A Fortunate Train Trip

CHAPTER 2

A Fortunate Train Trip

By Margaret Gurowitz

Jul 12, 2006

Johnson & Johnson has been headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, since the company got its start in 1886. Believe it or not, this was due to a very fortunate railroad trip by James Wood Johnson.

Drawing of Johnson & Johnson First Building

While looking for a factory location for the new company early in 1886, he was riding a westbound Pennsylvania Railroad train through New Jersey. When the train slowed down to cross the Raritan River, Johnson looked out the window and saw a “To Let" sign on a four-story factory building in New Brunswick. Johnson ended up renting the fourth floor of the building, a former wallpaper factory, which became the first home of Johnson & Johnson. Besides having a convenient building for rent, New Brunswick was a rail, coach, waterway and commercial hub midway between New York and Philadelphia, and was home to a variety of small industries -- like rubber companies, a needle factory, and a maker of fruit jars.

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