Towns and Nature: Llion, NY: Erie Canal and Remington Guns & Typewriters

Friday, January 2, 2026

Llion, NY: Erie Canal and Remington Guns & Typewriters

Today's Main Street reuses the right-of-way of the canal.

Street View, Jun 2024

Cori Willson posted three images with the comment:

The Remington Arms Company in Ilion, a village on the Erie Canal, was founded by Eliphalet Remington, Jr., who became enormously successful after inventing a superior rifle. He purchased the patent for the first typewriter and began manufacturing Remington typewriters in 1873. By 1911, when this image was recorded, the Remington Standard Typewriter plant was huge,
and the employees numbered in the hundreds when they gathered for this picture.
*From the book - Historic Photos of New York State, Captions by Richard O. Reisem

Frank Kucerak: Remington Typewriter was part of the company that was bought by Sperry - Sperry Rand which went elsewhere to make electric typewriters and then computers leaving just the gun manufacturing.

Craig R. Gruver: Frank Kucerak I believe Remington - Rand was also in the city of North Tonawanda on Sweeny St on the Canal. The 167,000 sq.ft. complex at 184 Sweeney Street was built in 1885 and originally contained Power House No. 4 of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Electric Railway Co. The Herschell-Spillman company, the largest manufacturer of carousels for some time, moved into the building in 1899. In 1951, Remington Rand, an office equipment manufacturer, bought the complex. Remington Rand produced the world’s first mainframe computer for the U.S. Census Bureau there but mostly used the building to manufacture typewriters. It closed in the 1970s." From Remington Lofts site. They cleaned it up and reinvested now it houses apartments Restaurant and other businesses.

Never good to tear down things along the Erie Canal. Dockside Restaurant is across the street in a old storage building left over from the 1940's. There was one on the Tonawanda side but it is gone. I still walk along there. The Tonawandas are doing a great job making the area along its business sections function better and doesn't look unkempt like it did in the 60s-90s.

City of Tonawanda isn't interested in making the tow path look better. They only mow the grass and empty trash cans. There is potential there to clean up the shoreline and make it more attractive.

Jack Hearn: Craig R. Gruver Thanks for the info!

My grandfather was a quality control inspector at Remington Rand in NT after WW2 until 1961. His daughter (my Mom, born in North Tonawanda) worked at RR as an office girl from 1947-50.

RR also manufactured typewriters in Middletown, CT. I lived near that site for several years.

Bruce Bosket: Craig R. Gruver i remember Remington Rand in Groton, ny. It was a big employer at the time but beginning to wind down. That was the early 70's.