Ames

The Ames Company is recognized as the oldest manufacturer of shovels in the United States. The original business was started in 1774 in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts by Captain John Ames. In 1808, Oliver Ames, the Captain's youngest son , moved the business to Easton, Massachusetts, and over a hundred years later, in 1932, the main office relocated to its current location in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

True Temper Hardware Company dates back to 1808, when it began as "The Old Stone Forge,? which later became The American Fork and Hoe Company. The company's name was changed in 1949 to True Temper, reflecting the newly developed process of tempering steel. The company moved from Wallingford, VT, to Cleveland, OH, in the early 1900's and relocated to Camp Hill, PA, in 1981.

Combined manufactured and marketed products include long handle tools, short handle tools, repair handles, pruning tools, wheelbarrows, lawn carts, hose reels, garden hose, snow tools, striking tools, decorative accessories, and planters. Ames True Temper is North America's largest manufacturer and marketer of non-powered lawn and garden tools. The company celebrated its 225-year anniversary in 1999 as the oldest continuing manufacturing business in the hardware and lawn and garden industry.