This Small New York Village Made Guns For 200 Years. What Happens When Remington Leaves?

ILION, N.Y. â€” For over two centuries, the small village of Ilion in New York’s Mohawk Valley has been synonymous with the Remington Arms Company. This long-standing relationship came to an abrupt end with Remington’s announcement to shut down its Ilion factory and relocate operations to Georgia. The move signals the closure of a pivotal chapter in the village’s history, leaving its future hanging in the balance.

Founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington, the company grew alongside the village, becoming a bedrock of the local economy and a symbol of American manufacturing prowess. The factory’s influence extended beyond employment; it was a source of communal pride and identity. Generations of families have built their lives around the plant, with many viewing employment at Remington as more than just a job, but a family tradition.

The nation’s oldest gun maker recently announced plans to shutter the factory in the company’s original home early next month, citing the steep cost of running the historic plant. Remington is consolidating its operations in Georgia, a state the company says is friendlier to the firearms industry. The company’s recent history has been marked by a lawsuit after the Sandy Hook school massacre and bankruptcy filings that led to new ownership of the Ilion plant, where the workforce has dwindled from about 1,300 workers more than a decade ago to around 300.

The move still stings for the village of 7,600 people, who face the prospect of a dramatic revenue loss and a vacant, sprawling factory. “When Remington leaves, it’s not going to be like a facility leaving, it’s going to be like part of your family has moved off,” said Jim Conover, who started at Remington in 1964 packing guns and retired 40 years later as a production manager.

Gun-making dominates and defines Ilion. It’s entwined with the town the way car production is with Detroit. Mayor John Stephens meets with village board members under a seal portraying Eliphalet Remington holding a long gun. The four-story, brick plant by Armory Street and Remington Avenue looms over the community about 55 miles (90 kilometers) east of Syracuse.

Everyone knows someone who worked at the plant. For some families, jobs there are practically a birthright. Conover’s father and sons also worked at the plant. Furnace operator and technician Frank “Rusty” Brown still clocked in there this year with family members.

The current owners of Remington Firearms, RemArms, blamed “production inefficiencies” for the plant closure in a Nov. 30 letter to union officials. They cited the high cost of maintaining and insuring about 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters) of space in multiple buildings, many dating to World War I. RemArms added that Georgia offered an environment that better “supports and welcomes the firearms industry.”

CEO Ken D’Arcy also said in a news release that the industry was concerned about the “legislative environment” in New York. Some believe Remington is primarily shifting to the South to reduce labor and operational costs. But in a stretch of upstate New York where support for gun rights tends to be strong, some Republican elected officials seized on the company’s comment about Georgia. They linked the plant closure to gun control measures championed by New York City-area Democrats in recent years.

Remington is not the first firearms maker to commit to a more gun-friendly state. Smith & Wesson opened its new Tennessee headquarters in October after being based in Springfield, Massachusetts, since 1852. In announcing the move in 2021, company officials criticized proposed state legislation they said would prohibit them from manufacturing certain weapons.

RemArms, which bought the firearms business in 2020, did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment. The company said in its letter to the union it expected to end facility operations around March 4. The company previously announced in 2021 it was moving its headquarters to LaGrange, Georgia, and would open a factory and research operation there.

The days of traffic jams in Ilion every afternoon when day shifts let out are long gone. Empty spaces dominate the factory’s big parking lot. Nearby businesses delivering lunches to the plant, like Franco’s Pizza, already have seen orders dramatically fall. “They’ve been dwindling down,” Franco’s owner Daniel Mendez said. “This is not necessarily going to put us out of business, but it does hurt.”

With a fraction of its past workforce, Remington leaves Ilion with more of a whimper than a bang. Stephens believes the remaining workers will be able to find other work in the area. But he also estimates the plant’s loss could cost the village almost $1 million annually, including utility payments and taxes.

Local officials hope the plant site can host a mix of manufacturing, retail, and residential units. But its fate remains unclear. It was listed for sale last month for $10 million. “Things can become an eyesore quickly,” said Michael Disotelle, a historian at Ilion’s public library. “And the being in the center of the village like that, you can’t just let it go.”

