Surprising Products Still Made in America

Airstream proudly points out that its trailers and RVs are all manufactured in its Jackson Center, Ohio, factory — and have been since 1952. Airstream says it is keeping production domestic to ensure the vehicles and trailers are high quality and to provide support to customers.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is an American classic. From Cherry Garcia to Chunky Monkey, Ben & Jerry’s has delighted patrons ever since the first scoop shop debuted on May 5, 1978 in Burlington, Vermont. The first franchised shop opened just three years later in Shelburne, Vermont. The company has a major factory in Waterbury, Vermont.

Founded by Benjamin and Robert Moore as Moore Brothers in Brooklyn, New York in 1883, paint company Benjamin Moore is now owned by Berkshire Hathaway and its products are available in thousands of retailers across North America. The paint is made in several locations across the country, including Newark, New Jersey.

Bud Light is the nation’s top-selling beer and is 100% American-made. Debuting in 1982, Bud Light, and all of the other beers under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella, are brewed in 12 breweries across the U.S.

Burt’s Bees lip balm debuted in 1991, about seven years after artist Roxanne Quimby met beekeeper, Burt Shavitz, in Maine. Their business took off instantly, with Quimby initially making candles from Shavitz’s honey bees’ beeswax. By 1994, their lip balm and beauty care products were such a hit they moved from Maine to North Carolina to deal with increased demand. Even though Shavitz has since passed, his products are still made in North Carolina.

Since before the Civil War, soldiers, law enforcement officers, and civilians have used firearms from Colt Manufacturing. The Colt Peacemaker revolver is ingrained in American culture thanks to widespread use in film and TV Westerns. But the business failed to adapt to modern changes and went bankrupt in 2015. However, the Connecticut firearms manufacturer has bounced back and is keeping production in the United States. In 2021, Czechia’s Ceska Zbrojovka Group (CZG) purchased Colt, but its president said the products would continue to be manufactured in the U.S.

The Crayola factory in Easton, Pennsylvania turns out more than 12 million crayons per day, or about 3 billion per year, in hundreds of different colors. More than 1,000 workers help turn paraffin wax and color pigment into the children’s art supplies. Crayons have become one of the most iconic and recognizable products in the country.

The first batch of Dum Dum lollipops was produced by Akron Candy Co. in Bellevue, Ohio, in 1924. The inspiration behind the lollipop’s name came from sales manager I.C. Bahr, who thought Dum Dum would be easy enough for a child to say. Spangler Candy Company bought Dum Dums in 1953 and started manufacturing the sugary treat out of its headquarters in Bryan, Ohio. The lollipops are still made there today.

Duraflame is one of the most well known makers of firelogs, which are made of compressed sawdust and sometimes an accelerant. Firelogs are designed to be easy to light and burn for a long time. The product was first developed in 1968 by a pencil manufacturer, which had been looking for a way to recycle sawdust. Duraflame logs are made in several U.S. states, including Texas, California, and Missouri, as well as Mexico.

Like many other car brands, Ford is moving much of its automobile production overseas to countries like Mexico and China. One vehicle that is still made domestically may have the most American image — the Mustang. Though it uses some foreign parts, the iconic muscle car is assembled in Flat Rock, Michigan.

Rock’n’roll and the blues are musical traditions born in America, so it makes sense that many of the instruments used to play these genres would be American-made as well. Gibson has been crafting guitars since 1936, initially in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Production moved to Nashville in 1985. Gibson now also makes guitars in Memphis and in Bozeman, Montana. In 2020, the company emerged from bankruptcy and opened new offices in downtown Nashville.

Few things feel as American as grilling outside in the summer, and few products have an origin story that are as American as that of Weber grills. The idea for the iconic kettle-shaped grill was conceived by George Stephen in Chicago in 1952. Stephen built a brick fireplace that went up in flames the first time he tried to use it, so he used his skills from working at a metal shop called Weber Brothers Metal Works to build a new one — which was an immediate hit. Stephen began selling the grills and eventually bought out his former employer, and renamed it Weber-Stephen Products. To this day, all of Weber’s grills now roll off the line at its plant in Huntley, Illinois.

Hallmark has turned its series of greeting cards into a holiday-based empire. The company, whose founders also invented modern wrapping paper, makes billions of dollars each year from selling cards, party supplies, and other seasonal knick-knacks. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, Hallmark makes most of its cards across the state line in Kansas, though some are produced overseas.

Honey Nut Cheerios was the top selling cereal in 2017. Sales of the sweet cereal totalled more than $656 million last year. Aside from the Cheerios cereal line, General Mills owns a host of other popular cereal brands, including Cascadian Farm, Fiber One, and Chex. The company manufactures its cereals in several locations across the country.

The cooler many Americans rely on to transport food and drink was created in 1947 at an American metalworking shop. The first product was made to bring clean water to worksites. Today, Igloo makes a variety of different cooler products, ranging from ice chests, lunch boxes, and even canteens. The company’s Katy, Texas plant makes 15 million coolers each year.

The first Jack Daniel distillery was established in 1866 in Lynchburg, Tennessee, where it is still made today. This American-bred whiskey has been a favorite to many for over a century. The original Old No. 7 took home the gold medal at the World’s Fair in Missouri in 1904. Today, Old No. 7 is sold alongside several other whiskey varieties, even bottled cocktails, and is the top-selling whiskey brand in the country.

