Albert Pope and the Pope Manufacturing Company

Albert Pope was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 20, 1843. His father, Charles Pope, although member of a prominent family of New England lumber merchants, had decided to venture out on his own, and when young Albert was only nine years old, he suffered business reverses, which placed the family in “straightened circumstances.” Albert began at once his life of work and entrepreneurial activity. His first of many part-time jobs was riding a plough for a neighboring farmer in his hometown of Brookline. During his summer school break, he delivered fruits and vegetables from these farmers to the Quincy Market in Boston. He made $100 doing this in one season, a tidy sum in those days.  

Albert finished his formal schooling at the age of 15, and as was the custom, was apprenticed to a firm dealing in “shoe-findings.” Since his pay was only $4 a week, he put funds aside for the future by walking to work ten miles each day.  

When the Civil war broke out in 1860, Albert was only 17. He immediately joined the Salignac Zouaves, and the Brookline Home Guards, where he quickly rose to the rank of captain. In August of 1862, he was offered a commission in a new volunteer regiment, the Massachusetts 35^th as a second lieutenant.  

Within weeks, the 35^th found itself in the thick of the fighting at South Mountain and Antietam, followed shortly by White Sulphur Springs, and Fredericksburg. Albert was cited for bravery at each of these engagements, and promoted to first lieutenant. He went on to serve with Burnside in Tennessee, Grant at Vicksburg, and Sherman at Jackson Mississippi.  Again he was cited for gallant conduct, and promoted to captain, and then major. He commanded “ Fort Hell” during the Battle of Petersburg. Acting on his own initiative, he led a counter-attack which broke the Confederate line in Petersburg. This successful attack was the culmination of his military career. Major Pope was now twenty one years old and mature beyond his years.  He was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel for gallant conduct at the battles of Knoxville, Poplar Springs Church, and Petersburg.   

With money saved from his soldier’s pay and from all those years of walking to work, Colonel Pope (as he now liked to be called) began his business in Boston just after the war. He began to import a wide range of manufactured goods, from shoe manufacturer's supplies to patented articles such as air pistols and the like. His business thrived.  

In 1876, as a member of the Newton, Massachusetts City Council, Pope visited the Philadelphia Bicentennial Exhibition of 1876. There he became enthralled with the latest English invention, the high-wheeled bicycle. Looking to expand his business, Pope decided to explore the manufacture of bicycles in the United States.  

In 1877 Pope acquired two English bicycles and commissioned his friend his John Harrington to “reproduce these using local materials.” The cost of this “venture” was $313, but it proved to Pope that an American product could be manufactured to compete with imports. It was the predecessor of the famous Columbia bicycle, known worldwide and still in production today.

But that fame and success was far in the future. The Pope Bicycle Company’s beginnings were humble. The “shop” was contained in a one-room third floor walkup in Boston, and its staff consisted of Colonel Pope, his cousin Edward W. Pope (who had joined him from the family lumber business) and two boys. These men were not afraid of hard work, and the company embraced the challenges of this start-up with enthusiasm and determination. Soon the fledgling business began to grow.  

By 1878 Colonel Pope realized he needed to develop a partnership with a larger-scale manufacturing plant, and placed a portion of his production with the Weed Sewing Machine Company in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford factory was well-equipped to do the machining work and welcomed the new venture as their sewing machine business was beginning to decline. The pace of growth was so rapid that before long Pope acquired control of the Weed Sewing Machine Company, which was renamed the Pope Manufacturing Company. Pope Manufacturing acquired other businesses in Hartford such as the Hartford Rubber Works. With the rapid expansion of the enterprise in Hartford, the Colonel, as he was known in those days, moved the administrative headquarters of the company to Hartford.

There were many challenges in the manufacturing industry during these years. Blanket patent licenses, designed to protect inventors, actually prevented manufacturers from producing some of the components that were crucial to their finished product. Many a manufacturer could not overcome these obstacles and saw their businesses fail due to the burden of royalty payments. Colonel Pope’s shrewd business sense guided the young company through these difficult times. He successfully orchestrated the purchase of rights to several important patent licenses, ensuring the future of the company and allowing Pope Manufacturing Company to move full steam ahead. Eventually Pope Manufacturing became the largest industrial company of its class in the world, producing not only bicycles but also branching out into the development of the vehicle that changed the future of the country and the entire world -- the automobile.  

This success was due in large part to the fact that Colonel Pope had a vision far larger than many of his contemporaries. Perhaps most importantly, he realized that the successful manufacturing of his new product was not the only factor in the company’s long-term success. He knew that the larger environment, specifically the improvement of the nation’s highway system, would be vital to the future of wheeled vehicles. Pope became actively involved in promoting the Good Roads Movement, meeting with countless public officials, business leaders and media representatives in pursuit of the legislation and funding needed to improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure. The eventual success of this initiative propelled the nation into the modern transportation age and expanded the Pope Manufacturing Company’s business exponentially.

The Pope Hartford and Columbia names did not become synonymous with quality without careful insight and concern for another important element of the manufacturing process – the people who crafted the product.  Colonel Pope valued the human assets of his company and understood that satisfied employees would produce a better product. In addition to providing a competitive wage to his workers, Pope was a pioneer in the concept of an esthetically pleasing, yet well-designed workplace. As the company grew and established factories in Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio and Indiana, these ethics were not abandoned.

Landscaped grounds, conveniently-designed work spaces and comfortable wages were uncommon and contributed to the enthusiastic spirit and loyalty that were the hallmark of the Pope Manufacturing Company employee.    

Concern for the well-being of his employees did not stop at the factory door. Colonel Pope took a step further by working to improve the quality of life in the larger communities where his employees lived and worked.  

He built housing for his executives, bathing facilities and canteens for his workers, and championed the unionization of not only his factory workers, but all those employed at factories serving his industrial empire.  

Chief among his beliefs was the importance of a connection to nature and the healthy benefits that open space and a tranquil retreat could bring to the lives of the modern city dweller. This conviction led to the Colonel’s endowment of Hartford ’s Pope Park -- and the creation of an enduring legacy.