Ohio inventions and firsts · Company innovation · 1866-1875
Sherwin-Williams ready-mixed paint
Henry Sherwin entered the paint trade in Cleveland in 1866; Sherwin, Williams & Co. formed in 1870, and in 1875 the company began selling ready-mixed paint, so customers no longer mixed their own.
At a glance
- Year
- 1866-1875
- Company
- Sherwin-Williams
- Place
- Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44115 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
The story
In the 1860s and 1870s, a house painter or homeowner often bought pigments and oil separately and mixed their own paint. Results varied, and mixing took time and skill. Selling paint already mixed and in the can was a promise of a more even, easier job.
Henry Sherwin, a Cleveland bookkeeper, invested in a paint distributorship in 1866. After ending that partnership in 1870 he formed Sherwin, Williams and Co. with Edward Williams and A. T. Osborn. In 1873 the company got its first factory, a cooperage bought from Standard Oil.
In 1875 the company began selling ready-mixed paint, so customers no longer mixed their own. The sources do not settle whether it was the very first company to do so, and the question of priority is treated as unsettled.
By the early 1920s Sherwin-Williams was the largest coatings maker in the United States. In 2025 it ran about 4,853 stores around the world with $23.6 billion in revenue and is still headquartered in Cleveland, facing Public Square.
Timeline
- 1866: Henry Sherwin invests in a paint distributorship in Cleveland. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1870: Sherwin, Williams, and Co. is formed with Edward Williams and A. T. Osborn. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1873: The company acquires its first factory, a cooperage from Standard Oil. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1875: The company begins selling ready-mixed paint. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1920s: Sherwin-Williams becomes the largest U.S. coatings maker. (United States) source
What it changed
- About 4,853 stores worldwide and $23.6 billion revenue in 2025, per Wikipedia.
- Largest coatings company in the world by revenue.
Why it matters
'Cover the Earth' paint was a mass-market product.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Sherwin-Williams began selling ready-mixed paint in Cleveland in 1875, so customers no longer had to mix their own.
The other claims. An earlier claim for ready-mixed paint, an 'Averill Paint' of 1867, could not be confirmed, so who was first is treated as unsettled.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.