Lay’s potato chips debuted in 1932, when Herman W. Lay launched his potato chip business in Nashville. Lay teamed up with C.E. Doolin, the man who founded Frito Co., and by 1961, the duo formed Frito-Lay Inc. Four years later, Frito-Lay merged with Pepsi-Cola to become PepsiCo. Today, the crispy potato chip is produced in mass quantities in Killingly, Connecticut. In May 2021, PepsiCo announced it would expand its Killingly plant, beginning in 2022.

The first M&M debuted in 1941 in Newark, New Jersey. The candy-coated chocolate was designed specifically for the military in World War II. The M&M’s hard shell makes it relatively heat resistant, meaning it doesn’t readily melt in your hand. The American candy is still made in New Jersey by Mars Chocolate North America. M&Ms are also made in Cleveland, Tennessee and Topeka, Kansas.

At a time when many mass-produced goods are being made overseas, Maglite flashlights are still made in America at the insistence of Maglite founder Anthony Maglica, who told NPR, “I will not go out of the country if my life depends on it.” Maglica’s story is the quintessential American dream. Though he was born in the U.S. during the Great Depression, he was raised in Croatia. He managed to return to America after World War II in the 1950s and began working with machines, founding Mag Instrument a few years later. Maglite has been making flashlights in Ontario, California since 1982.

Philip Morris USA has been producing Marlboro cigarettes since 1925. Approximately half of Marlboro cigarettes produced by Philip Morris USA come out of the company’s Richmond, Virginia facility. While the American division of Philip Morris shows no sign of ceasing cigarette production, the international division has other plans. Philip Morris International, based in New York City, announced in January that its New Year Resolution for 2018 is to start building a smoke-free future by eventually no longer selling cigarettes.

The KitchenAid stand mixer has an iconic American product for over a century. Its origins date back to 1908, when engineer Herbert Johnston thought there must be an easier way to mix dough than doing it by hand. Six years later, his Model H was released for commercial mixing purposes. It became standard equipment on U.S. Navy vessels by 1917, and after World War I ended, veterans wanted one for their homes, too. In 1919, the first stand mixer for the home was released. A year later, KitchenAid began manufacturing all stand mixers in Troy, Ohio. Since 1941, they’re been made in KitchenAid’s plant in Greenville, Ohio.

Post-it may not seem like the most ingenious invention, but the mini reminder notes are widely used today. The post-it was created by accident in 1968 by Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist working at manufacturing company 3M in the U.S. The product hit the market in 1977 as the “Press ‘n Peel” in four cities, but was later renamed “Post-Its” in 1979. By 1980, Post-Its were sold in stores nationwide. Today, Post-Its are made at a 3M plant in Cynthiana, Kentucky.

Pyrex was reportedly first created in the early 1900s by engineer Jesse Littleton in Corning, New York. While working to create heat-resistant glass for railroads, he gave some of the glass to his wife to use to bake a cake. She liked how the cake turned out, and Pyrex has been a kitchen staple ever since. Starting in 1915, Pyrex made consumer goods in Corning before moving to Charleroi, Pennsylvania in the 1940s. In honor of Pyrex’s 100 year anniversary, Charleroi changed its name to Pyrex, Pennsylvania for 100 days in 2015.

Stern Pinball has made pinball machines in the Chicago area for decades. The company moved from Melrose Park to Elk Grove Village in 2015. The company was formerly known by different names, like Delta East Pinball and Sega Pinball, before it was purchased by Gary Stern and named Stern Pinball.

Teslas are some of the trendiest, most high-tech cars on the market, and each Model S, Model X, and Model 3 is manufactured primarily in Fremont, California. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, took over a plant that used to make GM and Toyota vehicles in 2010 and began rolling out cars shortly after. The car company also built a “gigafactory” in the desert of Nevada to make lithium-ion batteries to power the vehicles. In 2017, Tesla also began manufacturing at a second Gigafactory at a former steel manufacturing site in Buffalo.

Tom and Kate Chappell launched Tom’s of Maine in 1970 with the goal of making personal care products free of artificial fragrances, preservatives, and other unnatural additives. By 1975, the first natural toothpaste hit the U.S. market. Though Colgate-Palmolive bought Tom’s of Maine in 2006, the company’s principles remain the same, and the company’s toothpastes and deodorant are still made in Maine.

Though almost all American flags are made in the U.S., ironically some Stars and Stripes still come from overseas. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the U.S. imported $5.4 million worth of flags in 2016, almost all from China. Companies like US Flag Supply manufacture the bulk of American flags as well as other banners and state flags.

Ohio is the birthplace of pro football, and Wilson’s factory in Ada, Ohio, makes every football used in NFL and NCAA games. The plant used to make equipment for baseball and boxing but hasn’t made anything but pigskins — which are actually made of cowhide — since Wilson purchased it in 1955.

Yankee Candle has a humble origin. Mike Kittredge was just 16 years old when he founded what would become just decades later the nation’s leading scented candle company. Too poor to buy his mother a Christmas gift, Kittredge made her a candle out of melted red crayons and canning wax, kitchen string, and a milk carton.

Zippo lighters have been an American icon since they were supplied to U.S. soldiers in World War II. The Zippo Manufacturing Company still makes the lighters in Bradford, Pennsylvania — the town in which the first ever Zippo was fabricated by company founder George Blaisdell.