founded in 1868 – 1916
- 1868 founded by 5 people
based in Norwich, Connecticut - 1898 Hopkins & Allen went bankrupt
- 1900 lost factory and machinery in a fire
- 1901 factory was rebuilt
- 1902 acquired Forehand Arms Company
- 1905 warehouse robbed of all its inventory
- 1916 went bankrupt
- 1917 Marlin purchased the machinery, inventory and designs
Hopkins & Allen
About Hopkins & Allen
Hopkins & Allen was one of the major arms makers of Norwich, Connecticut, a city that was a center of American gunmaking in the late 1800s. The company was founded in 1868 by Charles W. Allen, Charles A. Converse, Horace Briggs, Samuel S. Hopkins and Charles W. Hopkins. It became known for inexpensive spur-trigger revolvers sold under names such as XL, ACME and Defender, and after brothers William and Milan Hulbert bought into the firm in 1874, it served as the exclusive manufacturer of the well-regarded Merwin Hulbert revolvers. Its catalog later grew to include hinged-frame double-action revolvers, shotguns, rifles and derringers.
The company survived a run of setbacks: bankruptcy and reorganization in 1898, a 1900 fire that destroyed its factory, and a 1905 theft of its entire warehouse inventory. It acquired Forehand Arms Company in 1902. In 1915 Hopkins & Allen took a World War I contract to build about 140,000 Mauser Model 1889 rifles and 10,000 carbines for the Belgian Army, but it had underestimated costs, and the first rifles were not completed until September 1916. The firm went bankrupt that year, and in 1917 Marlin-Rockwell purchased its machinery, inventory and designs. Hopkins & Allen revolvers remain popular with collectors of 19th-century American arms.
Key Facts
- 1868: Founded in Norwich, Connecticut, by five partners
- 1874: Hulbert brothers buy in; company becomes exclusive maker of Merwin Hulbert revolvers
- 1898: Bankruptcy and reorganization as Hopkins & Allen Arms Company
- 1902: Acquires Forehand Arms Company
- 1915: Wins contract for about 140,000 Mauser rifles for the Belgian Army
- 1917: Marlin-Rockwell buys the bankrupt company’s machinery, inventory and designs
Sources
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