(USSA NEWS) – In a move that speaks volumes of the shifting political sands, Smith & Wesson, a name synonymous with firearms and Massachusetts heritage since 1852, has now charted a new course, setting its compass towards Maryville, Tennessee.
It was in the earlier part of the 1850s that Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson laid the cornerstone of their eponymous company, Smith & Wesson, in Norwich, Connecticut. But destiny had different plans. The magnetic allure of Springfield, Massachusetts, then the nerve center of American firearms production, beckoned. By 1856, Springfield became home to Smith & Wesson.
But times change, and with it, the tides of business. The iconic gunmaker unveiled its state-of-the-art headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee, marking an end to its long association with Massachusetts. This relocation underscores the seismic shifts in state policies and their implications on industries.
