

Shotwell Tannery
361-369 S. Main St
Gloversville
1905

Spanish-American
        Skin Co.
11-13 Cayadutta St.
      Gloversville
            1940

P.P. Argersinger & Co
      2-8 N. William St.
         Johnstown
             1905

Leather Gloves

King's Tannery
56-72 Miller St
Johnstown
1900

Stewart & Briggs
   5 N. Melcher St.
      Johnstown
           1900

Thomas E. Ricketts
    7 N. Melcher St.
        Johnstown
            1900

Northrup Glove Mfg. Co.
   Glove Leather Tannery
     Mill St. (Pleasant Av)
            Johnstown
                 1902

J.P. Miller & Co.
  Glove Factory
30 S. Melcher St
    Johnstown
        1905

                     Rickett's Mill
                 Sheepskin Dressing
W. Main St (near Cayadutta St.), Johnstown
                            1860

Knox Gelatine Works
Original Factory
Knox Av., Johnstown
1890

   Mason, Campbell & Co.
          Glove Factory
10-12 N. Perry St, Johnstown
                  1900

J.H. Decker, Son & Company
            Glove Factory
   29 N. Market St., Johnstown
                  1900

                        Starr & Geisler Tannery
                                "The Starr Mill"
            South Boulevard (off Harrison St), Gloversville
                                        1905

Karg, Tomlinson & Butler
312 N. Perry St., Johnstown
1905

Argersinger Bros.

Kiffney Glove Co.

J.I. McMartin's Sons
3 E. Clinton St., Johnstown
1930

Kennedy & Co.
318 W. Fulton St
Gloversville
1890

Hewitt & Hillock
111-113 N. Perry St.
Johnstown
1905

A.M. Adams & Son
     12 E. Green St
        Johnstown
             1902

     David A. Wells' Tannery
Washington & Mill St. (Pleasant Av.)
             Johnstown
                   1870

31 Beaver St., Johnstown (1930)

The original J.Q. Adams wooden tannery was lost to fire in 1918 and
quickly replaced with this state-of-the-art concrete and steel facility.
The building was later home to the Crescendoe-Superb Glove Co,
and still exists at the end of Crescendoe Rd, formerly Beaver Street.
(see miscellaneous page for a pic of the original wooden mill)

View of the skin bleaching yard of the Northrup Glove Leather Tannery,
Mill St. (Pleasant Av), Johnstown, circa 1900 looking South from Grove St.