Gibson Guitars

Kalamazoo’s most famous instrument manufacturer unquestionably was Orville Gibson. Born in New York, Gibson moved to Kalamazoo in the 1880s. A musician who worked in a shoe store by day, he was unhappy with the quality of mandolins then available. Mandolins were the popular instrument of the early 1890s, and Gibson worked on developing a better way to build them. By 1896, he had decided to carve them in one piece out of a solid block of wood. The quality of the sound was remarkable, and the fame of Gibson mandolins spread.

Gibson was unwilling to compromise in his production methods despite the demand. In 1902, however, a group of local investors (Sylvo Reams, Lewis Williams, Leroy Hornbeck, John W. Adams, and Samuel H. Van Horn) persuaded him to form the Gibson Guitar–Mandolin Manufacturing Company. In return for an initial lump-sum payment of $2,500 and monthly royalties for 10 years, Gibson agreed to teach the employees of the new firm his construction techniques. The firm incorporated in 1904 and quickly became a success. It moved to larger facilities in 1911 and, just six years later, built the Parsons Street factory.

Orville Gibson left the firm for unknown reasons in 1909 and moved back to New York. The company that carried his name continued to be an innovative leader in its field. As musical tastes changed in the 1920s and 1930s, guitars replaced mandolins in many bands. The Gibson Company left Kalamazoo in 1984, but the ancestry of fine craftsmanship in making musical instruments continues to this day. Several Gibson employees organized the Heritage Guitar Company. They craft guitars that carry on the legacy that makes Kalamazoo famous throughout the world of music.

To read more visit: 

https://kalamazoomuseum.org/images/museon/2004-Winter-MuseON.pdf