ShreySharma

PaideiaReport
Period3

ColumbiaBicycleCompanyPaideia2.0
The Columbia Bicycle Company is the reason that bicycles today are so
complex. Themanymodern bicyclesthatthere are now areallderived from modelsof
ColumbiaBicycles.Duringthemid1800stoearly1900sAlbertPopecreatedjusta few
Bicycles just to make a bit of money. After witnessing the success he had with those
fewbicycles, he took hisindustryto a wholenew level. Soonhisbicycleswerenotonly
selling locally, but all overtheUnited States. Pope createdmanyitems/industries over
the span of hiscareer.Manyof whichwereimportant toupgradegroundtransportation
(bicycles,automobiles). Pope sparked interest and curiosity with the kindsof materials
he was innovating. Bothyoung andolder riders had a better andmore efficient wayto
get around. SincePopehadstruck so much passion into the typesoftransportationhe
was innovating, it has been accustomed to say that Albert Pope and the Columbia
Bicycle Company left a huge mark on both local and national stages in the United
States.
Throughout the mid 1800s to early 1900s AlbertPopeand the Columbia
Bicycle made our community extremely unique by leaving an unforgettable
legacy in Hartford, as well as revolutionizing the whole spectrum of ground
transportation.

AlbertPopesLegacy
LegacyofPopeandColumbiaBicycles
AlbertPope andColumbia Bicycles haveleft astronglegacyinHartfordwhichis
still remembered today. Albert Pope was the creator and founder of the Columbia
Bicycle Company as well as the head of Pope Manufacturing Company, which were
created in Hartford, Connecticut. However, this legacy started in a Centennial

Expositionin Philadelphia.(Malley)Therehe spottedavery famous designofabicycle.

The bicycle interested Pope. After doing some research he ended up becoming very
familiarwith the structure ofbicycles. Albert Pope sawfinancial potentialinbicycles,so
hefounditsuitable to start an industry inHartford. Him and JohnHarrington (whoalso
attended the Exposition) visited the Weed Sewing Machine Company(Malley). There
they requested that they have the space to create50bicycles just toseeiftheywould
sell. Sure enough the bikes sold quickly. Soon after the Weed Sewing Co. gave
permission for Pope tomakemorebicycles.Popesindustrywasflowingsowellthathe
had enough money to buy The Weed Sewing Co. himself. Thatsexactly what he did.
He changed the name from WeedSewing Co. toColumbia BicycleCompany.In 1892
after purchasing Weed Sewing Co. Pope made the firstbold move tosecurea legacy
thatwould makeHartford popular. HeboughttheworldfamousHartfordRubberWorks.
The Hartford Rubber Works was the largest nickelplating factory in theworld, and for
someone like Albert Pope to own this company makes Hartford very special. Also,
after many purchases AlbertPope became the highestproducerinthecountry.Hewas
creatingover 5,000 Columbiabikes inayear andwassellinghisproductnationally.For
avery famousindustrialleader like AlbertPope tobe residing inHartfordgivesthecity
a popularity like no other cityhas.Thatis whyAlbertPope andtheColumbia Bicycles
legacymakesHartfordunique.

GoodRoadsMovement
TheGoodRoads MovementgavealargeamountofattentiontoAlbertPopeand
most importantly to Hartford. The Goods Roads Movement started becausePope had
realized that with better roads and better conditions, his sales in Hartford would
increase drastically(Herlihy). So in1881,theGoodRoadsMovementandtheLeagueof
American Wheelman was created, with the center of it being in Hartford,Connecticut.
Tobring attentionto the caise, Pope createdaspeechinwhichhespoke, Thepeople
everywhere throughout the country are awakening to the vast importance of better
highways. They more fully realize not only the great commercial advantages of good

roads, butthey seemore clearlythatthematerialhighwaysofthecountryarehighways

in a spiritualsenseaswell(Mangan).ThisspeechmadeHartforddistinctivebecause
not onlyis a very important movementin Hartford, butoneofthemostwellknownmen
in America is residing there and protesting there. The Good Roads Movement even
affected schoolwork. Albert Pope had directed teachers all around to start teaching
roadbuilding as soon as possible, so that the students would be able to consider
building as ajobinthefuture.(Mangan). DuetothisHartfordkidshaddifferentlearning
experience than kidsin othertownsand states, therefore making Hartfordandthekids
very unique.To make hisindustrybetterAlbertPopewasmakingHartfordabettertown
as well as fighting for a good cause. Him and his followers further pressured the US
government into creating better roads.The movementprotestsweretakenintoaccount
bythe US government, butminimalroadswere created. EventhoughtheGoodRoads
Movement wasnt a total success, Albert Popes industry still bloomed and Hartford
becameawellknowncity.

