In 1839, a religious society in East Cambridge, Massachusetts wished to build a church, and as most of the members of the congregation were Vermont people, they naturally turned to a Vermont builder, and Elijah Spare was engaged to build the Universal Church in East Cambridge. He came from Vermont to fulfill his contract, and consequently in the building operation he required ladders and there was no place in New England where he could purchase a ladder.
On the completion of the contract, on Gore Street, East Cambridge, he started a ladder factory in the fall of 1839; and at that time was created the first exclusive ladder industry in the United States.
In 1869, he was succeeded by C. W. H. Moulton, who conducted the business on the same location until 1903. In 1903 a larger plant was erected in Somerville, Mass., and the management continued the same until 1923, when Mr. C. W. H. Moulton died and was succeeded by his son, Mr. F. H. Moulton, who formed the Moulton Ladder Manufacturing Co. in the fall of 1928.
In the early 1900’s, the Moulton family started a wholesale business in the Philadelphia area which was located at 3rd & Race Street. The company grew faster than expect and the company was forced to move to our current location of 5200 Unruh Avenue. During this time, Moulton transitioned from a manufacturer to a master distributor of many different brands of ladders, scaffold and fall protection equipment.
In 1985, Steve Wolfson bought the company from the Moulton family and countinued the company’s success until April 2016 when the current owners purchased the business from Steve Wolfson.
In this business was created the first extension ladder, the first successful extension trestle, and in fact practically every improvement for ladder staging for the painting industry has been created by Moulton. Naturally, as the country grew larger many other companies have come into the field, but for over 175 years the devices created and standards set by us have been followed by practically all of the younger concerns in the United States.