The present factory site dates to 1828, when Eliphalet Remington located his operations along the recently opened Erie Canal. Though guns historically have been Ilion’s prime product, Remington also made typewriters, sewing machines, and other consumer items.

Cerberus Capital Management purchased Remington Arms in 2007, placing it in the same corporate family as Bushmaster Firearms and other gun companies. Bushmaster Firearms moved manufacturing operations to Ilion for a time in 2011.

Remington Outdoor Co. and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection in 2018, citing slumping sales as well as legal and financial pressure after the Sandy Hook school shooting that killed 20 first graders and six adults. A Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle was used in the massacre. Family members of victims and a survivor of the shooting who filed a 2015 lawsuit against Remington settled in 2022 for $73 million.

A second bankruptcy filing was made in July 2020. Within months, 545 workers at the Ilion plant were laid off. The company’s assets were divided at auction. A judge approved Vista Outdoor’s $81.4 million bid for Remington’s ammunition and accessories businesses. The Ilion plant went to a group of investors called the Roundhill Group as part of a $13 million bid.

After months of union negotiations, the firearms plant reopened in the spring of 2021. If RemArms sticks to its March closure timetable, the restart in Ilion will have lasted just under three years. The mayor said there will be hard decisions ahead, but he’s confident the site will be used again. And while Remington might leave, he said the connection can never be severed. “Even when they are finally 100% no longer involved in the Village of Ilion in any way, shape, or form, we’re still going to be known for this,” Stephens said. “You can’t erase history.”

Mayor John Stephens does not know how life will be for Ilion without Remington. He concluded that the village board would work on future alternatives for the center. He will maintain constant contact with the local, and state officials, and the new plant’s owners. The village’s future will be determined by its capacity to capitalize on its strengths, invite new enterprises, and promote a multifaceted and enduring economy. This will be the difficult part of the challenge: to preserve the legacy of Remington and to find new ways of progress and development.

Ilion’s residents are preparing to say goodbye to Remington, but they are still “Ilion Strong.” The village’s future remains unclear, but the community remains determined to preserve its heritage and build a bright future. The problem will be to come up with a plan to preserve the historic museum in the town of Ilion somewhere on the map that it is visible to tourists. The village should find a solution to move on while still recognizing its past. The closure of the Remington factory in Ilion signifies the end of an era, but it also presents a chance for the village to reinvent itself and create a promising future.

The closure of the factory will significantly change the village’s economy and self-identity. The village now has no largest employer and a major taxpayer, and a century-long tradition vanishes. The utilities that serve the plant also will expectedly suffer from the closure. The county may have to pay out some jobless and welfare benefits to the sacked workers. Nevertheless, the repercussions of unemployment are anticipated to emanate from all across the village.

Ilion Village is proving that it has a resilient community. Local businesses, community leaders, and citizens are teaming up to be there for each other and to plan the future. The village’s history of innovations, from manufacturing typewriters and sewing machines to becoming a forerunner in the firearms industry, gives an example of its ability to adapt and reinvent. This culture of innovation will be important as the community aims to draw in new industries and the changes they bring. Despite the difficulties, the resilience and the will to defeat adversity of the community are the signs that a new chapter in Ilion’s history is coming.

The Ilion, New York factory of Remington marks the end of an era for the village that was known by gun-making for over two centuries. Since the plant is a major employer in that area, families have been working there for many generations. The closure will be a critical element in the village’s economic and cultural life. Nevertheless, their resilient and adaptive history inspires the idea of a promising future. Through strategic planning, investment, and community involvement, Ilion will be able to turn this challenge into an opportunity to rethink what it means to be.

This plant’s closure will not only affect the workers but also the entire economy of the village. The repercussions of unemployment are predicted to be felt far and wide in the community. Yet, Ilion`s dwellers are grieving the loss of their ruler and trying to move on from this ordeal. The future of the village is not clear, but the people are united in the efforts of preserving their heritage and establishing a bright future.

The task will be to come up with a method of displaying the historically valuable museum in the village of Ilion in such a way that the people can still see it. The village should look for an option for development without losing its heritage. The closure of Remington’s factory in Ilion signals the end of an era but also allows the village to rebrand itself and design a brighter future.