TransportationIndustry
ColumbiaBicycleCompany
The Columbia Bicycle Company revolutionized the bicycle as well as creating
hugeopportunityfor large salesinHartford.DuetoColumbiaBicycles,AlbertPopewas
the leadingproducer for2straight years.Duringthe CentennialExpositionhesawvery
heavy and low efficiency bicycles. After heavy research and inquiry he designed a
model that was only 70 pounds. That much weight on a bicycle seems absurd
nowadays, however, that modelsparkedmanynew ideas and creations. After creating
the first fewbicycles, Popeset his mind intocreatingalightweightbicycle.Hedidsoby
limiting wheel friction and decreasing the sizes of the steel tubes(Mr.Columbia). This
new breed of bicycles boomed in the transportation industry. The high demands had
Albert Pope producing over a quarter million annually. Also Pope was getting money
from other bicycle manufacturers by establishing a bicycle trust. This trust controlled

bicycle patents which made made nearly almost all bicycle manufacturers weregiving
him$10 perbike. Not onlydidTheColumbiaBicyclessetanewexampleforbicyclesin
the future, but they also produced a lot of industry in Hartford. The Columbia Bicycle
Company was beginning to make Hartford into an industrial empire. The bicycles,
however,areusuallycreditedwithgivingindustrytoHartford.Itisnttoowidespreadthat
the bicycles actually alsorepresented freedomandliberation.Susan BAnthonyherself
statedThe bicycle has donemore forthe emancipation ofwomen thananythinginthe
world. For avery famouscivil rights activist topraise ColumbiaBicycleslikethatreally
shows how much impact that were made on the people. Nonetheless, due to the
booming industry, great creations of bicycles and representing freedom and liberty,
Columbiabicyclesrevolutionizedgroundtransportation.

AutomobileIndustry
The widespread of Pope Manufacturing Company sparked the start of an
Automobile Industry. Albert Popes Automobile industrymadeHartfordintoanindustrial
empire, as well as bring out the next revolution in ground transportation. Ever since
Albert Pope had success with bicycles, he had seen potential in automatic
transportationaswell.AfterseeingthedeclineofthebicycleshimselfPopedecidedthat
motorized transportation wastheway togo.To accompany hisdecision he createdan
automobile division within Pope Manufacturing Co. Many manufacturers at the time
were creatinggasoline poweredcars, which inPopeseyes were inefficient. He strived
to create clean and electric cars in the future. In 1896 he founded Columbia Electric
Vehicle Company(Herlihy).One year later in 1987 he publicly demonstrated how he
created the automobiles. This caused a hugecrowd tocomedown intoHartford. Over
hundreds of people witnessed Pope during his public display. After the display he
producedaround2,092carsinayear.Those2,092carsaccountedforalmosthalfofall
the cars produced in1899.(Mr.Columbia)AlbertPopeselectricalautomobilesendedup
sparking ideas to conserve oil. Not only this, but models of his automobiles are now
used as makeshifts for cars today. AlthoughAlbert Popes automobileindustrydid not

endup as a success it still dida lot infavor ofHartford and the whole USA itself.Over
time no other companyhadproducedmoremotorvehiclesthanAlbertPopedid,andhe
did financially turn Hartford into a well known and desirable city. Overall, there is no
doubt that Columbia Electric Vehicle Companys innovations helped financially turn
Hartfordintotheindustrializedcityitistoday.

Conclusion
AlbertPope has created a legacy that isstillcarriedontoday. Pope went
onto createfour major companieswhich turnedHarford into afinancially industrialized
city. The legacy that Pope created shows people today the importance of Columbia
Bicycles, Automobiles and the Good Roads Movement, because all of these things
ended up changing Hartford for the better. Looking from a historical standpoint,
forgetting about Albert Pope is not reasonable. Theinnovationsandimprovements he
hasmadeto thetransportationindustryhassignificantlychangedthefieldforthebetter.
He made theColumbia Bicycles lightweight, becausehe wantedhis bikestobeunique
anddifferent. His trademark bicycles becamethecausetocreatelightweightbicyclesin
the future. His Automobile country was also very unique and different. During the 18
and 19th centuries, automobile manufacturers were making only oil powered cars.
Albert Pope was the one who began making electric powered cars. Even though
oilfueled cars are still used today,slowerandslowermany peopleareshiftingtowards
Albert Popes idea of electrical powered cars due to the lack of oil intheworld. Pope
has always been the forefront of every change in transportation (Goddard).
Nonetheless, Albert Popes legacy and ideas will always be kept throughout national
andlocalhistory.
TheColumbiaBicycleshashelpedourlocalcommunitygrowanddevelopintoan
important town in New England. For the most part, Connecticut does not hold many
hugecities, exceptfor Hartford.Hartford isawellknowncityacrossthecountry.Oneof
the reasons,however,is the ColumbiaBicycles. TheimpactColumbia Bicycles hadon
the city of Hartford is incredible. Hartfordwas always the main city in Connecticut, but

nothing special inNewEngland.AfterColumbia Bicycles came in, the city changedfor

the better. Due to the Columbia Bicycles, Hartford was receiving tons of financial
support.During the prime oftheCompany atleast 5,000 bicycleswerebeingproduced
at theCompany per year,and about all ofthose bicycleswerebeingsoldfromarange
of $50$100. The bicyclesales really helped Hartford turnintoafinanciallyhealthycity.
However, the bicycles itself also made Hartfordpopular.Sincetheonly manufacturing
company was in Hartford, people in nearby New England would come by to pick up
bicycles. The Columbia Bicycles created not only a industrial empire in Hartford, but
also the center of bicycles. Overall, the Columbia Bicycles is one of the reasons
HartfordturnedintoanimportanttowninNewEngland.
ColumbiaBicycleshavebeentherolemodelforalltypesofnewbicyclestoday.
The Columbia Bicycle Company and Albert Pope have effectively impacted Hartford,
makingita veryuniquecity. Together both have made a significant impactonthelocal
and national stages by revolutionizing the bicycle and automobile industry, as well as
bringing light to the Good Roads Movement. Nonetheless, in the 19th and 20th
centuries, Albert Popeand the Columbia BicycleCompany havehelped make Hartford
a unique city byleavingan unforgettablelegacy behind, as well asproducing new and
improvedmodelsofautomobilesandbicyclesforgenerationsahead.