Business Lessons from Firestone Farm

Firestone Tire & Rubber Company Board of Directors Meeting at the Firestone Homestead, Columbiana County, Ohio, 1936

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Firestone Farmhouse at Its Original Site, Columbiana County, Ohio, circa 1876, Robert, Harvey and Elmer with Grandmother Sally Anne Firestone

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Benjamin and Catherine Firestone raised their three children in this farmhouse, including future tire magnate Harvey Firestone. Originally located near Columbiana, Ohio, the 1828 house was updated in 1882 to appear more stylish and up-to-date. The Firestone farm, reinstalled in Greenfield Village in 1985, provided a tangible reminder of the close relationship between Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone.

Harvey S. Firestone and His Sons on the 25th Anniversary of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, August 3, 1925

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Firestone Barn

Barn

The Firestone barn is a Pennsylvania-German bank barn, an American barn type with Swiss origins. They are called bank barns because the barn is built into a bank, allowing wagons to be driven into the upper floor. Bank barns combined multiple farm functions under a single roof. Livestock were kept in the lower floor, crops on the upper floor.

Henry Ford with Harvey S. Firestone, Watching an Experimental Watering System at Firestone Farm, Columbiana County, Ohio, 1936

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Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison on a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1924

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Between 1916 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs embarked on a series of camping trips. They called themselves the Vagabonds. The group spent much of their time relaxing and exploring nature, but they also found other diversions. Here, Firestone and Edison examine a rubber tire inner tube.

Holy Bible, Used by the Firestone Family, 1859

Bible

Many 19th-century Americans recorded births, deaths and marriages in family bibles. Mothers, or some other family member, faithfully documented these significant family events on dedicated pages in the bible. Subsequent generations sometimes added and updated entries. This bible belonged to the Firestone family and includes the name of Harvey S. Firestone, the founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

Harvey Firestone Harvesting Oats with a Cradle Scythe during a "Vagabonds" Camping Trip, 1918

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Between 1916 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs embarked on a series of camping trips. They called themselves the Vagabonds. These Vagabonds enjoyed retreating from the fast-paced world to explore nature and the pre-industrial countryside. In 1918, the group stopped to help a local farmer harvest his crops. Ford and the farmer look on as Firestone struggles with the grain cradle.

Handwritten Note from 1882 Found in Firestone Farmhouse during Dismantling for Moving to Greenfield Village, 1983-1984

Note (Document)

In 1983, workers disassembled tire magnate Harvey Firestone's childhood home--a farmhouse in eastern Ohio destined for Greenfield Village. They were surprised to find a slip of paper behind a section of plaster ceiling. It had been left by 14-year-old Harvey and the 12-year-old son of a local plasterer in 1882. The note confirmed the date of a 19th-century home renovation, enabling an accurate reconstruction.

Harvey Firestone's High School Graduating Class, Columbiana County, Ohio, 1887

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Wedding Portrait of Catherine and Benjamin Firestone, 1863

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Portrait of Catherine Flickinger Firestone, circa 1875

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Portrait of Benjamin Firestone, circa 1875

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Portrait of Harvey Firestone, circa 1873

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Harvey S. Firestone began his career at his cousin's buggy company before forming his own Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900 -- initially to manufacture rubber tires for carriages. Recognizing the automobile's potential, Firestone supplied tires to Ford Motor Company starting in 1906. That prosperous business relationship grew into a personal friendship with Henry Ford.

Harvey Firestone and Son Leonard Firestone at Firestone Farm, Columbiana County, Ohio, 1935

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Portrait of Harvey Firestone at Age 17, 1885-1886

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Harvey S. Firestone began his career at his cousin's buggy company before forming his own Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1900 -- initially to manufacture rubber tires for carriages. Recognizing the automobile's potential, Firestone supplied tires to Ford Motor Company starting in 1906. That prosperous business relationship grew into a personal friendship with Henry Ford.

"Men And Rubber: The Story of Business," 1926

Book