The company eventually dropped "Cycle Works" from its moniker when that part of the business was shut down.
As family ownership waned and outside investment via publicly traded stock and mergers/acquisitions/partnerships took hold, the company changed ownership and moved several times during its operation. They also saw the growth of the firearms business and the eventual restructuring of the company to focus on firearms and related business as they divested non-firearms concerns, such as the motorcycle business, in the face of growing firearms demand, World War I's armaments industry expansion, and other factors. They shepherded the company through a phase of expansion, as bicycle operations grew, then converted to motorcycle manufacturing and sales. Frederick Iver, (born ), John Lovell (born ), and Walter Olof (born August 1878), each had vastly different levels of involvement in the company ranging from executive leadership to barely any involvement at all. Iver Johnson died of tuberculosis in 1895, and his sons took over the business. As has been the trend, the complex is often a target for real estate developers who intend to exploit its buildings' industrial brick aesthetics and open floor plans to create retail, residential, or other types of usable space. The Iver Johnson Complex, as it is known today, resembles other abandoned Industrial Revolution-era properties in New England. The company's name changed again to Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works in 1891, when the company relocated to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Fitzburg") in order to have better and larger manufacturing facilities. Bye continued to work in the firearm industry for the remainder of his life. The company’s name changed to Iver Johnson & Company in 1883 upon Johnson's purchase of Bye's interest in the firm. Not much is known about Martin Bye, as there is very little documented information about his life.īye and Johnson filed jointly for and were awarded multiple patents together, mostly related to firearms designs, beginning in 1876. Their primary revenues came from the sale of their self designed and manufactured inexpensive models of revolvers. During this period, Johnson and Bye filed for and received several new firearms features and firearms feature improvement patents. In 1871, Johnson joined Martin Bye to form the Johnson Bye & Company, merging his own and Martin Bye's gunsmithing operations. His early work involved not only gunsmithing locally in Worcester, MA, but it also included providing designs and work to other firearms companies, notably Allen & Wheelock for whom he made so-called " pepperbox" pistols. Johnson was a gunsmith by trade at the time, but also worked as an inventor in his spare time, which would come in handy later on as he sought new and creative uses for his partially idle manufacturing equipment, a thought process which would eventually lead him and his heirs to diversify the corporation's businesses. Iver Johnson immigrated to Worcester, Massachusetts from Norway in 1863 at the height of the American Civil War. He married Mary Elizabeth Speirs (born January 1847 ) on April 9, 1868, in Worcester, with whom he had 3 sons (Frederick Iver, John Lovell, and Walter Olof) and 2 daughters (Mary Louise and Nellie). He was educated as a gunsmith in Bergen in 1857 and had a gun store in Oslo. Iver Johnson was born in Nordfjord in the year 1841, in Nordfjord, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway and later emigrated from Norway to the United States. Īdvertisement for revolver claimed to be safe for babies However, the new Iver Johnson company does not have any parts, guns or information relating to the pre-1993 company. After closing the name was resold and in 2006 Iver Johnson Arms opened in Rockledge, Florida selling shotguns and M1911 pistols. The company shared the same name as its founder, Norwegian-born Iver Johnson (1841-1895). firearms, bicycle, and motorcycle manufacturer from 1871 to 1993.
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