Alden shoes are produced by the Alden Shoe Company, founded in 1884 by Charles H. Alden. The company's original home was Middleborough, Massachusetts, and it remains there today--producing some of the world's finest dress and casual shoes. A look at the history of Alden shoes reveals a great deal about the history of modern shoemaking.

Alden Shoes and the Industrial Revolution

In the mid-1800s, revolutionary processes were changing the way that consumer goods were manufactured. This was of course also true for shoe industry. Previously, cobblers had stitched together pairs of shoes by hand, using hand-cut pieces of leather and hand-spooled thread. But the advent of modern mechanized production methods would change everything.

Soon, cobblers were replaced with large factories that could mass-produce shoes and increase production over traditional shoemakers by over 500 percent. Alden shoes were among the first to take advantage of these new processes. The new manufacturing methods allowed for revolutionary levels of quality and consistency, two things that Alden shoes are known for.

As time passed and newer manufacturing process continued to change the shoe industry, Alden shoes remained at the forefront of the market. Among the hundreds of New England shoe companies that sprouted up in the mid-1800s, Alden of New England is the only one still in the business of creating fine shoes and boots. Their history of quality and style has kept them at the forefront of the fine leather shoe business.