The oldest gunmaker in America is closing its factory in a small town in the state of New York. Remington Firearms was formed two centuries ago in what is now the town of Ilion, a village in the heart of New York’s Mohawk Valley area. It began when Eliphalet Remington forged his first rifle barrel nearby in 1816. Remington’s owners recently announced it would permanently shut the factory in March. They said costs were too high to continue making guns in Ilion. The company is uniting all its operations in the southeastern state of Georgia. Remington officials say Georgia is friendlier to the firearms industry than New York. The company’s recent history has been marked by a lawsuit connected to the mass murder of 20 children and six adults in 2012 at an elementary school in Connecticut. Remington Arms agreed to pay $73 million to relatives of victims and a survivor to settle the legal action. The company also declared financial failure more than once. The factory workforce had dropped from about 1,300 workers more than 10 years ago to around 300. About 7,600 people live in Ilion. The gunmaker’s withdrawal is a major loss to the town’s economy and more. “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 former factory worker Jim Conover. Conover retired in 2004, after 40 years at the plant.
