![]() ![]() Shortly after establishing their factory, they began producing the Ithaca Baker shotgun. In 1883, William Baker, along with John Van Natta and Dwight McIntyre, bought the water power rights on the creek that leads to Ithaca Falls. The water, once reaching its destination, would power turbines that turned wheels, belts and shafts for mechanical power. ![]() ![]() This system used the rushing water in the creek just before the falls, which was routed through a tunnel and then in turn could be diverted wherever necessary using a series of dams. Smith and Baker’s success in Ithaca was all thanks to Ezra Cornell’s tunnel and dam system, established in 1832, which created an immeasurable amount of power, something any manufacturer of firearms would love to have. Lyman Cornelius Smith went on to create the L.C. Production in the Central New York city didn’t last long, and shortly after shifting their production to Marcellus (a suburb outside of Syracuse) Leroy and Baker set eyes on a new location in Ithaca, NY (Tompkins County). Together the team moved their production from Center Lisle, NY to Syracuse. Not long after, Lewis’s sons, Lyman Cornelius Smith and Leroy Smith began working alongside their father, forming W.H. Together they began making firearms in 1863 based on Baker’s designs. Both had suffered losses in the business world prior to their partnership, but neither man ever stuttered in their entrepreneurship. The story of the Ithaca Gun Company surprisingly starts with a man named Baker. Famous for their expansion and success based on expired patents (mostly Remington’s), as well as several purchased designs and patents, the history of the Ithaca Gun Company is as fascinating as any other firearm manufacturer beginning pre-1900. Ithaca Gun Company (with all their various business names throughout the years) led the production industry in Tompkins County (New York), especially during WWI and WWII. The Ithaca Gun Company, famous for their war-tested Model 37s as well as their artistically crafted hunting shotguns, is a company that many shell shooting enthusiasts hold dear to their hearts.
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