Washburn Company, Worcester, Massachusetts

Charles Washburn founded the Washburn Company in 1880 and moved it from Boston to Worcester, Massachusetts in that same year. He incorporated it as the Wire Goods Company in 1882. A Chicago-based division, the Wire Hardware Company, was started in 1911 and merged with the Andrews Wire and Iron Works of Rockford, Illinois in 1917. These companies together became the Washburn Company in 1922. The manufacturer primarily produced kitchen tools and serving ware among which were designs by Henry Dreyfuss. In 1967, Roblin Steel Corporation of Buffalo, New York acquired the Washburn Company. The company dissolved in 1975.