King-Tool.com
Title
Specialty Hand Tools and Instruments Made in the USA
Description
The King Gauge Company, owned and operated by Mr. Len King, was situated on a forested bench overlooking the river in the Gallatin Canyon near Castle Rock. The company had two employees and also consisted of a homestead log cabin and older outbuildings. Marking Instruments and Specialty Tools were made and sold by mail order to metal fabricators all around the Country.
An aging Sally King expressed her interest in selling King Gauge some years after her husband Len passed away. King Gauge became King Tool, Inc. under new ownership and management in 1977. The King name was kept in memory of Len King because of the friendship that developed between Sally and the new owners. Sally made friends easily, and a boardwalk for squirrels to use to get into her kitchen from neighboring trees always ensured she had company when people weren’t visiting.
Sally passed away in 1978. The King Gauge home site was deeded to the Forest Service which demolished the log home and buildings. The metalworking equipment and materials were moved to a small shop in Bozeman, but King Tool soon expanded into a leased commercial building, and then a larger, newly constructed building where the company resides now. King Tool’s permanent home is on a 20-acre site just West of Bozeman and is one of the first tip-up style concrete panel buildings constructed in the state of Montana. These buildings are known for their high energy efficiency and durability.
