I seem to remember Stevens being made by a major manufacturer and sold through Western Auto or a chain like it. Maybe someone can illuminate the history behind this famous brand...
The company was founded as J. Stevens & Co. in Chicopee Falls, MA,[1] in 1864 by Joshua Stevens and backers W.B. Fay and James Taylor. Their earliest product was a tip-up pistol of Stevens' invention.[2] Business was slow into 1870, when it still occupied a converted grist mill and had just sixty employees.
The 1873 Panic only reduced this further, though it was making double shotguns as early as 1876.[3] In 1886, the company was reorganized and incorporated, as J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co., with slow, steady growth; as before, tools accounted for most of the company's output.[4]
Beginning in 1880, the company began making falling block rifles.[5] While less known than Ballard or Winchester, these were of comparable quality, but at the lower end of the price spectrum. Under names like Favorite, Little Scout, Crackshot, and Marksman, Stevens sold millions of reliable single-shot weapons, in the days before bolt actions existed; by 1982, the total exceeded 3.5 million.[6]
In addition, in 1887, Stevens developed the .22LR round,[7] which has served as an introductory caliber for children for decades, as well as being very popular for plinking, varmint and target shooting. The .22LR was available beginning in 1888, in the #1, #2, #9, and #10 break-top rifles, and in their New Model Pocket and Bicycle rifles.[8]
I remember Sears Roebuck selling Stevens rifles when I was a child. That’s where I got my first .22.