Hopkins & Allen Arms Company was a US firearms manufacturing company based in Norwich, Connecticut that was founded in 1868 by Charles W. Allen, Charles A. Converse, Horace Briggs, Samuel S. Hopkins and Charles W. Hopkins. The Hopkins brothers ran the day-to-day operations of the company.

History

In 1874 Converse sold his interest in the company to brothers William and Milan Hulbert, giving the Hulbert's 50% of the company's assets and capital. Hopkins & Allen became the exclusive maker of Merwin Hulbert

Merwin Hulbert

Merwin, Hulbert, and Co. or Merwin Hulbert was an American firearms manufacturer and marketer based in New York City which made revolvers and rifles from 1876 until 1916. The guns, themselves, were manufactured by a subsidiary company: Hopkins & Allen of Norwich, Connecticut...

 revolvers as a result of this. Following the bankruptcy of the Hulbert brothers in 1896, Hopkins & Allen went bankrupt in 1898. The company was reoganized as Hopkins & Allen Arms Company but lost its factory and machinery in a fire in 1900.
Hopkins & Allen rebuilt its factory in 1901 and produced 40,000 firearms a year. In 1902, the company acquired Forehand and Wadsworth, for whom it had been making revolvers under contract. The company was awarded a contract to build Mauser rifles for the Belgian Army

Belgian Army

The Land Component is organised using the concept of capacities, whereby units are gathered together according to their function and material. Within this framework, there are five capacities: the command capacity, the combat capacity, the support capacity, the services capacity and the training...

 early in World War I, but the contract fell apart after Germany invaded Belgium. Although the company continued to manufacture firearms, it never financially recovered and went bankrupt in 1916 with Marlin-Rockwell

Marlin Firearms

Marlin Firearms Co., formerly of North Haven, Connecticut, is a manufacturer of high power, center fire, lever action, and .22 caliber rimfire rifles. In the past, the company made shotguns, derringers and revolvers...

 purchasing its machinery, inventory and designs in 1917.

Manufacturing

In addition to the Merwin Hubert revolvers, Hopkins & Allen manufactured a variety of spur trigger, hinge framed double-action revolvers (sometimes known as Suicide specials) in .22, .32, and .38 calibers with trade names such as ACME, American Eagle, Blue Jacket, Captain Jack, Chichester, Defender, Dictator,Imperial Arms Co., Monarch, Mountain Eagle, Ranger, Tower's Police Safety, Universal, and XL. Hopkins & Allen manufactured revolvers for Forehand & Wadsworth under contract as well as shotguns, rifles, and derringers for various sporting goods stores.