Our 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 shoes" 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 shoes added casual and boat shoes to its line to become more than just a boot company. In the 1980s, the company expanded into an international lifestyle brand. Sidney Swartz took the reigns and under his leadership Timberland shoes were launched in Italy, our first entry into the international market (today we're represented all over the world). Then we introduced Timberland clothing and women's footwear. In 1989, Timberland became a founding sponsor of City Year, the Boston-based "urban Peace Corps" that brings together young people from diverse backgrounds for a year of full-time community service. Today our relationship with City Year is more powerful than ever.

During the '90s, bold ideas like the Path of Service program began. It gives Timberland employees 40 hours of paid time-off to serve in their communities. We also came up with more great products and introduced them to the world - watches, socks, backpacks, kids' footwear and other gear. In 1998, we launched the Timberland PRO series of "Workboots for the Professional." And, Jeffrey Swartz, stepped up to grow the company his grandfather started and the brand his father built, by turning Timberland into a twenty-first century example for socially responsible corporations around the world.