The Timberland story began in 1918, in a small Boston, Massachusetts shoe company where Timberland founder, Nathan Swartz, began his bootmaking career as an apprentice stitcher.
With his own hands, he cut leather, stitched seams, attached soles and learned how to craft fine leather boots. In 1952, he bought half an interest in The Abington Shoe Company. Three years later, he bought the remaining interest and welcomed his sons into the company. Together, they made shoes for leading manufacturers for nearly 10 years.
In the '60s, waterproof leather boots as we know them didn't really exist. The Swartz family helped change all that by introducing injection-molding technology to the footwear industry. This technology fused soles to leather uppers without stitching, producing one of the first truly waterproof boots.
In 1973, the Timberland name was born. "Timberland" started as the brand name for our original waterproof leather boot. Then, because the boot was so popular, the company name was officially changed to The Timberland Company.
In 1978 and 1979, Timberland added casual and boat shoes to its line to become more than just a boot company.

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