As we know, the United States was founded in 1776. But there were many companies that were operating in this country since before. Yes, you guessed it correctly. In this article, we will talk about some of the oldest companies in America.
Amazingly, these oldest companies in America we are talking about are still in business for at least 200 years. In fact, some of the names you will come across have already proposed the 300 continuous operations.
The companies we have listed below encapsulate all industry types and have offered invaluable services to America.
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Oldest Companies In America That Are Still Running
Some companies have the foundation to even survive storms. And you will agree after going through the list. You will be surprised to see some of the names as despite using them for as long as you can remember, you never had an idea that it was so old.
Here is a brief history of the seven top oldest companies in America.
1. The John Steven Shop
Founded: 1705.
Founders: John Stevens.
Headquarters: Newport, Rhode Island.
Industry: Stone Carving Industry.
The John Steven stone carving shop has been in business since 1705. A British immigrant, John Steve founded it, and since then, it has offered its services to millions of customers.
Over the years, The Steven Shop has worked on several historical projects. National Washington, D.C, is one of them. The Steven family carried their business for almost 220 years before selling it to the John Howard Benson family.
Despite the owners’ changes, the Company uses the same old traditional stone carving method making it one of the oldest companies in America.
2. The Rowland Company
Founded: 1732.
Founders: Benjamin Rowland.
Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Industry: Industrial Power Transmission Industry.
The Rowland Company is the second oldest company in America and has been around serving other industries since 1732. Benjamin Rowland founded it as a manufacturing tool for tire companies.
Over the past centuries, it has gone through several evolutions. At one point of evolution, they became the distributor of truck parts and even opened branches in Georgia and Florida.
However, this branch of business did not last, and soon the company returned to its original business before selling it to the Yost family in 1967. Currently, this company specializes in industrial power transmission products as one of the oldest companies in America.
3. Baker’s Chocolate
Founded: 1765
Founders: Dr. James Baker & John Hannon.
Headquarters: Deerfield, Illinois.
Industry: Confectionary.
Baker’s Chocolate is the oldest company in America that produces baking chocolates and other confectionery household products. Dr. James Baker and John Hannon founded the company. They started importing beans and making one of the first chocolate products of its kind in America.
While having a sales trip, Hannon died. This made his wife sell half of the business to James baker. After having 100% shares of the company, Baker named the company Baker’s Chocolate.
Over the decades, the company has changed its owners. Currently, it is owned by Kraft Foods and stands as one of the oldest companies in America.
4. Laird & Company
Founded: 1780.
Founders: Robert Laird.
Headquarters: Scobeyville, New Jersey.
Industry: Distillery.
Laird & Company is one of the oldest companies in America in the distillery industry. The company was founded in 1780. It was Robert Laird who first came with the commercial distillery process. Although the history of distillation goes back to 1698, it became well known with Laird & company.
The laird family opened an inn that treasures applejack brandy. Soon the popularity of brands spread all over the region. Today, the Laird family is going strong with their business, and applejack brandy is still their best product.
5. BNY Mellon
Founded: 1784.
Founders: A Group, including Alexander Hamilton & Mellon Family.
Headquarters: Manhattan, New York.
Industry: Banking.
BNY Mellon is the oldest company in America in the banking sector. Bank of new york was founded in 1784. It was the year when the shipping industry of New York suffered a great loss, which made New york realize the importance of having a bank.
Alexander Hamilton wrote the constitution of the BNY Mellon and became one of the first directors. The other half of BNY is owned by the retired judge Thomas Mellon and his two sons.
6. D. Landreth Seed Company
Founded: 1784.
Founders: David Landreth.
Headquarters: Shelburne, Vermont.
Industry: Seeds.
Landreth seed company is one of the oldest companies in America dealing in seeds. It was founded in 1784, and some then helped several farmers by providing them high-quality seeds for farming.
The company was founded by David Landreth, an immigrant and moved to Canada to become a seed salesman. Due to highly cold weather, he was forced to move to Philadelphia, where he started Landreth seed company.
Over the decades, this company has changed several owners for various reasons. Currently, it has been owned by American meadows since 2016.
7. Cigna
Founded: 1792.
Founders: Unspecified.
Headquarters: Bloomfield, Connecticut.
Industry: Health Care.
Cigna is a managed healthcare company. It traces its history to 1792. A group of prominent citizens founded the insurance company of North America. INA was the first marine insurance company in North America.
Cigna is divided into two forms of insurance. The second part of the company is a general life insurance company founded in 1865. In 1982, both INA and general life insurance companies merged their operation, forming Cigna we see today.
Since then, Cigna has become one of the largest and oldest companies in the world.
Take Away
There you have it; the top oldest companies in America. So, how many names have you heard before, and what name surprised you the most. Do let us know in the comment section.
There is one additional thing we would like you to do. We would like you to share some of the oldest company names from your country. We are sure our readers will find that helpful.
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