It was founded by Samuel Cabot IV in 1877 and remained privately held until it was acquired by the Valspar Corporation in 2005.
After visiting factories in Europe, he was inspired to work on coal tar-based products.
They produced household disinfectant, sheep dip, wood preservatives, and shingle stain using coal tar that was a by-product of the gas works in Boston.
They later bought a factory in Worthington, Pennsylvania which produced lampblack for making ink from natural gas.
The Pennsylvania factory later shut down because of insufficient gas, and Godfrey proposed to move the plant to nearby Kittanning.