Developments after the Civil War

The Winchester Venture

Oliver Winchester did well. His rifle factory is closing in early 2006 after 140 years pf making the fabled Winchester rifles. See a newspaper article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/19/AR2006011903278.html

He is more of a modern venture capital success story then a wild west story. Winchester made his early money building homes in Baltimore, Maryland. I wonder if any of those 160 to 180 year old houses are still standing? Then he went into making men's shirts when factory made shirts were first coming out. Shrewd investment.

Then the gun making bug bit him just when there the most exciting news in the history of gun technology was breaking - the self contained metallic cartridge which enabled the inventing of repeating firearms. Smith & Wesson were making a few pistols with the mechanism that became the early Winchester rifles, but S&W thought revolvers a better line of business. That lever action just needed a little something and they weren't sure what.

Henry Rifle Mechanism

Tyler Henry took over the mechanism, improved it for the latest developments in manufacturing cartridges, and made 14,000 or so Henry rifles during the Civil War. But he needed a little financial help. Which Winchester provided by guaranteeing the bank loan secured with mortgage style liens against Henry's and Winchester's homes. Good ole commercial financing, and all was well.

Until the gun business went bust after the Civil War when the country was awash in guns. Couldn't sell new made guns in sufficient quantities to keep going.

So the bank called the notes, and Oliver Winchester bought the notes to keep the bank from foreclosing.

Being the note holder on Tyler Henry's house made a difference, as Henry thought his rifle was perfect. It's called the inventor syndrome in financial circles. Happens all the time. Winchester the marketeer had a problem. Sales were insufficient, and that rifle Henry was making had a few faults, especially in the easily damaged magazine. It went something like "see here, ole boy, you will invent the loading gate, or else lose your house."

Voila! Instant loading gate, instant protection for the magazine, and the first Winchester was born--later called the model 1866.  To be followed by many more models.

Well done, Oliver.

For more traditional information, consult "Flayderman's Guide To Antique American Firearms" by Norm Flayderman, and the Winchester Book by George Madis.

Return to Henry Rifle.

Technical Information