Hood Rubber Company (Watertown, Mass.)

The Hood Rubber Company was founded in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1896 by brothers Frederic Clark Hood and Arthur Needham Hood. The main product of the company was footwear, principally sneakers. It also manufactured rubber boots and leather shoes and boots in smaller quantities. The factory also produced pneumatic tires and rubber tubes. The Hood Rubber Company grew steadily each year, at one point producing over 90,000 pairs of shoes a day and employing over 9,000 workers. The factory in Watertown was expanded to encompass more than sixty buildings with a combined floor space of over forty-five acres. In August 1929, Hood Rubber Company was purchased by B.F. Goodrich Company of Akron, Ohio. B.F. Goodrich Co. relocated its own footwear division to Watertown. The plant operated until its closure in 1969. The Hood Rubber Company name continued to be used until the late 1950s.

From the description of Hood Rubber Company records, 1896-2008 (inclusive), 1896-1929 (bulk). (Harvard Business School). WorldCat record id: 747041720

The Hood Rubber Company was founded in 1896 by brothers Frederic Clark Hood and Arthur Needham Hood. The company opened its doors in November 1896 in a 70,000 square-foot plant in Watertown, Massachusetts. Frederic Clark Hood was elected vice president and treasurer of Hood Rubber Company in 1896 and became general manager in 1913. Arthur Needham Hood was elected assistant treasurer in 1896 and vice president in 1912. In 1923 Frederic Clark Hood became president of Hood Rubber and continued to manage the company until its sale to the B. F. Goodrich Company in 1929.

The main product of the company was footwear, principally sneakers. It also manufactured rubber boots and leather shoes and boots in smaller quantities. Several models of the Hood rubber boots were used by French, British, and American armed forces during World War I. Pneumatic tires and rubber tubes were also produced in large quantities. In 1919 the company began making battery jars for automobiles, and in 1923 added a line of carpet lining and rubber floor tiling, with limited success.

The Hood Rubber Company was known for its promotion of employee benefits, becoming the second company in the United States to establish a dental clinic with a full-time dentist on site. A first aid station was established in 1898, two years after the company was founded, and by 1918 there was a company hospital with a staff of seven doctors and thirteen nurses. As president, Frederic Clark Hood was known for his strong opposition to the labor union movement at the plant.

The Hood Rubber Company grew steadily each year, at one point producing over 90,000 pairs of shoes a day and employing over 9,000 workers. The factory in Watertown, Massachusetts, was expanded to encompass more than sixty buildings with a combined floor space of over forty-five acres. In August 1929, Hood Rubber Company was purchased by B. F. Goodrich Company of Akron, Ohio. B. F. Goodrich Co. relocated its own footwear division to Watertown. The plant operated until its closure in 1969. The Hood Rubber Company name continued to be used until the late 1950s.

From the guide to the Hood Rubber Company records, (inclusive), (bulk)., 1896-2008, 1896-1929, (Baker Library, Harvard Business School)